The Birth Of Kylee

On Friday, Jake called to let me know that Jess was going to the hospital. They asked me to bring a few things to them and I thought that that would be it for me until I went to visit them after the birth. I was surprised and honored to be asked to stay and help through the labor and delivery. It was mostly to take pictures and video of the occasion, but I would like to think that I was able to help Jess and Jake in some way by being there.

The labor started out with lots of laughing about how far along Jess was (she was at a 5 when she arrived). After the doctor broke her water, the labor progressed to what I remember labor being like...pain that slowly increases and becomes unbearable (at least for me). Jess really was a trooper, but her contractions were just huge so she got an epidural. I tried to remember all the things I had learned in my breathing classes to help Jess until the epidural took effect.

The whole of the afternoon after that was spent waiting. Waiting for the nurse to tell us how she was progressing, waiting to hear that the baby was ready, waiting, waiting, waiting. The nurses kept coming in and telling Jess that she was having crazy contractions and that if she was on pitocin, they would turn her down...I guess Jess's body knew what it was going to take to get Kylee here. Weighing in a 8lbs 14oz and 22 inches long, it's no wonder there were some crazy contractions.

At one point the epidural stopped working and Jess was in extreme pain. At that moment I had a few thoughts run through my head...one, I was glad that I have c-sections, two I wanted so badly to take the pain away from her, and three I wished that I could someday make a career out of helping people deal with that pain...so who knows, maybe someday when I am done having babies, I can help other people have them.

Finally the time arrived for Kylee to come. The room in an instant went from waiting and boring to a rush of people prepping things and getting dressed and yelling a whirlwind of instructions. I felt rushed, so I can't imagine how Jess must have felt going from just waiting, to being told it was time to push.

And so, as I recorded Jess working to bring a baby to the world (by the way she was totally quiet and controlled during her pushes...nothing like the movies) I got to experience a "real" birth for the first time. It was a very beautiful experience and one I will not soon forget. It was so sweet to see a baby be born and take her first cries, but it was even more sweet to see a new mother and father meet the child that they had been waiting for for so long, for the first time. It was a sacred moment that I feel very blessed to be a part of. Even though I have experienced all of those emotions, it was a totally different experience to be the outsider in the situation. I'll admit that a tiny part of me was jealous of this natural birth. Some things like having the baby immediately put on my tummy, and having Mike cut the cord, are things that I will never experience - those things don't happen after a c-section- and I was kind of saddened by it. I guess I didn't know what I was missing until now.

I also learned some things about a childbirth...things like how much fluid there is, and what placenta looks like. I don't tell this to gross anyone out, it is just simply something that I have never experienced because of having c-sections. I also got to witness how a baby is cleaned and measured etc...another thing that I have never been able to watch (Mike always gets that privilege). And it wasn't weird at all to be there...something that I was a little worried about. I was able to document the birth very well for them (in a clean, appropriate, can show to people kind of way :D), and all the while it felt comfortable to be there.

So thanks Jake and Jess for sharing your moment with me.
I love you guys.

I also need to thank Kathy for keeping my boys ALL DAY without complaining a bit. Love you too!

I already put a lot of pictures on Jessica's blog, but for the sake of those that don't see her blog, here are some pics of baby Kylee.