New Baby: The Delivery
The Delivery
And soon the end was in sight! Except that stormy waters lay ahead….
Regular readers know that Mrs Levee has had an acute pelvic pain throughout this pregnancy. Opening her legs wide enough to deliver a baby just wasn’t an option.
Initially, she tried to give birth in the regular ‘on the back’ position, but realised that the pain would be unbearable. Other positions were tried and failed. On the left side. On the right side. Sitting up higher and pushing down. Nothing was working. The midwife was starting to worry that the baby was getting tired, which in turn worried Mrs L.
In the end, we settled for the pragmatic, but undignified ‘kneeling up’ position. This involved the bed back being put in an upright position and Mrs L kneeling up against it. Being vertical, she had the added advantage of gravity when pushing with a contraction.
Anyway, there was a bit of a lull. You know, a calm before the storm. So the midwife made a cup of tea.
And there we are, me and the midwife, having a chat and a cuppa. I’m on the right of the bed, she’s on the left. And in the middle is Mrs Levee, with her back to us and her backside poking out the back of the hospital robes! Such a weird moment!
All of a sudden, Mrs L gave an almighty heave. The midwife’s eyes went wide and before I could register what was happening, she was yelling at me to call the other midwife from outside! In a panic, I ran out and retrieved the woman from outisde the room.
As I turned back into the room, I caught the first glimpse of our newborn - head and one arm already in the world, the rest of him waiting to come out! And the most bizarre thought came into my head: “He’s waving at me!”
It wasn’t long until the baby was out after that. For the first time ever, the midwife called me over to hold him while they cut the cord. I’d never held the others while they were covered in afterbirth before, but it was a lovely (if gooey) moment!
The next half-hour was a flurry of activity as Mrs L and the baby were cleaned up and the delivery suite was transformed from a veritable bloodbath, back into the faux-bedroom that it had been when I first arrived!
We were then left alone for a while to bond with the baby and spend some time together. We were all exhausted after the birth and sat in silence for a while before considering when would be best to start phoning around with the news.
Thanks for that fantastic post - as a rather squeamish expectant father (is there such a thing ?) your post has helped me get my head around our expected new delivery in January !
Found your blog while trialing the new google blog search (keyword:cushendall - I grew up there but left NI almost 10 years ago for England and a few other parts of the world).
All the best to you and your family,
Seamus
Seamus, thanks for dropping by. I’m originally a Ballycastle man myself!
Of course the birth is just the beginning of the story, but it’s a really special time.
I remember when our first was born, I was so overwhelmed by emotion I couldn’t stop crying and neither could Mrs Levee.
I hope the delivery goes smoothly and you and your wife/partner are blessed with a wonderful new addition! When’s the baby due?