Happy Birthday!!!!

Many moons ago, a mother went to the L & D ward of her local hospital. She had a baby who couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to come into the world or not so his birth was prearranged. She was nervous, worried and a bit scared of what to expect this time around as she knew deep down it would be a very different type of birth and not just because of it being scheduled and induced.

Everything seemed to go OK and was pretty uneventful with the exception of a small nagging trickle of fear that the one unfavorable midwife and another icky person would be there to attend the birth. Progress wasn't really made because everything was going so slowly even with the stuff that was suppose to speed things up. The belts of the monitor were pinchy tight. The position needed to be in for them and the tubes of the drips was uncomfortable.  The uncertainty if the father would make it in time and if he would or wouldn't being the icky one weighed heavily down.

 The promised pain relief and antibiotics didn't come. Which added an additional nagging thought to buzz around one's already worried mind. The you'll have your baby in a couple of hours didn't happen, time marched slowly by, and the lack of action was unnerving instead of soothing.

Then a friendly face popped around the door like the sun from behind a dark cloud. One of the nagging fears/concerns was quickly relieved when it was revealed that the most esteemed, lovely midwife could be the attendant but only if the baby came in time and beat the clock.This midwife promised she was going to make things happen and that she did while also cautioning that it would be unlikely she'd be around to deliver. She allowed a change of position and broke the bag of waters while talking to the babe to come out. She promised to correct the issue with the antibiotics, get some pain relief so rest could be had before the big event and also to alert the NICU people just in case.

The mother and baby must have taken the clock comment to heart it seems because the clock didn't matter in the end. In fact the baby came faster than anyone expected. It caught everyone by surprise as there wasn't time for the ordering of the required antibiotics let alone pain management, there wasn't time for many, many things that were planned to happen. There was barely time to get a whole bunch of nameless, faceless emergency/NICU people to the room.

The mother was embarrassed for her over all loss of control. It seemed to come out in a nasty display of cursing as she fought to get in control of the power surging through her body, to remain on her back when her very cells were screaming for her to change positions with  intense back breaking type pain, and the people that were gawking at her didn't help any either. If she had ever felt the need for modesty in her life this was the time she felt it greatly and that was the last thing she'd get. The mother marveled at how powerful her body was and how strong her instincts were to do certain things even though she wasn't able to do them as felt guided. She wanted to change position as she knew it would help and was right but wasn't in a place where she could do that and it confused her. It was a big relief when the baby finally came out and it was discovered to be a boy. The word of that moment in time for her was Redemption.

The baby was of good weight 7 lbs 2 oz although there was a need for a whiff or two of oxygen and warmth. He  didn't have to be rushed off to the NICU right away. A brief moment of a couple of minutes with his mother to hold him was allowed. His father shadowed him while the staff did the business of checking him out and monitoring him that the meconium required.

It was a good thing as the mother knew something wasn't quite right and didn't want to freak the baby's father out  as she was freaking her mother out stayed with her by insisting that something wasn't right. It wasn't but an hour later that it was discovered just how right her nagging feeling was that this birth would be different and something not so good was going to happen. If her mother hadn't been there to fetch the nurse...If the kind nurse hadn't been so concerned about getting her cleaned up properly from the loss of  what was assumed to be bladder control.... the hemorrhage might not have been discovered in time.  But it was and while the recovery was a bit harder than it could have been and the concern for the odd breathing sounds and weird nursing issue were dismissed, they both are here today.

It's hard to believe that 14 years have passed. That the little bundle that had to be held just so and struggled so much to eat is now bigger than I am. That the little wisp of a baby is growing into a fine sturdy young man with a bright future.

May his day be extra special and he know how much he loved, wanted and needed. May he have many more years to come.

Happy Birthday to my dear son.