transition

So at around 1am the midwife came by and said I was about 9 cm dilated. Hearing this I felt relieved and excited that the end was near.

Except I continued to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  2am.  3am.  When the midwife did finally come around again she explained to us that there were 6 other women in labor and the two on call doctors were pre-occupied with more difficult cases and she preferred that at least one of them was available before we began. Don't worry she assured me. The baby's heartbeat is very strong and there's no rush.

This made sense but at this point I had been having contractions for almost 24 hours and had been confined to a hospital bed for almost 12 hours.  I was exhaused and my patience was wearing thin. I was ready for it to be over.

Finally at around 4am the nurse came.  We're ready to begin she informed me.  I was relieved but filled with anticipation. This was it.  This was the big moment.

I waited as she proceeded to transform my hospital bed into a bed suitable for delivery, lifting up the bed and folding out the leg stirrups.  I was moved into position.  It felt a little like a stage setup for a big show.  Expecially when they pointed a giant spotlight right where the star of the show was expected to appear.

I was told to push with each contraction.

Unfortunately in this particular position my contractions weren't very strong.  I could hardly feel them at all.  Maybe I had overdone it with the epidural.

The midwife told me when to push.  I did.  She told me it wasn't good enough.

I wanted to kick her.

Get angry!  she told me.

Using my anger against her I pushed to the point where I was sure I was going to give myself an  aneurysm.

Not good enough!  She informed me.  I wanted to cry.  It was like seeing the finish line but as hard as I tried I just couldn't get there.

We continued for a while, me pushing and her telling me it wasn't good enough until she admitted the baby seemed stuck.  She brought in the gynecologist.

So they changed players in the middle of the game.  The gynecologist ready to catch the ball and the midwife by my side to assist.  She massaged my abdomen to feel for contractions except she couldn't feel them either.  I was convinced after all that time my contractions got tired of waiting, called it a day and left.

They had me push anyways and still nothing.

Then someone brought up the C word.

C-section.

I couldn't believe it. The thought of coming all this way just to have a c-section gave me renewed motivation.  

I must have made some process because they decided to try the vaccum.  I pushed and could feel the head come out.  I pushed again and felt the shoulders and eventually the sensation of something quite large leaving my body.

Curious I looked at the gynecologist and immediately knew something was wrong when I saw the look on her face.  She was staring down and concentrating intently on something.

Plus there was no crying. Then I felt some liquid splatter on my face and there it was finally.  The sound of a baby crying.  I was filled with relief.

They placed the baby on my chest.  I looked at this strange creature.  It looked like it had gone through a lot.  I could relate.

What is it?  Asked the midwife as we had waited to know the sex.  The midwife maneuvered the baby so we could all have a look.  It's a girl!  she exclaimed.

So there she was.  My little baby girl who had somehow gotten the umbilical chord wrapped around her neck not once but twice (It was blood splatter I felt on my face when the gynecologist quickly cut the chord).

She's already mischievous remarked her dad.

And how.