Such a bitter Sweet day. Biter turns 1, but at the same time, I feel myself morning the loss of the past year I have had with this amazing new person. No more, is he, the newborn that I stayed up with all night; no more, does he silently sleep in my arms for hours. I have watched him turn from a little wriggling pink thing, to a person, with a sense of humor, and wonder, and a very loud voice. I look forward to the child and man he will become but I will always miss by baby.

After Biter was born, Big M wanted to share his birth story with our pre natal class. He wrote the following email to the class, and I wanted to share it because it’s the birth through the father’s eyes.

Well Finally!

Biter was born on Sunday, Jan 8^th at 1:46 AM…
All 9lbs 7oz of him!!
Mom had a few problems, but overall a very happy and healthy birth.
Because we all went to the classes together, and you know what to expect, or are curious as to how things can happen, here is how things progressed…

Due to pre-diagnosed existing strep bacteria, we knew that if and when Momma’s water broke, she had to go into the hospital immediately to go on antibiotics. (Big M always makes it sound like I had an STD, and it took a while to convince him I didn’t. Strep B is common bacteria found in the vagina. All women are tested for it when pregnant. If you are positive you have to be put on antibiotics during labor, no big deal.)

So on Sunday morning when she awoke, we noticed a small stain on the sheets and assumed maybe there was some leakage. (The truth is, I noticed a small puddle, and decided to wait a few hours to tell Big M. I knew he would make me call the midwife right away, and I didn’t want to bother her too early, and or in the middle of a shift change)

We contacted the midwife and she advised us to meet her at the hospital at noon. When we got there she did an exam and a sweep, and still were not sure if it was amniotic fluid or not. (Umm a “sweep” he makes it sound very clean. Basically the midwife fisted me while I yelled around. Big M waited outside) they then looked at a slide under the microscope and decided it was possibly amniotic fluid.

So at 2pm Momma went on antibiotics, but a little hitch…during the sweep performed earlier, it was found that her cervix was only dilated 1 cm and because of the existing bacteria and now broken sac, Oxytocin was now needed to start contractions.

It took an hour or so for contractions to start but Momma did not have a lot of freedom as she had to be monitored
A cesarean birth was discussed as a real option at this point.

(Here is what I am thinking at this time. Where is my hair elastic? Why didn’t I think to bring a hair elastic? How can I get a hair elastic? My hair is driving me crazy.)

At this time Momma’s midwife had to leave for another birth, but we had a nurse at the bedside the entire time (They were great…)
The nurse and midwife stayed in contact the entire time as well.

We were finally able to have a little break and went for a walk in the hallway around 5pm…
Once we got back to the room the monitors were reattached and contractions started in with vigor…
By 8pm the contractions were severe, with very little time in between and sometimes were just continuous…
They did try to adjust the oxytocin but the contractions remained very, very intense.

At around 9pm another exam was preformed and Momma was still only 3cm, and her cervix was still quite firm. Again, a cesarean was discussed as a possibility if things did not progress at a faster rate…

At this point the anesthesiologist on call advised that if we wanted an epidural, then it would have to be right then, as she would not be available again for several hours due to an emergency operation about to commence.

We quickly discussed how much longer the staff momma would go into labor before she was ready to birth…

It was quickly apparent that an epidural was a very wise choice for her to have. The intensity and frequency of the contractions were just too severe to carry on for several more hours without relief. (I thin it was apparent because I was yelling “yes yes I want it. Give it to me now”)

(Note the nitrous oxide gas was not effective for Momma and created some nausea and vomiting)

An epidural was preformed at 9:30 pm and the effects were amazing

Not only was Momma pain free, but also the contractions leveled out and had a nice steady rhythm to them, which apparently had a tremendous effect on her cervix.

She gradually became pain free within an hour and was able to have a short nap…

At around midnight another midwife came to help with the birth. It was nice because Momma and the midwife were friends when they were kids. Momma’s sister was also in the birthing room the entire time. (Also my parents and my two nephews were in the waiting room one of my nephews was only 5 months old at the time)

But upon another examination, the midwife discovered that not only had the contractions calmed down, but Momma was now fully dilated
Momma was still not feeling the urge to push and had no extraordinary pressure yet.

So a wait and see decision was made.

At 1:15 am Momma started feeling pressure and the push was on…
It was a short intense push, but very rewarding !!
Just a short 30 minuets later, Biter was born, very red and very healthy!!

He was trying to feed within minuets of his birth as well!

So although things did not go according to our original birth plan, (or even close to it lol…) everything did turn out fantastic.

Momma was still able to birth her child vaginally, and we were still able to share an incredible experience.

An epidural was really not what we planned but in this case it was a blessing in disguise, as it helped in so many ways…

I realized this might be too much info for some, and sorry about that, but just wanted to let you know that even when things go sideways a little

The staff and professionals around you and the options available can still make it an amazing journey.

Here is something Big M forgot to tell you about in his letter. After Biter had come out, they covered my lower half with a sheet, I guess the action down there was over for now. It must have been pretty quickly after that, that I puked. Big M had enough warning to catch it in one of those bowls for catching puke.

I guess my vomit came out with enough force to also send my placenta shooting from me, so I started to yell “there is something else, something else came out”
The midwife lifted the cover in time to see the placenta sliding down the bed.

Big M was so fixated on the sight that he forgot he was holding a bowl of my barf, and slowly poured it on me.  

Oh, and by the time I finally got a hair elastic, my hands were full of tubes and needles so I could not use them to tie my hair back. My sister, who has no skills in hair tying, attempted to do it for me. The result, is a half side pony tail, that I went through the labor with. Made for some pretty awesome photos.

Happy Birthday Baby

Momma Loves you