Special Delivery

The staff was surprised that Heather wasn't reacting too much to her contractions despite her dialation, so they decided to speed things up a bit with a Pitosin drip. That's when the real "fun" began. Contractions started to increase in frequency, intensity and regularity.

The staff changed at some point, and Lauren became our new nurse. She was very cheerful and helpful. Later we found out why we liked her so much, she was an Oklahoma State graduate from an all Oklahoma State family. She took really good care of Heather and later proved to be a real pro at delivery.

In childbirth class they show a poster illustrating the stages of labor. In the first phase, the mother's face looks happy, relieved and smiling. Heather was past this and into the second phase, where the mother has a furrowed brow and slightly concerned demeanor. The nurse was not surprised when Heather told her she was ready for the drugs. Nubain was supposed to make life easier, but had little effect. Finally Heather asked for the epidural.

Enter Steve the anastesiologist. What a contrast to Lauren. This man had the personality of a brick (a slightly irritated, highly focused brick of very few words). Even though Heather was in pain, she still maintained a sweeter disposition than him, not that you would expect anything less from her. Despite his propensity to ask questions to a woman in the middle of a contraction, Steve proved to be adequate at removing pain and made her much more comfortable. At that point they checked her progress and realized why the Nubain had no effect, it was only 9:15AM and she was already 70% dilated!

Heather said the rest of the labor was painless. Time seemed to really fly from this point as we just sat and watched the monitor that recorded the baby's heart rate and Heather's contractions. We had anticipated labor taking all day, but by 11:20AM Heather was fully dilated and Lauren told us she would start pushing in a few minutes. That's when the transformation happened and we realized that this was for real, that it was not a drill. We were having a baby right now!

The pushing started, and the baby was crowning almost immediately. Another realization hit me, I was witnessing a process that should be totally impossible and it was happening fast, right now, to us. Heather did a great job of pushing and in no time Lauren told us that it was time for the good doctor to come in and deliver. Neither of us could believe that our daughter was just a few moments away. It didn't seem real.

I had heard about fathers passing out, getting squeamish, or just being freaked out by the birthing process, but I was surprised to find that I was completely fascinated. It was something no one else could ever understand and something I couldn't imagine missing. Every second was a privelege to witness.

Our doctor was in a very good mood and immediately started making bets with the staff about how many more contractions it would take. After a couple pushes, he saw the progress he wanted and another major transformation occurred as our comfy suite and party of four turned into a delivery room. A whole staff of new people joined Lauren and the doctor. Then everyone donned new blue clothing from head to toe, including gowns, masks, and gloves. The doctor even wore a face shield. The dim light was replaced by a glaring overhead light, the warmer across the room came to life, and equipment seemed to come out of the walls to fill our once spacious room. There were no wasted motions and minimal talking. Even the mood had changed. These people meant business.

It definately felt "real" as the doctor repeated his prediction, "I'm confident we only have two more contractions left." On the predicted contraction our daughter was born! Her mouth and nostrils were quickly suctioned and they held her up for me to cut the cord. Finally she was handed to Heather. She was ours.

Heather did an amazing job and came through the whole procedure with no major complications. She endured fatigue and pain without complaint, just great effort and great love. She is going to make a great Mom.