We're all in the room this morning marveling at the little wonder. Napi's parents just arrived and the 'nut has gone from being very fussy to relaxing just as he was yesterday. In fact, just as soon as his momma picked him up he settled down. Napi claims she will not spoil this boy, but I can see where things are headed already! Meanwhile I've noticed that I'm doing something I tend to do with babies; talking to him in patois. That's a good thing because if I can figure out a way to do it he will walk that line like his dad; able to speak "proper English" with his American friends, and very capable of speaking and understanding the patois of his second home - Jamaica!
So what happened last night? Things started off pretty slow once we arrived at the hospital. From 7am to 12pm we pretty much cooled our heels waiting for them to hook up the pitocin. Once they had the IV set up, things started cooking. At first the contractions were pretty mild, but then Dr. Nguyen broke her water and almost immediately the contractions started picking up steam and within an hour it was clear Napi was in pretty good pain. What really complicated things was the frequency of the contractions. I'm guessing they were coming around every three minutes and lasting at least a minute each. It got to a point where Napi couldn't really collect herself and brace for the next one. They had her get on her hands and knees while I applied pressure to her back and that seemed to work for all of 2-seconds before she started crying out in pain. Up until they inserted the epidural, Napi's hips and back hurt like hell. She'd been hurting for months in those areas and labor just took the pain to another level. When it became clear that the pain was absolutely crushing her, the call went out for the epidural and once that thing was in the pain just about vanished.
Have any of you seen that MTV show "Run's House" (of Run DMC fame)? You know how his wife always sounds as though she is drugged up? That's about how Napi appeared once that epidural went in and I now see why some folks try to avoid it. Poor Napi looked as though she had taken some serious narcotics at that point. So the contractions died down and spread out, my Mom revised her midnight estimate to 0400 via telephone, and I kept talking to Napi as the march continued.
But then we had the scare. We had noticed that Peanut's heart rate kept dropping as the contractions increased in intensity. He would go from ticking in the mid 120's to the low 90's. The nurses checked it and hooked Napi up to an oxygen mask and continued to monitor the situation. But then the contractions started picking up steam again and this time the 'nut's heart rate nose-dived into the 50's. That brought Christine (the nurse who would eventually assist Dr, Nguyen) running in. I'm not sure what she gave Napi, but she immediately injected some red fluid into her IV and disconnected the pitocin. Meanwhile she gets on the intercom and tells the nurse station that they "need another nurse in the room now and get Dr. Nguyen here immediately - we have a "decel." Napi looks over at me and asks if everything is ok and doing my best "be cool" impression I explain that his heart rate is dipping a little on the contractions, but he's doing just fine. I wasn't sure if it would help but I started walking her through some deep breathing exercises hoping the extra oxygen would help keep his heart rate up. That seemed to help somewhat as the dips would taper off in the mid-90's before going back up to the high 120's. What we didn't realize at that point was that this was becoming a big issue outside the room. As Christine would later describe it, she was biting her nails every time his heart rate dipped. They did a cervix check and Napi had jumped from 3-6 in a short period of time. That was a good sign, but again, outside the story was a little different. We still had no idea just how serious this heart rate thing was, though it was certainly a concern to those of us in the room.
We pack my mom in a cab and she's off to the train station to meet catch her flight, while Napi's contractions have almost disappeared due to the pitocin being reduced. They kick it back up and as the contractions build, Stacy (our first nurse) suggests that Napi might be knocking on 9cm now. No such luck though - turns out she's still stuck in the 5/6 range. Stacy's shift is over and she takes off, but not before hugging us all and promising to check in on us in the morning. True to her word, she was here bright and early. Meanwhile Napi is just about knocked out (i.e. sleeping, as was her mom) and we're in a holding pattern while the mysterious heart-rate dips continue. Around 2000 Napi's parents take off to grab some food and the nurses come in for one last check. Progress! She's now at 8cm but there are new developments. She's shivering like crazy and the Peanut dips have taken on new urgency. The nurse is now seriously concerned, and apparently so is Dr. Nguyen. For the first time we hear the C-word mentioned and the very real possibility of Napi having to undergo an emergency C-Section is slowly dawning on us. At this point Napi's parents have returned (and unknown to her are eating Chipotle burritos in the room - something she had asked me not to do, but ultimately didn't seem to bother her) and Christine and Dr. Nguyen are floating around the room monitoring Peanut's heart rate. They decide to do one last check (we would later learn that had she not reached 10cm at that point, the c-section would have been ordered), and as luck would have it, she's at 10cm and something called "plus 2" whatever that means. Napi chimes in that she's experiencing this urge to push and just like that we've arrived at the moment.
Perhaps the funniest part of this whole thing is Mr. G - Napi's dad and his efforts to keep Lil' Sis informed of Napi's progress. He gets on his cellphone with Lil' Sis and basically holds the phone out so she can hear what's going on. At one point he was doing this from behind a curtain, until the nurse advised that he could stay in the room. And that's how Napi's baby sister got to listen in on Peanut's birth.
So they pull Napi's knees up and in sets of three order her to push: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; release, deep breath, now push - 1,2,3...I'm counting them off, and in between each set I've got the oxygen mask on her face and walking her through some deep breathing exercises in preparation for the next contraction. She does this for about 6 minutes and in between my counts I'm hearing her mom saying "I can see his head!" They order Napi to stop pushing and Dr. Nguyen and Christine start donning their outfit, but apparently the 'nut wasn't waiting on anyone - he continues to inch his way out of there. They get their "scrubs" on just in time for Napi to take two long strong pushes and out he came.
Turns out his umbilical cord had become wrapped around his neck and the contractions would tighten the cord, causing his heart rate to drop. He sputtered briefly, yelled out a cry or two and then started looking around at everyone. In fact, according to Napi's parents, his eyes were open even before he had fully arrived. An incredible experience and one I'll never forget. Off to upload pics to the camera!!
Watch Him Grow!
