Day Two for Lou

Day Two Photos

I’m sitting here with Mary and our son, Louis. He had a very exciting entrance into our world. And we’re thrilled that he’s here.

At 12:30 Wednesday morning Mary’s water broke while we were in bed. We called the hospital and were told to get our things ready, take a shower and come on in. We arrived at 2:00. Mary’s contractions were starting and began to increase in frequency. Around 4:00, after Mary had experienced contractions about two minutes apart, she received an epidural, which almost immediately helped her to relax. The contractions continued smoothly and by 9:00 a.m. her cervix had dilated to 7 centimeters. 10 centimeters is the magic number when mothers can begin to push.
At around 9:30 the nurses began to show concern that Louis’s heartbeat was dropping dramatically whenever Mary was having a contraction. A few doctors and more nurses came in to look at Mary’s readings. After giving her a shot to stop the contractions momentarily the doctors saw that Louis’s heartbeat was still too slow to be normal. In a flash the decision was made to take her to the operating room and prep her for a possible cesarean. It’s amazing to see the confidence with which doctors make decisions. They realized Mary and her baby were in danger and they didn’t waste a single moment with second-guessing or explanations. They just did what they had to do.
Ten minutes later I was in the operating room with Mary as the doctors preformed a cesarean section. I sat next to Mary’s head, stroking her hair and telling her everything was going to be ok. Mary told me that I had a zit in the middle of my forehead. She was amazing; so calm, so sure things were going to turn out all right. She made me stand up and peer over the curtain to give her a play-by-play. One doctor shoved her hand into Mary’s abdomen while another pushed down on Mary’s belly. In what seemed like no time at all a blue-grey head emerged. When they finally got the baby’s shoulders through the incision I could see what was putting Louis in such distress. His umbilical cord was tightly wrapped around his neck two times and once around his waist. The little guy was being strangled with each of Mary’s contractions. The doctors, Mary, and little Louis all did a wonderful job in each of their roles.
Yesterday was terrifying, emotional, joyous and very, very tiring. Most importantly Mary and I now have a beautiful, perfect son. Mary and Lou are really getting the hang of breast-feeding, which will make both of their lives easier. I’m now sitting with Louis in his swaddling clothes and stocking cap as I type this last paragraph with one hand.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all from Mr. Louis Weiss.