Part 6 - A Year in Holland - He's Finally Here!

On June 3, 2009, between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., at a restaurant called Masa, I was wearing two of the only remaining articles of clothing that still fit. I was 37 weeks pregnant and feeling every minute of it. As I hobbled back to the table, I could feel people staring at me. My belly was just so enormous that people had started to stare at me when I went out in public.

I sat down across from my oldest and dearest friend, Colleen, when a woman and her daughter walked up to me and said:

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but when are you DUE? You look like you are about to give birth any second!"

I laughed because I had just told Colleen a few minutes earlier that strangers had been coming up to me in public, staring at me, and making comments. She didn't believe me.

Colleen and my other friend, Aly, joked that the restaurant was closer to the hospital than my house so if I went into labor, they would call Jamie and have him meet us there. What they didn't realize, then, was just how close we were to that exact scenario. At 4:00 a.m. the following morning, I felt a pop and woke suddenly after a short and restless sleep. My water broke a mere 4.5 hours after I left the restaurant.

It was time.

Jamie ran around like a crazy person getting the kids ready, throwing last-minute items into the hospital bag, frantic, rushing me out of the house. I reminded him that babies aren't born like we see in movies. Labors are usually long and, well, laborious, hence the term. I was in labor with Andrew 24 hours, about 9 hours with Lia, we had plenty of time!

Or, not.

By the time we got to my sister's house a half hour later to drop off Andrew and Lia, I was in full-blown labor. My contractions were about 2 to 3 minutes apart and we felt like we'd never get to the hospital! Despite the early hour, we still got stuck behind a few cars. It was Jamie's job to focus on traffic, it was my job to focus on my breathing.

We got to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and Jamie ran through the labor and delivery ward, even more frantic than before, exclaiming "She needs a bed, she needs a bed!"

One of the labor and delivery nurses questioned me, "First time Dad?" She thought he was overreacting.

I answered insurance and admittance questions between contractions and I ordered my epidural right away. I had an epidural with both of my other two children and I was looking forward to the serenity and peace an epidural provides during a difficult labor.

40 minutes later I was still waiting - I was in agony! Everything started happening so fast, I didn't have time to worry about the baby or answer any more questions. The only thing I was capable of, in that moment, was focusing on what my body was doing. The contractions came one on top of the other and finally the anesthesiologist came into the room. Serenity now!

I have friends and family who've had natural births tell me when it's time to push, you can't not push. I had never experienced that feeling myself but as I was being prepped for my epidural, I got to experience it for the first time.

"He's COMING!" I shouted to everyone in the room.

"There's no time for the epi, GO GET DAD" was the response I heard come from the fog which surrounded me.

"Wait, NO! I need the epi, I can't do this, I can't do this!" I replied.

"Yes, you can. He's right there. One push and he'll be out, come on, you can do this!"

Jamie rushed back into the room and ran to my side. I pushed once and Mason James was born!

He was born but I didn't hear a cry. He wasn't crying, what was wrong? Why wasn't he crying?

They sucked fluid out of his mouth and throat and finally he began to cry! There is nothing more pure, more beautiful, to human ears than a newborn baby's first cry, the first breath of life.

They laid him in my arms and when I first gazed into his sweet little face, I swear I didn't see a cleft. I didn't see a birth defect. I just didn't see it. I kissed him and all I saw was perfect beauty. All those months of worry, fear, and self-doubt, all washed away in an instant.

"You're finally here" were my first words to my new son.

Welcome to Holland.