25th Feb 2007

At approximately 2:30am the OB and midwife decide that it's been too long, that something needs to happen NOW. I'm offered an epidural, just in case they need to do a caesarean section, I'm absolutely buggered I just want the pain over with. At approx 2:45am the Anaesthesiologist came in and started on the Epi... By 3am I felt nothing I was in bliss land. I was given an interntal in which the midwife could then feel my baby's head. I was urged to push with contractions. The problem was that I couldn't feel the contractions anymore! I had my mum with her hand on my belly the midwife with her hand up my whats-it telling me when to push.
At 3:15am I gave birth to a little boy, the cord was wrapped around his throat and he was prurple, his eyes were open and he was in shock. He didn't make any noise and the cord was clamped and cut so quickly that the blood splattered all over my face, I didn't care, I wanted him to be alright. The neonatologist and NICU nurse worked on my little boy, at that point un-named, I could hear them counting and I could see them pushing slightly on his chest. The nurse was holding a mask over his face, time almost stood still. I was given a needle and told to push, my placenta was born. The best way to describe what it looked like is... a sea sponge, but red. It was all falling apart and spongy. The midwife was actually quite shocked that it had been working so well.
At approx 3:30am my little boy is shown to me and I name him, Brendan Ryan. He had a tube down his throat, but he looked so pink and nice now. I touched his hand and he curled his fingers around mine. The neonatologist said I had to let him go so he could go up to the NICU, problem was Brendan had me. His fingers were unwrapped from mine as they wheeled him away.
Then the ringing began... first on the list of course was DP...

And so began our NICU journey.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Little man. Mummy is so proud of you.