Edward
Last Thursday, Bex had a boy, who we've named Edward. It was a long traumatic affair - an induction followed by an emergency cesarean section, and that almost 24 hours after Bex admitted herself into hospital. The end result is, of course, what counts, and we have a lovely healthy (9lbs9oz) baby - a son and a brother. We couldn't be happier.
Bex really wanted a natural birth, but it seems that she would never have been able to have a natural birth because Edward was a brow presentation, a rare complication in which the baby is in effect looking "back over" instead of straight up (with his chin tucked in) thereby presenting a far larger surface area - much too large to be delivered naturally. I think Edward knew he was overdue - 3 weeks overdue to be precise - and was looking for the way out!
I don't understand how this was missed on the scan we had though, on Wednesday. If it had been noticed at that time Bex could have been spared what was in her own words "the worst pain I have ever felt" - much worse than her first experience of labour with Joni. I suppose this was because the drugs that were put into her veins to stimulate contractions were in effect causing Bex to push hard against a wall. And that was dangerous too - every time she pushed, Eds heart rate was going down. Why did it take until 9.30 AM (induction started at 1 AM) to realize the position? Tired midwives and doctors? The "day" shift spotted the problem straight away. If things had turned out for the worse, perhaps I would enquire further, but I don't suppose there's much point crying over milk not spilt. Anyway, quite the opposite: we thank everyone involved with the birth of our son at James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, because I know that without your help, I would now be without a wife, or a child, or both. This birth couldn't have happened naturally, so either mum or baby wasn't going to make it if that was the only option we had.
As it turned out, Bex experienced (and I observed) a cesarean. The whole process was surprisingly quick: I had Edward in my arms 20 minutes after the operation started. He was pulled, crying immediately, from Becky, and after cutting the chord (as I did with Joni) I held him against my chest for 30 minutes - "skin to skin". Becky couldn't, although she was fully awake (diamorphine was used to inhibit any sensations from her lower body) so I stepped in, and held him, covered in blood and gunk - it was beautiful! He stopped crying straight away, and didn't cry until I handed him back to the midwives to be weighed. He kept looking for my milk - that's right, he didn't find any, poor boy. He got chest hairs in his mouth instead ;-) He was soon satisfied though, as Bex was stitched back together in about 30 minutes.
Edwards been a really good boy so far - sleeping through the night, only crying when he's hungry. He's observant too, looking around him all the time, and he's strong - you have to keep tight hold of him when he pushes his head back and his legs out! I'm going to have to learn how to play football I think, so I have something to show him...anyway, we have some great photos up on Flickr, some of the best ones are below - and a video below too (which will autoplay in Firefox, but behave itself in Internet Explorer).
Bex really wanted a natural birth, but it seems that she would never have been able to have a natural birth because Edward was a brow presentation, a rare complication in which the baby is in effect looking "back over" instead of straight up (with his chin tucked in) thereby presenting a far larger surface area - much too large to be delivered naturally. I think Edward knew he was overdue - 3 weeks overdue to be precise - and was looking for the way out!
I don't understand how this was missed on the scan we had though, on Wednesday. If it had been noticed at that time Bex could have been spared what was in her own words "the worst pain I have ever felt" - much worse than her first experience of labour with Joni. I suppose this was because the drugs that were put into her veins to stimulate contractions were in effect causing Bex to push hard against a wall. And that was dangerous too - every time she pushed, Eds heart rate was going down. Why did it take until 9.30 AM (induction started at 1 AM) to realize the position? Tired midwives and doctors? The "day" shift spotted the problem straight away. If things had turned out for the worse, perhaps I would enquire further, but I don't suppose there's much point crying over milk not spilt. Anyway, quite the opposite: we thank everyone involved with the birth of our son at James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, because I know that without your help, I would now be without a wife, or a child, or both. This birth couldn't have happened naturally, so either mum or baby wasn't going to make it if that was the only option we had.
As it turned out, Bex experienced (and I observed) a cesarean. The whole process was surprisingly quick: I had Edward in my arms 20 minutes after the operation started. He was pulled, crying immediately, from Becky, and after cutting the chord (as I did with Joni) I held him against my chest for 30 minutes - "skin to skin". Becky couldn't, although she was fully awake (diamorphine was used to inhibit any sensations from her lower body) so I stepped in, and held him, covered in blood and gunk - it was beautiful! He stopped crying straight away, and didn't cry until I handed him back to the midwives to be weighed. He kept looking for my milk - that's right, he didn't find any, poor boy. He got chest hairs in his mouth instead ;-) He was soon satisfied though, as Bex was stitched back together in about 30 minutes.
Edwards been a really good boy so far - sleeping through the night, only crying when he's hungry. He's observant too, looking around him all the time, and he's strong - you have to keep tight hold of him when he pushes his head back and his legs out! I'm going to have to learn how to play football I think, so I have something to show him...anyway, we have some great photos up on Flickr, some of the best ones are below - and a video below too (which will autoplay in Firefox, but behave itself in Internet Explorer).
posted by John Doran-Armstrong at 3:53 PM
2 Comments:
Congratulations!!!! I bet your daughter just loves the new baby!! My two little ones are begging for a new baby... umm, yeah right like thats going to happen!!! They better get used to looking at babies on tv!!
Thanks Wendi. Yes, Joni loves playing with her real doll Edward! ;-)
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