Things were going really nicely on Monday and Tuesday. I did all of the things I needed to for work and school. Wednesday morning came and Kylie told me that her body was preparing to give birth to our newest baby. We knew we had quite a lot of time before the baby would be born so we went about our activities as normal, but with a heightened sense of anticipation. By evening we knew that it wouldn’t be long. After we put the children to bed we went for a walk around the block. Kylie’s mum was watching the children for us because we knew this would be “the night”.
Nothing much happened following the walk though, so we went to bed, hoping to rest as much as possible in between contractions. From 8pm until midnight Kylie had one contraction every 8-10 minutes, and the intensity only grew modestly. From midnight until 2am the pattern remained largely unchanged.
I called the hospital at 2am to notify them of our plan to arrive at around 4am in time for a 6am delivery. They wouldn’t talk to me, after all, what do husbands know? Instead, they spoke to Kylie, telling her to stay home until she was having one contraction every five minutes. This had been our plan, so they hadn’t enlightened us at all. But we decided to try and get some more rest before things changed.
At 2.20am Kylie woke me. She had a big contraction. Before she had finished telling me about it, another one hit, just as big. I bounded from the bed, and began to load the car. The contractions were coming fast, long and strong. Something had changed. As I drove towards the hospital I called mum. She provided some advice, and concluded by telling me to get there faster! I was reluctant to speed, but sensed the urgency of the situation and put my foot down. We sped to the hospital – fast!
Arriving at the hospital, I paged the midwives to open the door. They do it by remote as the nurses station is on level 2 at the far end of the building. The door opened, but Kylie wasn’t moving. As the doors closed I dashed inside to press the button which automatically opened the door again. I beckoned to Kylie, but she wouldn’t move. Kylie was glued to the spot, halfway between the car and the hospital door. If I walked back to her the doors would lock us out, if I stayed inside I couldn’t support her. The contraction was strong enough that Kylie couldn’t walk any further. I dashed inside and found a wheelchair just inside the entrance. I wheeled that out to Kylie and we rushed into the building.
A midwife had been coming down the stairs to see why we were taking so long. I saw her and told her Kylie was 7cm and had entered transition. I suggested we needed a birthing suite immediately. What do husbands know? She told me she would have a look when we got inside. Then she saw Kylie. “I think she’s in transition”, she stated, as if I had never said anything previously. “Take her to the birthing suites” she ordered. Hmmm. Didn’t I just say that?
By the time we had Kylie out of the wheelchair and onto the bed it was 3.05am. Kylie was exhausted. A quick examination showed that she was ready to give birth, but membranes were yet to rupture. The midwife wanted to know if it was our preference that this be done for us, or would we like to wait until it occurred naturally? Ummmm, let’s not draw this out any further please. The job was done. Kylie rested as best she could through a couple of contractions. At 3.25am she pushed. Four big pushes in one contraction, and our baby’s head emerged. I helped her relax as the next contraction pushed the baby’s body out. Our fourth baby girl was born amid tears of joy and unity from her mother and father.
Annie Grace Coulson had one serious set of lungs. Wow, could she cry? Fortunately she was a little hungry too, and within minutes was quietly enjoying an early breakfast as nature intended. We have a beautiful little girl. Our delight is unexplainable. By 6am text messages and phone calls were being made, and many congratulations received. We appreciate the kind wishes of so many wonderful friends and family members. Annie was 3.92 kgs, or 8 lb. 9 oz in the old scale. She was 52cms long and entirely perfect in every way.
Our joy is full. We stare at her as long as the other three children will allow. Their incessant demands draw us back to reality with remarkable regularity. We love them too though, so we enjoy it anyway. We are experiencing something that we have not had trouble with for some years though. Sleep deprivation! Wow. I cannot begin to explain how tired we are. I don’t remember being this tired with any of our previous children. I’m sure we were, but I don’t remember it.
Yesterday (Saturday 1st September) I brought Kylie and Annie Grace to our home. I haven’t driven so carefully for a long time. I found myself getting cranky when people drove to fast past me, or allowed their cars close. I took corners slowly. We got home safely.
Other exciting news from the week pales into insignificance, but I’ll share a few tidbits.
I bought a car yesterday (Sat). It’s a Daihatsu Sirion. Very small, just to run around in. We need two cars now. Someone is buying my scooter from me in around 8 weeks, once I finish university studies. I’ll miss it, but we could put the money from it to good use, and having a second car is better than having a one-seater motorbike. I fly to Sydney on Thursday to pick it up and drive it home.
Ella is getting funnier and funnier. Recently she has been learning about emotions. Happy feelings are her favourite. Ella was caught drawing on Chanel. When she was told to stop it Ella quickly drew on Chanel, then looked up and said, “I’m happy now.” She loves to play, and especially loves piggy backs. She’ll ask for a piggy back from the kitchen to the dining table which is about 3 metres.
I don’t remember if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but my friend Wally Goddard sent me a package of books recently too. What a thrill. The wisdom in the books is something I cannot wait to infuse into my brain. Unfortunately the next 6 weeks are so busy that I cannot read them, but when things slow down I’m full steam ahead.
Wally is the ultimate guru (in my opinion) on all things spiritual. I was so pleased to see that he is human. He recently wrote that he had been looking after a couple of his grandchildren during sacrament meeting at church and they distracted him so much that he was unable to get anything out of the meeting. And here I was thinking I must be a little bit dysfunctional.
Being father’s day today, we had lunch at the Jones’ family home. I ate too much. Is that possible? I certainly ate more than my fill. Kylie bought me a camping chair. I think that may be a hint. Plus I got a great new street directory which was pleasing too. Oh, and my favourite: some Darrel Lea liquorice. Yum!
No comments:
Post a Comment