Expectations

Before Alex was born, I had a lot of expectations rolling around in my head. I expected that one of the worst parts of being a new Dad would be changing diapers, and even before that I expected that the actual birth would be hugely traumatic for everyone involved. I expected that I would cry at the birth. Above all else I expected that I would have no idea just what to do with a fragile little life in my care. I didn't know what he would need, or want, or how to hold him, or how to watch him, or anything!

Well, four days into it at least, I'm happy to report that most of my expectations were wrong. Changing diapers is really not so bad. I've even gotten pretty good at it, and Alex doesn't even cry most of the time, just kind of mumbles or gurgles to himself until I'm done, kind of a gentle protest.

Dana was incredible during her birthing time. As I mentioned earlier, her water broke Friday morning at about 5:30am. We were lying in bed when Dana woke me up and simply said, "I think my water broke". This is going to sound stupid, I know, but I was caught completely off guard. I guess I just had not thought through the whole process, or at least I wasn't expecting it at such an early hour. But those five words got my day going right away, and I haven't looked back.

We had a scheduled OB appointment at 2pm on Friday, but we called the doctor's office when they opened, and were told to come in any time for a check-up. Dana was in no discomfort at all, except for some leaks, so we were in no hurry. I cleaned the kitchen and baked a loaf of chocolate-chip banana bread while Dana got some things together, packed for the hospital. We sat down together and finished our birth plan. Then we headed down to Longmont. The doctor put her on a fetal monitor for 30 minutes and discerned that the baby was in fine spirits and Dana was having tiny contractions, but nothing much big going on. They told us to check in at the hospital within 24 hours.

So we left and had lunch at Noodles and Company, stopped over to Dana's work so she could set her email out-of-office auto reply, and went to Borders to get a few magazines to read at the hospital. You can probably imagine how surprised Dana's coworkers were to see her after hearing the news about her bag of waters. "What are you doing here?!? Shouldn't you be at the hospital??" After our little shopping errands, we decided to try walking around. It was bitter cold outside -- sunny, but very, very windy and in the 30s, so Dana had the great idea of going to the local nursery (the plant kind). Inside the warm, humid, blossoming greenhouses, we had a delightful time walking through the greenery, smelling the herbs, roses, and citrus trees. By this time, around 4pm, Dana was still comfortable, but noticed twinges of cramps, or something.

We went home and I repacked our bags, since we had packed in a bit of a rush in the morning. We watched the Simpsons and had a bite to eat. By this time, Dana was starting to really notice the crampiness, but was still not really uncomfortable. They were about 8-10 minutes apart and about 30 seconds in duration. Over the course of an hour of the Simpsons, they got progressively more intense. Dana decided to take a shower, and we discussed heading for the hospital. By the time Dana was ready for the shower they were definitely noticeable and she had to sit down for each one. By the time she got out of the shower, we were ready for the hospital.

We arrived at Longmont United around 9:30. The main door was locked, requiring us to use the Emergency Room entrance about 100 yards away. As evidence of Dana's overall condition, she suggested we walk over there.

When we got up to the maternity unit, they ushered us into the triage room for a check-in check-up. But a kind, matronly and wise-looking nurse named Laurie swooped in from nowhere and said, "Hands off, this one's mine." She escorted us to our room, which was all ready for us, and began to make Dana as comfortable as was possible by then (around 10pm).

Laurie and Dana talked for about 40 minutes, and worked on positions that were the most comfortable. Laurie drew a bath for Dana in the huge in-room jacuzzi tub. Meanwhile Kelly, our doula, had arrived from Fort Collins, and also began ministering to Dana's needs.

Between 10pm and about 11:30, the contractions got much more intense, but still Dana was talkative and breathing through them like a champ. Her doctor showed up around then, and as soon as she saw Dana, she said, "OK, let's get ready to have this baby". She was almost there.

I won't lie to you, Dana was not a happy camper. But she just breathed and panted and whimpered and pushed her way through it and before we knew it, Alex's head slid out and he was all there! What a miracle!

I have to get to sleep now, lest I miss the window of opportunity afforded by Alex's nap. More on this later...

Before I forget -- the picture above -- last night we wanted to weight Alex, so we tried him on the kitchen scale. We discovered that it only goes up to 5 lbs, hence the "Error". Our little "Error".