I have not posted here for a couple of weeks because I have been busy with welcoming a new member of our family! On March 11th my daughter gave birth to her first baby, a beautiful little girl! We are all over the moon that she is here.
My daughter had a very smooth pregnancy. All nine months were as they should be. She had typical symptoms as her belly grew, with nothing out of the ordinary popping up. Everything was normal.
The due date came and went.
A week after the due date the doctor decided it was to time to induce. It seems these days it is preferred that mama and baby not go too far beyond the due date. But, this little baby did not seem to agree. Induction was slow. My daughter endured a day and a half of ‘techniques’ and a slow drip of pitosin. She was not able to eat during that time, and had an IV in for some nourishment. Finally when it was time to push and deliver the baby my daughter did ‘the hardest thing she ever did’ because her baby was stubborn. Major pushing and forceps finally brought little Madelynn Paulette into the world.
She was immediately swept away because she swallowed some mercurochrome as she arrived. There was no time for cuddling, no time for pictures taken, no Immediate joy. Just exhaustion and both parents experienced a bit of confusion and letdown. The doc and all the helpers in the room did the right thing but it was not what the new parents hoped the delivery would be.
There is more to this story, including little Madelynn spending some time in the NICU, and the need for my daughter to heal from the physical ordeal. I share the story because even though babies enter the world every single day, each one is a unique experience for the mother and father – especially the first time.
I remember learning my baby daughter was in the breech position after I had been in the hospital already for most of the day, in light labor. I had been checked by the nurses for some progress, but it wasn’t until my doctor came to see me, after his office hours were done, that he announced “that’s not a baby head I am feeling.” I quickly had an x-ray to determine that yes, my baby was ‘butt first’ and that that would never work! My doctor saw me a little after 6:00pm. After the x-ray, I was even more quickly prepped for surgery, and I had my daughter by c-section just a little after 7:00pm. This was many years ago, and it was such a surprise, and I was totally put under. Heavily sedated. I didn’t really remember anything until the next day.
Some women are lucky to deliver a baby In ‘textbook’ style. Some get a few sharp pains and then some pushes, and out comes the little one. But, I think far more have unexpected and uncertain, even fearful moments. For my daughter and husband they had to experience this during the pandemic. So, they had no in-person pre-birth classes. No ‘practice’ sessions and meeting other pregnant couples. They were not allowed to have family come to the hospital. They took the hospital tour ‘virtually.’
I have told my daughter that as time goes by, and as she and her husband care for their newborn, and they fall more and more in love with her, the birth won’t really matter. One day they will even tell about it like a ‘war story’ and laugh about it. They aren’t there yet. But one day little Madelynn will want to know how she arrived, And hear the story, and her parents will say the work, the pain, the fear, was all worth it!
Marla’s Musings 