Sweet Relief

It's a girl!

Edie Lillian Jardine, born at 8:43 a.m. Saturday September 6th, weighing a solid 8 pounds 4 ounces. Technically you could say she was born on September 5th (Friday night in Canada), so I guess we'll have to celebrate separate Canadian and Aussie birthdays.

Mom and baby are both doing well, but the labour didn't go through without a bit of a scare. If you are interested in the details, read on. If not, enjoy the pics at the right!

Here's a timeline of how things transpired for us.

Friday 12:00 (noon): Laura calls me home from work as labour has officially begun - mild contractions plus "the show"

Fri afternoon: contractions getting stronger but she's still able to move around - we go for a couple of walks

6:00 pm: things are advancing, we get out the warm towels and she has a bit of lay-down to conserve energy

8:00 pm: the water breaks, it's go time!

8:30 pm: we arrive at hospital, contractions are 3-4 minutes apart, she is admitted directly to the birthing suite

9:00 pm: 1st checkup - she is dilated to 3 cm and right on track, mid-wife seems pleased

1:00 a.m.: 2nd checkup - she is dilated to 6 cm, again on schedule; the midwife was in and out the whole time, but for the most part it was quiet in the birthing suite

5:00 a.m.: 3rd checkup - and this where things start to go astray; Laura is only dilated to 7 cm (1 cm gain in 4 hours), indicating a slowing of progress; also her blood pressure has crept up

6:00 a.m.: an epidural is recommended by the obstetrician; this will ease the pain of contractions as well as reducing Laura's blood pressure. We are initially resistant because we were hoping for a drug-free birth, but in consultation with the mid-wife (who had been with us since we got to the hospital), we decide it is the best way forward.

7:00 a.m.: still no epidural as staff changeover is occurring, we lose the midwife in exchange for a new one; we are both getting frustrated and Laura is tired

7:30 a.m.: Here is where the drama occurred; as the anethestist is washing up to give the epidural, Laura has a seizure, a result of pre-eclampsia (which has now become eclampsia and was causing the high blood pressure). The mid-wife hits the alarm button and all heck breaks loose. Laura is convulsing uncontrollably as staff (15 in total) spill into the room, unwillingly transforming my life into a scene from ER. By far the scariest moment of my life. The seizure passes and staff deliver magnesium sulfate to drop the blood pressure. Baby's heart rate jumped during the seizure but stabilized quickly. I am a blubbering mess in the corner of the room.

8:00 a.m.: Laura is slowly coming back to reality, we collectively coax her into resuming her pushing.

8:30 a.m.: Laura is fully back, even with her sense of humor starting to show through, she's putting all she's got into the pushing

8:43 a.m.: With the help of incredible hospital staff, a vacuum, forceps, and Laura's Herculean strength, she delivers our beautiful daughter.

So that's how it all unfolded. Laura is recovering and should be out of the hospital in a couple of days. And I changed my 1st diaper. Oh, and coincidentally, today (Sept 7th) is Father's Day in Australia, so I just made it!

Lots of love to all, we'll talk soon.