Wednesday morning our midwife Tanya told us that the LW was set for the prostaglandin gel and that we should make our way to the hospital. It was our last possible day to have CP at the Birth and Women's Health Center, so we got right on it. After the requisite check-in and paperwork fumbling, we were put in a windowless room and told that we'd probably be there for 12 hours. Now there's nothing that'll take the wind out of your sails like going to the hospital for what you thought would be an in-and-out procedure and realizing that you're stuck there. You're not only stuck there though, there's a chance that your wife will go into labor and all you brought with you were the clothes on your back and a book to read. We got lucky. The nurse, Anne, came in and told us that she needed to check with Tanya to see which gel we were getting. There's one kind that's a slow release kind of deal and the other just gets squirted near the cervix. She came back in and told us that we'd be using the kind that only required a 3 hour stay. SWEEEEET! All that was settled and we just waited.

Anne came in to apply the gel and see the monitor readings. The LW and CP were working as advertised and all was well. The gel went on and the LW was at 2cm/80%. Anne is evidently the resident gel master as the LW's contractions started hammering away soon after it was applied. This continued until 3pm when we were to go over to the birth center. By this time, she could not walk or talk during the contractions and was working on her bedside white-knuckle grip technique. By the time the release papers came, her grip was in top form. She was at 4cm and we were off to the house to pick up our stuff and head the the birth center.

Evidently, my driving does nothing to soothe the discomfort of contractions. It's not hot enough for all of the snowbirds to have left town, so driving was a bit sketchy. There are numerous gerontology specialists and drugstores along the route from our house as well. I sketched "wife in labor" in the dust and pollen on the back of the car as an open apology to those who I offended during our drive.

In the front door of the birth center we went. Suitcase and aching wife in hand. The midwives were in a meeting and as we walked by the doorway, I heard one of them say, "It looks like they're moving in..". We were. We just didn't know it would be a 20-hour stay at the time. Nothing like a wife in labor and a husband with a suitcase to get things stirring though. Chris came in and helped get things settled before taking off for the day. Tanya was with the LW in short order and things were moving along nicely. The LW was moving through the contractions using the breathing stuff that she uses for yoga. It worked well, but as we would learn later, it's all about how well you can control the muscles of your pelvic basin and floor.

I got on the phone to everyone and let them know that things were ready to crank up. Short messages, but happy news! The gang started showing up around 5 or so and by 7, they were all there. It was good to have them there too. Melissa, "Oma" Darlene, our doula Caryn, and Lisa rounded out the friends and family crew and everyone settled in to watch the early part of the show.


By 7pm or so, the LW had come entirely out of her clothes and didn't care who saw her that way. She was having serious contractions with euphoria in between. She had spent time up on the bed hung over the ball and in the tub. Caryn really helped the LW through the contractions and the rest of us took turns holding the LW's hands during them. By this time I could see that we had made the right decision to have Caryn help us out. She's the best! She said the right things, did the right things, and best of all, took the heat off of me. The LW takes everything that I say differently than what comes from other people and this really saved our butts and kept the birth process from getting ugly..until the end, but I'll get to that.

Between 8 and 9pm, the grunting/yelling portion of the process began. She spent a good bit of time laboring on the toilet and birthing stool during this portion. Her knees aren't the best, so the squatting idea wasn't an option early on. The LW was completely worn out by this time and didn't really know who or what was around her. We all tried to keep her drinking water and I brought some Cytomax energy drink mix with me as well. I don't know where we'd be without that stuff. It seemed to give her just enough juice to keep going and it didn't make her sick. Some time between 9pm and 1am, she must have hit "transition", but she couldn't tell. She was doing so well, but was so tired.



1am and then 1:30am came and went and the gang was still taking turns. Caryn ran the support crew and stayed with the LW pretty much the entire time. The LW was "purple pushing" by this time and it was hard to watch. She had begun to fade out a bit. She was pushing against her own pelvic muscles. When she went into a contraction, she also tightened these musles and was basically fighting against her own strength. (Note to female cyclists. Figure out which muscles you'll need to relax ahead of time or you'll regret it.) Tanya seemed to think that labor was progressing, but by about 1:45am, I was concerned and begin to question whether or not we should call it after 13 hours and ship her over to TMC for a C-section. Tanya, and Tiffany (our wonderful nurse) were thinking of the possibility of a vacuum extraction and the LW said that she'd rather be cut open than have something like that done to the baby. They refused to give up and didn't let the LW give up either. About this time, the squatting option came into play. Caryn had her under the arms and she sat a bit on a little 8" tall horshoe-shaped stool. I don't know who makes that stool, but I'd like to hug them as I am eternally grateful to them and the people who put it in that room.

I got more involved near the end and stopped worrying about whether everyone could see or whether I was getting in the way. CP was on the way now as her head was almost near the opening. On a couple of the strong squatting pushes, I could actually see her head moving out. This is where it got really exciting, but also worriesome, as the LW was almost completely spent and I knew that she couldn't take much more. Tanya and Tiffany were on either side of me making sure that I didn't screw anything up. The LW kept working on her positioning and pushing and things began to happen fast. Melissa worked so well at keeping hot compresses made and Darlene passed them along for the rotation. I put my yell ("Push that baby out damnit!!") in with the rest of the encouraging words that the LW was getting and I got the "you're number one" gesture that she often makes with her middle finger. I had her attention and she was mad. I think that making her mad gave her a little bit of a boost. She's pretty powerful when she's mad and I've seen it more than once! A few more contractions and little CP's head was cresting. It seemed like only a minute had passed when after the contraction stopped, her head no longer ducked back out of sight. It was now staying there. Her head was just sitting there, trying to make its way out. We worked the edges back and away and applied some lubricant to the head and surrounding tissues. Tanya asked me to push the head down, but when I did, it mashed her skull in, leaving imprints, and that was just more than I could stand. I stuck to doing the warm compresses on her distended perineum and let Tanya do the head work. More contractions came and with a flush of blood, fluid, and skin, CP's head came completely out. She was draining well and her face was down and to the LW's left. Tanya and Tiffany got her cleaned up a bit and the LW got to see her head out. I couldn't take my eyes of of the baby, but I wish that I'd seen the LW's expression. She was in the home stretch and would be done in only moments. While Tanya was working on CP's exposed head, she figured out what some of the problem was. CP's right hand was up near her face and under her head during the labor and delivery. She had come through the canal with not only her head taking up space, but her arm too. I looked over at Tiffany and asked her if all of the blood was normal. She assured me that it was and that I shouldn't worry. The LW was doing just fine. She also said that the other shoulder would come next. Another contraction and more encouragement to the LW were followed by another flush of blood and more flesh. The other shoulder had cleared and this time, CP was free.



The LW and I had been worried about this kid since the early portions of the pregnancy when it looked like things weren't going to work - when, for 12 weeks or so of constant vomiting she was losing a pound a week. Now she had bounced back and we'd made it through all of the hurdles. As a beautiful little body emerged from the LW's, all that I could do was laugh out loud. All of the worry, questioning, waiting, and wondering were gone in a flash and our anxiety spilled on the floor, finished. Without cleaning her or anything, CP was put right up on the LW's chest. Melissa cranked open the oxygen bottle while Tanya gave it to her and Tiffany helped to get other things rolling and checked out. Blood was still streaming out as Cady gained some color and everyone savored our fleeting special time.


She's home and beautiful now after wonderful care at the birth center. Our morning nurse Lisa helped us understand some of the things from the baby owner's manual after Tiffany bought us breakfast. I don't know how we'd have made it through today without those pancakes! Before we left, our pediatrician stopped by to pronounce CP as healthy. It's a little after 5am here and we haven't had much sleep, as everyone advised, but we haven't missed it either. The sun of Cady's first full day is coming up and there are too many beautiful things going on in that baby's face. If I fall asleep, I might miss some of it.