Birth is, without question, the single most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. I may even be so bold as to claim it as the single most amazing event one can be a part of. It is impossible to be present for such a miracle and to not see the hand of God, our Creator, at work.
It has been over a month and I am just getting to writing about Kaden John’s birth. Notes scrawled in my journal will be my lifesaver in recounting the events because those few days seem like a vague and distant memory. Parts of it, at least. Some of it is etched so vividly in my mind that nothing could erase it.
Kaden’s story begins in the wee hours of January 10, 2012. My annoying phone rang in the middle of the night and Erik fumbled around to find it in the bed. He checked the number and it was Mandi so I quickly answered it (it only rings a few times before the answering machine picks up).
It was Kevin’s voice on the other end of the line. “Mandi’s water just broke.”
That was all I needed to hear because at 33weeks and 5 days your water isn’t supposed to break!
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
I jumped out of bed, grabbed my camera, stuffed a couple things into an overnight bag, remembered my toothbrush, checked the clock to see that it was 0300, and was in the car and on my way within 60 seconds.
I caught every green light and was in Winfield within 15 minutes without speeding – a drive that usually takes 25 minutes. I called Kevin while I was on my way (illegal, I know) and we decided that they would wait for me to meet up at their house so I could jump in the car with them in case anything happened en route. Sawyer was born within 75 minutes of Mandi’s first contration, in case you don't remember, so who knew what Mandi would be capable of the second time around?
I arrived at Kevin and Mandi’s and we hustled into their car. Sawyer was very awake and very sweet on the drive to Vernon. She held my hand the entire way. We made it to Vernon Jubilee by 0340 and Sawyer’s Oma and Opa met us there and took her home with them as we headed up to the maternity floor.
In the triage room they confirmed that Mandi’s membranes had, in fact, ruptured (it had woken her from her sleep and gushed so this was more of a formality) and her doctor came in to examine her. Mandi’s cervix was thankfully not dilating yet and she wasn’t having any contractions. The nurses kept Mandi on the monitor for about 30 minutes tracing the baby’s heart rate and movement and everything looked great.
Next came the decision of whether or not to allow Mandi to deliver at VHJ. Their nursery is equipped for babies born at 34+ weeks so there was the possibility of being transferred to Kelowna or Kamloops as they will take babies as early as 32 weeks (everyone else goes to Vancouver). According to her ultrasound Mandi was 33+6 and according to dates she was 33+4 – not quite far enough along. The staff had to discuss whether they felt they could care for little Zeus (Kaden’s in utero name) or not. We were thrilled when we were told Mandi would get to deliver at VJH!
By 0600 we were settled into Labour Room 6 and Mandi was on bedrest and receiving her first round of antibiotics. She also received a steroid to help mature Zeus’ lungs. They were hoping to get two doses of this steroid, scheduled 24 hours apart, into Mandi. The steroids are most effective if you can keep the baby in for at least 48hours so we were hoping for at least that.
Sometime in the morning an obstetrician came in to do an ultrasound. He confirmed that the baby was head down and he reaffirmed that they were comfortable delivering Zeus at VJH and that Mandi’s doctor would still be able to do the delivery if all went well.
At 1300 they did another tracing and the strip showed some regular uterine activity – small uterine tightenings every six minutes. Mandi couldn’t even feel them so they weren’t concerned. They said they were going to do tracings only once a day because they can irritate the uterus and encourage labour along. Obviously they would do more if Mandi’s condition/labour indicated a need for it, but they were hoping to stimulate her uterus as little as possible.
At 1400 Mandi and Kevin went for an ultrasound. The technician estimated the baby to be around 5lb 11oz which is awesome for 33+/- weeks. The ultrasound showed a normal amount of amniotic fluid, a long cervix, and a bigger than expected baby – all good things!
Erik came to visit in the evening bringing pizza for all of us and extra clothes for me. And then he went home at around 2130 and I headed off to sleep at Kevin’s parent’s house, about 5 minutes from the hospital.
At 0407 on January 11, 2012, I received a text saying “been having some contractions but nothing regular. I haven’t bothered to wake up Kev yet so feel free to keep sleeping as well.”
Knowing I wouldn’t sleep, I got up and showered then made my way to the hospital at 0435. Kevin and Mandi were dozing so I headed to the bathroom (which was giant and wonderful) to do a little bit of emailing and reading. At 0500 Mandi asked if we could rub her back and hips – her only contraction of needing attention from either of us.
Mandi received her second dose of the steroid that would help mature the babies lungs and she continued having mild contractions about 10-15 minutes apart, but they didn’t require much of Mandi’s attention. She just dozed on and off.
Wednesday proved to be a rather uneventful day. We lazed around the hospital, watched a little TV, I washed Mandi’s hair and Sawyer came for a little visit.
I decided we should all turn in early so I went to Kevin’s parent’s house around 2000. I didn’t actually go to sleep until 2230, but I really wanted Kevin and Mandi to go to sleep so I left the hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment