Labor and Delivery

I awoke Thursday morning, two days before her due date, to find myself alone in bed. I sat up to find Aileen sitting in the chair, staring at the clock. I immediately knew.

“How many minutes?” I asked.

“Five or six,” she replied.

“Since when?” I asked.

“Midnight,” she sighed.

It had been too uncomfortable to lay down with the contractions, so she had spent the last seven hours sitting in the chair. She had not gotten any sleep. The minute her head nodded off during the night, she was rudely awakened by another contraction.

She bared the birth pains as best as she could for another ten hours before she couldn’t take it any longer. “Let’s go,” she said. So I grabbed the suitcase, my coat, and the keys and were on our way.

In triage, Aileen was already four centimeters dilated and was admitted to labor and delivery at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was visibly uncomfortable with each contraction, but when the epidural was placed, she was a new person. Those of you who urged her to get the epidural, you were right!

At midnight, she was ten centimeters dilated and started to push. After 2 hours and 44 minutes of pushing, a head full of hair popped through. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his head but was quickly removed by the doctor. Then the rest of his body slid right out and he immediately started to cry. I don’t quite remember what happened next, but the baby was placed on Aileen’s belly and her first words were, “Ooooooohhhhh, ooooohhhhhh, baby…look at you.” Like a good pediatrician, she vigorously dried him off. The OB presented me with the cord and scissors which I clumsily cut. Then the baby was taken to the warmer for a routine checkup.

I followed the baby to the warmer and while Aileen was waiting for the placenta to arrive, she said, “I think he looks like an Ian.” I agreed. Ian Jukes Namm born at 2:44 a.m. on November 13, 2009, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. Ian: God's gracious gift. It was the luckiest Friday the 13^th ever.