Baby Boy

My sister Mari had her baby boy last week. It was really quite an experience. Ever since we found out she was pregnant, we worried how she would get that baby out, she is so tiny. But that 5 foot tall little Russian girl birthed like a champ, and surprised us all.

Mari was dilated to a 3, and due to upcoming vacationing circumstances on the part of the doctor and my mom, it was decided she was in early labor and would be helped along that afternoon.

I must start the story by telling you the incredible feeling in that delivery room. I don't know if I have been too distracted to feel that in my delivery rooms or what, but I walked in and got choked up knowing what a sacred room this was. I know there were a lot of angels in that room, I didn't recognize any specifically, just felt like the room was really full, much more full than it looked. It was neat.

So at 3:30 we showed up at the hospital and she got hooked up to an iv. Mari has a fairly low pain tolerance, and hates needles, so getting the iv was a huge deal for her. Around 5:00 the doctor showed up and by 5:15 her water was broken and she was hooked up to pitocin. It got pretty dicey after that.

She started having contractions, but they weren't showing up on the monitor, and with her low pain tolerance we didn't think too much of them. I recommended that she get an epidural, but she insisted she wanted to feel some contractions. The anesthesiologist took off to a c-section and another girl signed up for her epidural, so unfortunately the epidural was now way off in the distance.

Contractions started picking up on the monitor and were less than 2 minutes apart. Crying and cringing, and lots of complaining were taking place each time. I went outside to ask the nurse for some IV meds. They gave her a push of Fentanyl, which calmed her down a lot. But within an hour the contractions were every minute and the Fentanyl was gone! So I begged the nurse for more. I also asked her to turn down the Pitocin so Mari's contractions weren't so close. She brought more Fentanyl in, and the anesthesiologist followed shortly.

I haven't had a natural childbirth with pitocin, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I remember saying that if it were me I'd be thinking the baby was coming soon with contractions so close together.

As soon as the epidural was done, he told her to lay down and when her head hit the pillow she got the urge to push. The nurse was skeptical as this was just 2 hours after she started and it was a first baby. The nurse felt pretty certain the baby would be born the following morning. But she checked and sure enough Mari was right. We rushed to call the adoptive mother (we had planned on calling her when Mari was a 6 or 7, but she was only checked at 3 and 10). The adoptive mother came in time to see the delivery and be the first to hold the baby.

23 minutes of pushing was all it took. I tell you what, that girl is a birthing fool. She is amazing. She did really well, and did almost all of it without an epidural.

The baby is beautiful. He does look a lot like Mari. He is half African American as well. He's adorable, and I can't wait for him to join his new family. This family has already adopted a boy, and I am so thrilled that he will have a brother. What could be better than two boys? (Maybe four boys :)





It was such a neat experience being there with Mari. Watching how natural the birthing experience is, a person who has no clue about it can do it with their natural instincts. I was grateful that she had so much support in the room to help her through a crazy fast 2.5 hour delivery. It was the first birth I've ever really seen, it helped me understand it on a greater level. Thanks Mari for letting me be there! Good luck with your placement! And to baby boy, I know you'll have a wonderful life with your new family. Please know how much work it was for everyone to get you there. It took time, stress, money, prayer, given by SO many people. But everyone is thrilled for you. It wasn't easy, but you are one lucky boy. We all love you.