On London Time

We got pregnant while on an assignment in Pattaya, Thailand; a celebration on the evening that Barak Obama was elected as president of the United States. London was due July 27^th. We made plans to have a “home birth” in the Residence Inn, Chicago. Angela had made arrangements for Jonni Felton and her kids to come out to Chicago for the last week in July.

The Felton’s made it to Chicago, and we went to the Field museum, and walked to the Hancock Center on Saturday, August 1^st. That evening, around 11:30 pm, Angela started having some regular contractions. Anticipating a long night, I suggested that we get some sleep. While we were both excited, I managed to sleep for a solid 5 hours. Angela laid down for most of the night, but was awakened every 7-10 minutes with contractions. At 7:00 am, I called the midwife, Hillary. Hillary listened to Angela breath through a contraction, and decided that the pushing phase was still several hours away, so told us to call back in a few hours. After I hung up with Hillary, I called Jonni to see if she was available to come over to offer Angela some support.

Jonni was planning to drive back to Yankton, South Dakota that day (August 2^nd), and considering it is a solid 9-10 hours of driving, she needed to leave Chicago by noon. She came over to help out around 7:45 am, and helped wash Angela’s hair and offer moral support. At that time, I also re-arranged the furniture in the hotel room (Residence Inn, Rosemont) to allow for the inflatable birthing tub to be placed in the middle of the floor. I also began to tidy up the second bedroom which had been a nesting project, but would act as the nursery and post labor exam room. We continued to do whatever we could to make Angela more comfortable, which involved feeding her ice chips, Gatorade, toast, yogurt, granola, and a banana. I called Angela’s friend, Kyle King, and asked if she could come over around noon to replace Jonni. Kyle was excited to come, but was interviewing doula’s until about 1:00 pm. We also called Hillary again, and she said she would come over around noon. So just after Jonni left for her long trip back to South Dakota, Hillary and Kyle came to help support Angela and London.

When Hillary showed up, she checked Angela to find that she was 5 cm dilated, and nearly 100% effaced. Angela wanted to keep a live blog feed to update her on-line support crew on the progress of the delivery, so I kept the online community informed. The hours began to blur together, as Angela alternated between the bath tub and the bed as her contractions were getting closer together and more intense. I remember putting on my swimming suit and sitting on the edge of the bathtub for more than an hour as Angela sat on the birthing ball in the tub with the shower on. We began to fill the birthing tub with warm water, and Kyle showed up with 8 different kinds of red Popsicles for Angela to choose from.

Another check showed that Angela was now 7 cm dilated, but in order to keep the progress going, Hillary suggested that Angela wait to get in the tub until she was closer to 8 cm. Another shower and some lunch (I had a leftover piece of pizza and a few bites of the bacon & ranch Suddenly Salad) allowed enough time to get through the transformation stage. Angela got into the tub around 4:00 pm, which was also the time that the Midwife’s assistant, Tera, showed up. Shortly after getting into the tub, it was time to start pushing.

I set up the computer speakers, and began playing the hypnobabies soundtracks in the background. Kyle continued to update the blog, and the support from the online community poured in. Kyle also filmed some of the labor, and took various pictures, which turned out fantastic! As Angela began to push, Hillary suggested various positions, that were more comfortable and effective, and after her water broke, Hillary also helped to slide a small lip of the cervix out of the way to open the birth canal. As the pushing waves continued, Hillary helped by explaining that Angela should use the entire wave of the contraction to help push the baby out. Angela pushed while floating on her back, then flipped over to attempt pushing while on her hands and knees. While pushing, Angela kept using her hands to feel for the baby. I still had my swimming suit on, but tried to support from outside of the pool. If she was on her back, that involved holding her shoulders, and whispering our hypnobabies cues, such as peace and relax, in her ear. If she was on all fours, I looked her in the eyes, and tried to give her all the comfort and support I could.

As the baby began to crown, Angela started to arch her back during the contractions. Hillary explained that arching her back would be counter-productive, and that in order for the pushing to be more effective, Angela would have to bear down. Hillary suggested that I hold Angela down in the pool prevent her from arching her back, and continue to offer support and encouragement as the baby crowned. I looked down to see some of London’s hair, and within a couple pushes, I could see the top of his head. In an effort to encourage Angela with her progress, I asked to make sure she could feel the baby (meaning with her hand). Hillary, Kyle, and Tera looked at me with astonishment, and sarcastically assured me that Angela could feel it. While I attempted to clarify what I meant, their comments seemed to lighten the mood, and Angela floated on her back in good spirits as I realized that London’s birth was very close.

I remained seated at her head, as Angela used several more contractions to push London out. After the crowning, she reached down and gave everyone a play-by-play. Angela was now very close, and cried, “I am going to tear!” Everyone continued to encourage her to push, and then with tears of joy and pain, Angela proclaimed “the head is out!” Angela was then able to go into nursing mode as she reached down to catch London. She repeated to herself to breathe and keep the baby down. On the last contraction, London came out of the womb, and she brought him up to her chest. Just as I saw the baby, Angela announced with excitement “It’s a boy!!” I (and everyone else in the room) shed a tear as London opened his mouth and let out a tiny wail. Angela continued to proclaim “and he has ear lobes!” All I could do was whisper to her “you are amazing!” Everyone in the room was silent, and with her new energy, Angela said “he is perfect!” then she said “Hi London” and encouraged him to keep crying.

I was still sitting on the chair at her head, dumbstruck at what had just happened. I know we had discussed the names, and agreed that it was between London and Collin. We had also settled on the middle name of Reid or Jacob. However, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the first time that Angela held a baby and said “Hi London, you are just perfect!” Hillary asked that we were going to name him London, and I began to whisper Jacob, Jacob, Jacob into Angela’s ear. I had nothing against Reid, but every time I heard the name Reid, I thought of Dillon and Traverse Reid from Pee-Wee softball, and I didn’t want to name my child with someone else in mind. Angela agreed that his middle name would be Jacob, and she continued to hold him on her chest. Hillary noted the time on the stove did not match the time on the microwave, so we used a cell phone to determine that London was born at 5:50 pm on August 2, 2009.

As she floated in the tub, Angela put London to her breast, and he began to nurse immediately. She said the cord was short, and it was uncomfortable to pull him all the way out of the water. After about 5 minutes, the cord stopped pulsing, and Tera clamped the cord in two places. I was given the shears to cut the cord, and despite Angela’s reminder me how spongy the cord would be, the tissue cut just as I expected. A small amount of blood spilled into the pool, and Tera took a vial of cord blood for testing. As London continued to nurse, the placenta was delivered into the pool. By that time, the pool water looked pretty murky, and Hillary took London as I helped Angela out of the pool.

Angela came out of the pool into the spare bedroom, where we had chux pads, a shower curtain, and several sheets waiting. After a minute of looking for a flashlight, they used my UOP inspection light to perform Angela’s post-delivery evaluation. I held London for a few minutes while Hillary tended to Angela. I noticed that London had quite a bit of congestion, and Hillary suggested that crying is the best way for him to clear his lungs. It was emotionally difficult for me to try to make him cry, but rubbing his head seemed to work the best. After a few photos, I took off my shirt, and held him skin-to-skin until Angela was ready to hold him again. As Angela got stitched up, I brought London back and placed him on her chest to continue to practice nursing. Hillary was surprised at how little bleeding there was, and commented several times how great Angela did. We put a towel on Angela’s midsection, and Tera practiced stitching on Angela.

When Angela was taken care of, it was time for the part I was most looking forward to: London’s newborn assessment. They had a small tape measure to measure his head, torso and length. His head circumference was 34 cm, and he was 19.5” long. We used a cloth with a small scale to determine that he was between 6.5 and 6.6 lbs. My thought was that London weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz, but Hillary rounded up to 6 lbs, 10 oz. Kyle had filmed and photographed the whole thing and updated the blog accordingly.

After a few more pictures, and Hillary and Tera began to pack up their things. Kyle asked if we were hungry, and Angela jumped at the opportunity to get Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo from the Olive Garden. Kyle ordered our meals (I had Chicken Parmesan) and volunteered to drive the 25 minutes to the Olive Garden to pick up dinner. Tera and Hillary carried their things out to the car, and I carried a load of gauze and wrappings to the dumpster. We decided to empty the water and clean up the tub the next day. Kyle got back with the Olive Garden between 9 and 10, and she congratulated us once again before going home.

Just as we started eating, my mom called to see how things were going. Outside of the people at the delivery, and several people on the Internet support group, nobody knew that London was born. My mom was completely thrilled as I told her the news. As we sat down to eat, the exhaustion began to set in, and my back was incredibly stiff after hovering over the pool all afternoon. I ate half of my chicken, and Angela had a couple bread sticks before we put the dinner in the fridge. I sent a text to Jonni, who was still driving to Yankton, and Angela called her mom on Skype to tell her the good news. Then I called my mom back on Skype, so she could see London on the computer screen. After I hung up with mom, I called my dad, who was stuck on a layover in Detroit while on the way to Lexington, Kentucky on business. He was also very happy to hear that everything went so smoothly and we had a healthy baby boy. As I got ready for bed, I left messages on Jenny and Jeremy’s voicemail to give me a call back.

I don’t remember if I slept well that night, but I know it felt good to get a shower, brush my teeth, and lay down. I woke up late the next morning and went to work just before lunch time. I told my boss, and several other people that were in the office that we had just had our baby boy and everything went beautifully. I told them I would finish up the procedures that I was writing, and take the rest of the week as vacation. Hillary came back for a 24 hour assessment, and we took London to Home First pediatricians for his one-week checkup. The following week would be furlough, so would plan to travel to Fairmont, MN to stay at the condo on the lake.

I am writing this at the end of the furlough, and those two weeks have gone by faster than I can believe. I am not looking forward to going back to work yet, as it feels like my summer vacation has come to an end. London is only two weeks old, but I can already see that he is growing. Everyone says that they grow up too fast, and I am sure that will be the case. I am very thankful that things worked out so well and am more in love than ever with my amazing wife. I am looking forward to our new life as a family, and all the adventures we will get to have with London.