The Adventure Begins

Isn't pregnancy and birthing funny...sometimes not "ha ha" funny, but more "what's that smell" funny. As a first time father, I can honestly say that patience is the only virtue that matters. You cannot rush a baby.

What has happened since the last entry is obviously from my perspective only, but I'll be as objective and unbiased as I can be. Mommy L should have a very different recollection of events, but after all, this is my blog. Regardless, the events that have passed have uniquivocally changed my life...

After going to the hospital, we were told that Mommy L was only 3 cm. They didn't want to send us home since she was having regular contractions. The nurse wanted us to walk around for two hours to see if things progress. The comment was "you don't have 'THE LOOK'"...whatever that means. So we walked. Now, despite how big a hospital is, there is only so many places one can walk in two hours. Needless-to-say, we now know the hallways of the Womans Hospital intimately since our two hour walk changed into a three hour walk with no progression. So we were sent home at 11:30 am.

While at home we could do nothing but wait so I slept. Mommy L was still having contractions which were intesifying. We didn't want to go to the hospital and be sent back again so she took a warm shower (which is supposed to help the baby "drop"). It may have helped if we hadn't run out of hot water.

I woke up to find my dear wife experiencing contractions 2 minutes apart, but lasting only 30 seconds (yes, I know it's only "only" for the men). Instead of going to the hospital and being sent back, we decided to call the hospital. The time at this point is 2:30 pm. The nurse in admiting remembered us - the "walkers" -and suggested to slow down the contractions to have a bath. I find this logic a little backwards (since I thought we were trying to increase the frequency and duration of the contractions) until she tells me that not only do the contractions have to increase and intensify, but the mother must be dialated 10 cm. Pregnancy is an intricate symphony of activity in the woman's body - in which the men are the ushers. The other problem is that the last suggestion was to take a long hot bath, BUT we're out of hot water because of the previous showering suggestion. Being the resourceful person that I am; I do it old school style and I boil some water on the stove and pour it pot by pot into the bathtub.

After the bath, the contractions started up again...this time with a vengence. Poor Mommy L is in tears with every contraction. It came to the point that Mommy wanted to go to the hospital even for a shot of morphine to relieve the pain (which the nurse had earlier suggested) so off we went again.

This time as soon as we walked into the admitting area, the nurses said that Mommy L had now got "the Look". Upon further evaluation, it turns out that Mommy L was now dilated 6 cm! Unexpectly, we were going to be admitted and going to have a baby soon! I new sense of joy, excitement and fear washed over me as the realization that I was going to be a father dawned on me (okay, I never said that I was that bright - but better late than never, right?).



Mommy L received an epidural at 6 pm to relieve the pain and it worked like a charm. She went from excruciating pain to total calm. After waking from her nap at 10:30 pm, Mommy L was fully dilated at 10 cm and could start pushing. I won't get into the intricate details of the birth, but it suffices to say that it looked more painful and strenuous than anything I'll ever experience - the term "labor" is well coined as it doesn't look like fun. My sister JM was in the room during the entire labor and documented everything - from the early stages when I was watching the Oilers knock out the Ducks to the crowning and subsequent birthing of dear Evann (those pictures will not be viewed by the public though).

After an hour and a half of pushing, the long journey finally came to an end for my little boy (and champion Mommy). Little Evann made his grand debut. There is nothing more breathtaking and magical than watching your child being birthed. Tears of pure joy started streaming down my face as soon as I saw his beautiful face (originally I thought they were sweat drops, but my vision was blurred so I assume that they were tears). I cut the umbilical cord with precision of a surgeon - for those who have yet to experience it - the Dr. simply says to "cut here" - it's more simple than making snowflakes in Grade 1 since there was no folding involved.



So..the Adventure Began on May 28, 2006 at 00:01 (12:01 am for you non-metric people). I am an extremely proud father and husband. Both mother and child are doing wonderfully. I'm looking forward to the next challenge...the first few days...