five years ago, I received two extraordinary emails on the same day, both from men whose wives are my friends, describing the unusual delivery stories of their children who were born the päivä ennen. Last month, we shared one of them: Sabine’s birth story, which took place just outside the doors of the hospital. I think when you read the second, Glenn’s experience of his kid Levi’s birth, you’ll agree that little Sabine and little Levi may be soul mates.
Here’s the email Glenn sent:
Hei kaikki,
Shayna and I are blessed to announce the birth of our son, Levi. mother and baby are doing great. daddy is still in shock. Under ordinary circumstances, I would probably not offer details of our baby’s birth experience; but this story is kinda remarkable.
On Friday afternoon at 3:00 PM, we had a weekly appointment with our midwives in Las Cruces. As Shayna’s due date was November 16, we were hoping this would be our last check-in before delivery. In passing, I commented to Shayna that it would be much easier for all of us if she just gave birth ideal then and there to save us another trip to Las Cruces, which is 77 miles from our house in truth in Consequences. Our birth plan had been to labor in T or C and then drive to Las Cruces to have a home birth at our Midwife’s house. turns out my tongue-in-cheek comment was quite prescient.
Many of you are aware that this pregnancy had not been an easy one. Actually, that’s an understatement ”“ it’s been awful. Shayna was in the unlucky 1-2% of women who experience extreme nausea and vomiting throughout the pregnancy. At the beginning, it wasn’t uncommon for Shayna to throw up 15-20 times per day. She was even hospitalized one time when the puking got absolutely out of control. Over the past few months, it’s gotten a little better ”“ but she was still throwing up every single day.
So, the appointment on Friday went well, Shayna was 3 centimeters dilated ”“ which is in indication that things are in process, but not imminent. We left Las Cruces at around 6:00 to attend a friend’s 40th birthday party back in T or C; we had a great time and left the party around 9:00. We played some backgammon and then went to sleep.
At around midnight, Shayna experienced her first real contraction”¦then she threw up. 20 minutes later another contraction and she threw up again. once a lot more 20 minutes after that. This brought us to around 1:00 AM and we were getting concerned that Shayna was entering into one of her out-of-control situations and I thought she may need an IV. I called the midwives to give them an update and they told me that labor for first-time mothers can last up to 72 hours and that we must start to pay closer attention when she has 2-3 contractions in a 10 minute interval enduring for 1 tunnin. This is called “active labor”. I hung up the phone, gave Shayna the update, and grabbed a pad to paper the contraction pattern. I gave her some medicine to treat the nausea and that’s when the fun began.
The contractions intensified immediately, enduring for a minute each and occurring every 3 minutes. After an hour of boosting discomfort, it was time to call the midwives again. They confirmed that against the odds we had skipped the entire first phase of labor and were already in the active stage. We were thinking it was time to get in the car to start the journey to Las Cruces but the midwives assured us that active labor for first-time mothers normally lasts at least 6 hours so we had plenty of time to pack our bags and hit the road.
At this point, with the contractions still intensifying, we made the call to play it safe and leave immediately. It’s now 3:00AM.
It was a normal new Mexico night with a pitch black, starry sky. I was driving our Subaru Forrester, Shayna was in the back seat. In buy to lessen the pain of the contractions, Shayna negotiated herself into a downward dog-like posture with her face buried in some pillows to muffle her screams. around 20 minutes into the ride, her water broke and the contractions had taken on a new dimension of intensity. It felt to Shayna like the baby was coming.
I called the midwife again to let her know the update and she heard Shayna’s screams. though she tried to assure me that we’d have plenty of time to make it to her house, something in her voice made me realize I better drive faster. So, now I’m driving 100 MPH and the midwife requested that we stay on the phone ”“ another indication that we were farther along than we hoped. The midwife and I were calculating whether it made sense for her to meet us on the road or for us to keep driving. In agony, Shayna instructed me to keep driving. The midwives, Shayna and I all knew that this was now a race against time.
As lots of of you know, we live deep in the new Mexico desert ”“ it would be fair to say we live in the middle of nowhere. So, the drive from T or C to Las Cruces brings us into the middle of the middle of nowhere. Matkapuhelin vastaanotto moottoritiellä 25 on parhaimmillaan täplikäs ja koemme aina pudottaneet puhelut tällä matkalla. Minua kivettyi siitä, että kätilön kanssa puhelu oli menossa ja että Shayna voi todella olla vauva autossa. Tässä vaiheessa kysyin kätilöltä, mitä tehdä, jos vauva tulee, ja hän kertoi minulle, että sitä ei tapahdu, mutta jos se tapahtui, kääri vain viltti hänen ympärille ja jatka ajoa.
Nyt tällä hetkellä se on yksi tarinan merkittävimmistä osista. Shaynan absurdin keskellä työn viimeisen vaiheen viimeisissä vaiheissa, ajaen edelleen 100 mph ja silti 15 minuutin päässä Las Crucesista, katson taivaalle ja näen kauneimman ammuntatähden, jonka olen koskaan nähnyt. Tämä ei ollut heikko ammuntatähti, joka katoaa sekunnin murto -osan jälkeen. Tämä näytti paljon enemmän komeetalta ja se oli kuin aika seisoi paikallaan. Tässä vaiheessa tiesin 2 asiaa: vauva oli syntymässä ja että kaikki oli kunnossa.
Viisi minuuttia myöhemmin, lähellä US70-poistumisen ramppia, Shayna ei pystynyt enää pitämään häntä sisään. Vielä puhelimessa kätilön kanssa, kuulin kaikenlaisen äidin jälkeen vauvan itkun. Shayna ja minä olimme molemmat hysteerisiä, kun lopulta veimme ajotielle, missä 3 kätilömme tapasivat meidät. Yksi meni ihanteelliselle vauvalle, yksi meni heti Shayaan ja yksi vaippasi minut kaiken äidin kanssa. Leikkasin narun ja vauva irrotettiin äidistä. Kuten edellä totesin, äiti ja vauva pärjäävät hyvin. Olen edelleen shokissa.
Nimetimme hänet Levi Akashan 3 isovanhemmalla, jotka eivät ole enää kanssamme.
Tämä kokemus vahvistaa jälleen kerran ihmeen tunnetta ja ihailua Shaynan kauneudesta, voimasta, päättäväisyydestä, keskittymisestä ja ratkaisemisesta. Hän on elämäni rakkaus.
Levi painoi 6 lbs ja 4 unssia syntymän yhteydessä. Hän oli 18,5 tuumaa pitkä. Hän on aivan upea. Buzz on, että hän näyttää aivan kuin minä.
Glenn
Kiitos, Glenn ja Shayna, siitä, että jaoit merkittävän tarinasi! Rakkaat lukijani, tunnetko ihmiset kuin itkevä kuin minä aina kun luen tämän?