It took him 2 years to arrive, but after several false labors, our 4th child and 1st son together by marriage was about to arrive any moment! Shirre started experiencing labor pains early Tuesday morning, drove herself to the local hospital in our hometown in Florida and called my job for me to come quickly from work, our son was about to be born! My heart was pounding as I had already informed H/R and my managers at my company that when the call came I would be leaving immediately. They knew to come get me off my current phone call with clients as soon as Shirre called! Well, Shirre dilated throughout the day, but it was slow going, and she didn't dilate enough for the nurses to induce labor, so they continued to give her medicine through the I.V. to help her along. I remember them saying throughout the evening, "She's X centimeters (dilated) and X% effaced..." I had no idea what any of that meant but I soon understood that a mother trying to give birth must meet a specific minimum number in order to successfully give birth. I had read as much of the sections geared towards fathers in "What to Expect When You're Expecting" as I could, but I didn't remember reading about these terms! After a while, the nurses just let Shirre rest, and I took a very comfortable sofa bed in the room to spend the night. The next morning, the nurses got Shirre up early so they could get her going again. I had a little notepad with me, taking a few notes, and I had brought my digital camera so I could capture the big moment when it arrived! I wrote on my hospital pad the following timeline which I've kept for 2 years in my A. Fuente cigar box:
November 4, 2009
- 8:18am: Broke Water, 4.5 cm
- 10:20am: Pain meds twice > Blood work > 6-7cm
- 10:30-11am: Dr. G/Anesthesiologist [gave Shirre] the epidural
- Shirre was now feeling fantastic and at ease in less than a few minutes. I remember her saying something really funny to the effect that these drugs were amazingly good!
- Somewhere around this time, I believe I went to get a haircut because this was a big day & shedding of hair symbolizes something old going away so that new life can come.
- 12:25pm: Nurse Woke [Shirre] up.
- 12:33pm: 8 cm dilated (according to Jill, the midwife).
- 1:38pm PUSH!!!! NOW!!!! Dad's camera and Mama's best friend & nurse, Danita's Blackberry were ready as I held Shirre's hand.
- 1:52pm: Birth! Sent out a pre-written text message to close friends & family announcing that "A prince is here! Mason Salim was born, 11/4/09, 1:52pm, 9 lbs/21 inches"
- 1530 (3:30pm): Epidural catheter removed (Danita took notes from this point as I went home for a few hours to check on our 3 older children who were eagerly awaiting news of the new baby brother!)
- 1545 (3:45pm): Shirre breastfed Mason
- [Shirre] Still holding baby at 3:50pm
- 1600 (4pm): Enfamil formula (bottle) fed to Mason because he didn't want to breastfeed.
- That evening, the nurses took Mason to the nursery to monitor his vitals overnight and brushed his hair into a mohawk, a style which lasted for quite some weeks without us brushing his hair!
- 10:30pm: Weighed 8lbs, 12oz (The nurse explained that babies weigh a little less their first night).
Read the following blog posts chronicling Shirre's pregnancy with Mason Salim:
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