My boy !

It’s 12:30AM, I’m fast asleep.  I hear something move, the bed is empty.  There is light coming from the bathroom, I’m still half asleep.  Then she comes back to the bedroom.  “I think my water broke” she says.  Holy cow. It’s happening. I’m wide awake now.

For the past few months, we had been deep in our books, our various sites, and most important, the Bonapace Method.  It comes from Quebec, where a doctor specialised in pain management came up with a method on labour pain, and how to manage it during labour, so mum doesn’t need any medicine, she’s in control.  Dad’s here to help with massages and support.  That’s the theory.

So here I am, with Claire bent over on the table, my thumbs digging in her sacrum, pressing hard at each contraction, telling her she’s doing great, she needs to eat, she needs to drink, whoops there is another contraction, more rubbing my thumbs, more pressing, more massage.  Every now and then, she goes to the bathroom, then comes back, then she breathes, then I press.

5AM, it’s time to call Christina, the midwife.  I wake her up for the second time, we’re on our way I say.  I pack up “the bag”, various items, a couple of water bottles, some snacks, and we’re off to the birthing centre.  It’s only 20mins away, but I can’t help Claire while I’m driving.  She’ll have to deal with the contractions on her own.  Remember your breathing, remember you’re in control, remember to stay focus.  Shut up and drive. Gotcha.

We got to the birthing centre hoping to get the room with the tub right away, but it’s a full moon. Four mums are already in.  All the rooms are taken, we’ll have to do with the inflatable pool on the ground.  Nevermind, our room is cosy.  There is a bed, a couch, nice paintings on the walls, it feels like a hotel room, a nice one.

And again, the contractions.  Two minutes apart.  I keep pressing on Claire’s back, she keeps dealing with the pain.  She’s dealing a lot better than I expected.  Every now and then, the midwives pop their heads in, but we’re doing fine, we don’t need them.  Go away.  Claire is in the zone. She’s in control.  I just keep her hydrated, fed, awake.

Christina is on her day off.  Wendy has taken over.  Plus an intern from the main hospital.  There’s a lot of people in this room, watching my wife’s bum.

At last, the mother meant for the tub is sent upstairs.  Complications.  I’m sorry for her, but I’m not sorry for us.  The water is warm, Claire steps in.  I can see from her smile she likes it.  The heat is good for the pain.  But she is fine, she even makes jokes.  She’s in control.

The position she’s taken makes it awkward for me to press on her sacrum, she’s facing me, bum up.  I’ll have to press down with my arm extended.  It’s 7AM and my thumbs are sore.  I should not complain, I’m not the one with a dilated cervix.  Keep pressing, there comes a contraction.

Finally, we can see the head.  Baby is coming.  Boy or girl ? We don’t know yet, but we can see the head.  A couple more pushes, and Claire can turn around, facing up but still squatting.  Baby has the upper body out, but the lower part is still in.  She is still underwater.  I can see his eyes, he’s looking at me. I think.

It’s a boy ! He’s beautiful. Claire is beautiful too, exhausted.  The midwife puts him on Claire’s chest, he starts to breathe.  He starts to scream rather.  It’s all good.  Time to get out  of the tub.  He starts to suckle right away, he found the nipple on his own.  I’m given a pair of cissors, and I cut the cord.  It’s a lot tougher than I thought, like rubber.

Snip.

There he is, he’s born. It’s 9:31AM, Friday, 14th of October 2016.  Hi Son, welcome to the world.

We had two names ready, but Brieuc fits him best.  He’s fiesty, he wants to live. He’s beautiful. He’s perfect.