Stay Tuned for Labor Post :)

 

I am in awe with the power of faith and its benefits, especially when the Lord communicates that "there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life: a time for everything, and everything in its time." My wife and I had not slept before going into labor and now there we were in the small pre-labor room that includes a personal bathroom, wide awake in anticipation of our JJs arrival.

We were blessed with a wonderful nurse who infused plenty of humor as part of her service. After my wife changed into her hospital gown, nurse F came in an asked us a few questions: the amount of time between contractions, the pain level she was in, when the contractions began, had the mucous plug come out, and had we been in contact recently with anyone who had traveled to China-a standard question now with every single medical visit.  Nurse F brought my wife a pink pitcher of ice chips and also asked us if we had a birth plan.

We had talked about a birth plan, but I had never written it down because I had it memorized, but it is always a good idea to have it written down in case you experience a case of nerves or are in too much pain.  The Baby Center App explains early on about the importance of a partner being an advocate during labor, when your spouse is distracted by the pain, not to mention the "no joke" effect of hormones.  So I shared with nurse F that she would want an epidural as soon as possible, we didn't want any pacifiers because we wanted to breastfeed, we wanted a mirror as part of the delivery (for my learning of course), and JJ would be circumcised. The nurse then recorded that information on the Labor and Delivery Care Board so that it's clear and available for reference.

Nurse F let us know that the doctor would come in as soon as possible to assess her cervix and the anesthesiologist would also be along shortly, and that all she could have are small ice chips.  My wife's pain was increasing with each contraction and she preferred to go through the contractions standing rather than lying in bed.  At this point, I was still recording contractions on the app, and she was already hooked up to all the machines, including the fetal monitor that was tracking the depth of her contractions, with a few devices wrapped around her belly.

I was sitting in the side chair, trying to get drinks of water because the room was a little hot, but before I knew it, she was having another contraction and I had to focus on turning the timer on in the phone and my wife would call me over to do the dance with her, so that she was able to lean on me while she breathed through the pain.  The nurse had recommended for us to catch some rest, but we were wide awake, energized, and ready for next steps.  

By the way, at some point I had a moment to sneak out to snap a picture of the number of our room, which was number 8.  Remember when I said that I now believe everything is connected?  Seeing the number 8 put a little smile on my face because 8, turned sideways, is the symbol of infinity, and infinity is a symbol used to describe the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty God.  To me, that was a sign that God was with us, not to mention that it matches the infinity necklace I bought my wife to celebrate our love, our pregnancy, and is a connection back to specific aspects of my transformational experience (those connections will become more clear later when I discuss that in depth).  Now you're thinking, "I didn't know she was crazy and a conspiracy theorist?" LOL Well, I now embrace and own my quirks, and I take comfort in knowing that God is probably the only one who gets me. :)

Family is a non-negotiable for me and my sisters and I had been talking for months now about how they were so excited to be in the waiting room in anticipation of the first look of J.J.  They shared stories about how when I was born almost 40 years ago, they were so excited to be able to see me through the nursery room window where all the babies were taken, now an uncommon practice.  As his due date approached, they would mention more and more about how they couldn't wait to see him.  So when we started seeing the pandemic evolve, the news was sharing segments about hospitals in the U.S. starting to restrict guests for labor visits and in some places, they were starting to consider even prohibiting a partner to join in the delivery room!  When we reported the labor to the hospital, they reminded us that no additional visitors would be allowed.  My heart sunk a little bit because I already had envisioned bringing my Dad into the postpartum room and introducing him to his first boy grandchild that he has been longing for ever since he raised 4 strong-willed women. :)  Not to mention my sisters, my best friend, my niece, J.J.'s Padrino, and all the close friends who were excited to welcome J.J. at the hospital and in our home.  On the drive to the hospital, I had to force myself to re-imagine that initial vision and consider how we could use technology to include everyone in the process.  You would think that the hospital welcome would be the only aspect we would have to be flexible about, and then we learned that we would have to self-quarantine with the baby in our home for at least a few weeks.  So what did that mean?  J.J. would not be able to meet the family and friends in person to receive that physical love they have been bursting with to release for an indefinite amount of time.