The Birth - Keith's version

Ok so I'm going to start this post off by saying I have not yet read what Meggan posted about the delivery of Elizabeth Susan McCusker. So with that said, here is my version of what happened only a few short days ago.

It is a tuesday night...just like any other tuesday night. Meggan come home from work and has this super long list of things we needed to do around the house before we left for NH for x-mas. We tackle the list of packing, cleaning, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, dishes, etc. because we are going away for 2 nights??? (Surge of energy/nesting = Hint #1) In the middle of all this cleaning at like 1030pm at night meggan decides to eat 2 veggie burgers that were way in the back dark reaches of our freezer. (energy loading via food = Hint #2) We finally are all packed and decide to lay in bed and watch a movie. Meggan falls asleep half way through the movie (no not hint 3, she does this with every movie we watch) and I decide what the hell, I've got nothing big to do tomorrow, just drive to NH for x-mas eve, I'll stay up and finish the movie. So at 1210am I turn off the movie and go to sleep.

Next thing I know meggan is coming back into the bedroom from the bathroom to tell me her water just broke (water breaks = BIG HINT #3) and I wake up thinking I must have been asleep for at least 4 or 5 hours. I look at the clock to see it is 1230am. She calls the doctor to see what they want us to do while I lay in bed making sure I'm not having a dream. The doc says come on down...your the next contestant on The Baby is Coming show! So we grab the hospital bag we had just packed that night...just in case...and head up to the hospital.

Here is where I am going to brag a little bit about how tough of a chick I married. We get up to the birthing center and get all settled into our room and the hook meggan up to a bunch of machines...probably around 130am at this point. The nurse asks have you had any contractions yet, Meggan says no. Again the nurse asks and meggan says, well maybe I just feel a little cramping. As meggan is saying this, the nurse looks at the monitor and says, well your having a pretty big contraction right now. Looks like they do make them Northern New Hampshire girls tough up in these parts.

So at 7am the doctor we talked to at 1230am leaves for the day but on his way out he says we are 4 cms along. We do the whole pitocin thing and the contractions start to get closer together and stronger and stronger and stronger. Eventually meggan says she's had enough and is thinking about an epidural. She did the first 12 hours of this whole thing naturally...I think its time for the epidural too. Just before they give it to her, she is about 6 cms. Just after they give it to her, she power naps for 30 minutes and they check again and she's 10cms...game time! They start to wean her off of the epidural so she can push.

Oh I didn't even mention yet the doctor who came on after our first doc left at 7am. The new doctor was amazing. She was the one out of the 6 docs at the practice we had yet to met...go figure she'll be the one to deliver our child. Anyway the only catch with this doctor was that she looked like she was maybe old enough to buy beer. I was worried that every time she walked out of our room someone would be passing her notes in the hallway and she'd be busy chatting high school gossip during study hall. Obviously she knew what she was doing or she wouldn't be a doc at the hospital so we just ran with it. Anyway back to the story at hand...after another nursing shift change we get to the good stuff.

At 415pm Meggan starts to push. I was on the side of her bed, expecting to stay up by meggan's head and just wait for my cue to cut the umbilical cord, when the nurse looks right at me and says, OK I'll hold this leg you get that leg. Next thing I know I've got a ring side seat for the most amazing experience of my life. With some amazing pushing, next thing I know at 459 pm out comes Elizabeth Susan McCusker, weighing in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and a length of 19.5 inches.

I know I'm pretty biased and I'm not really that versed in seeing new born babies, yet I'll go out on the a limb here and say she was the most beautiful new born baby ever born. Just hearing that first cry out of her mouth brought tears to my eyes and to meggan's as well. They put her on meggan's chest and as those two bonded I just stood there amazed at the whole experience. Eventually I get awakened from my nirvana like trance to cut the umbilical cord...at this point I knew I had to step up my game. Meggan just had the best delivery of any baby that day at the hospital, Elizabeth was the most beautiful baby of all the babies delivered that day, I knew I had to do my best at cutting the cord and live up to the best cord cutter of the day award. I cut through that cord like a Jedi cutting a wet noodle with his light saber. Oh I probably should point out that it was X-mas ever that all of this is taking place, so we were the only family in the birthing center...but even so we still had a great delivery and a great baby girl!

We then spent the rest of that night and x-mas day just hanging out the three of us for the first time. Of course we saw tons different nurses, doctors, lactation consultants, food delivery people and even our pastor from church came to visit, yet those alone times with just the 3 of us made Christmas 08 an experience of a lifetime.

I know everyone wants to see pictures...I'll be working on that this next week. To hold you over until then, you can see a few pictures here on my facebook page. Just follow this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020444&l=29599&id=70000700