I thought I almost couldn’t make it. I was in the City of Chino, giving a presentation to 30 companies about the export market in China. I received a few missed calls around the time Anne Marie had our appointment with the OBGYN. I have gone with her with every visit, except for today. Of all days, it had to be today. But, I made a commitment to Erica and the City of Chino. If I didn’t show up, then I would have been disappointing a lot of people. I spoke. Everyone learned a lot and felt the China market was scary. Many people complemented me on my presentation. All I cared about was Anne Marie. I checked my messages. Anne Marie was crying, saying she had to be admitted to the hospital. I couldn’t make out anything else she was saying, except that she wanted me to come immediately. So, I left.
I didn’t know how to get there from Chino. Driving in the general western direction, I was going through many country roads. I was hesitant to use the GPS on my BlackBerry, fearing that the battery would die out again while Anne Marie needed to reach me. I took the risk and found the 60 West. While driving from the 60 to the 57 North to the 210 West towards Huntington Drive, I prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed the Hail Mary, the Our Father, the Glory Be, the Fatima Prayer. Over and over again, I prayed. I asked my saintly friends in Heaven to join me in prayer: Saint Thomas More, Saint Joseph, Saint Jose Maria Escriva, Saint Therese de Liseux. I was afraid that Anne Marie would give birth before I arrived, but not my will, but God’s be done.
I arrived and Nurse Skye was taking Anne Marie’s blood pressure. It was in the 170’s over 110’s. She was at risk of a seizure if she did not find some way to lower her blood pressure. Oddly enough, her blood pressure started going down soon after I arrived. It was down at the mid 160’s and high 150’s. Dr. Fong eventually showed up and explained the situation. We would have to induce labor, but we can still have a vaginal birth. No episiotomy. We would try to have as natural a birth as can be. Even the magnesium sulfate would be held off until the last moment, so it would have the least affect on the baby. But the IV drip would be necessary, as well as continuous EFM and the monitoring of Anne Marie’s blood pressure every 30 minutes.
My mother-in-law was with Anne Marie the whole time that I was not there. After I arrived, she stayed in the background, brought us dinner. She was a godsend.
Anne Marie took the Cervidil at around 10pm. She ate her last solid meal at 9:30pm. Bad choice. She threw up later in the night.
The Cervidil was a low 25gram dosage that is inserted much like a tampon. It slowly releases a chemical directly on the cervix that would “jumpstart” contractions. At around 2am, Anne Marie woke me up saying she was having severe menstrual-like cramps. They were non-stop. So, it couldn’t be normal contractions. Besides, we were told in our childbirth classes that contractions start at the top of the belly and moves down to the cervix. These cramps were strictly located in the groin area. Anne Marie’s menstrual cramps hit her like a constant rush of painful waves. If they were contractions, it would have been pointless to keep track since there was no telling apart when one ended and another began.
I helped Anne Marie detach her cables, get out of bed and hold on to her as she walked to her own private bathroom. I stayed with her to help her sit down and get up. The doctor wanted a 24-hour sample of Anne Marie’s urine. So, each time she peed, it had to be caught in this plastic bowl in the toilet, where the contents would then be transferred into this one gallon orange jug. I did the honors. Anne Marie filled up two gallons from the time she was admitted at 10:30am on Thursday, Sept 9 until delivery the following day.
It turned out that Anne Marie’s non-stop cramps at 2am were actual contractions. Those three hours before then was the only sleep I got. Anne Marie had not slept at all due to nervousness. From 2am until 7:38am, I was by my wife’s side, coaching her breathing, massaging her, reminding her to relax her muscles. We thought that the cramps were the result of the Cervidil. If the cramps were this painful, then the real contractions would be horrible. As it turns out, a little after 6am, Anne Marie said she couldn’t take it anymore. I was torn: on the one hand, we had hoped to avoid an epidural; on the other, I did not think Anne Marie would be able to survive the real contractions if these cramps were hurting her so. I agreed and we asked for an epidural. The nurse came in and checked her cervix. It was dilated at 6cm. I was confused. How could this be? Does this mean we were going through the contractions after all? I told Anne Marie if she was sure she still wanted the epidural since this could mean we were in the transition period, less than an hour until the actual pushing stage. We weren’t confident that we were in the transition period. So, we still wanted the epidural. We were still waiting for the epidural when Anne Marie said she wanted to push. I was confused, but I knew she shouldn’t push at just 6cm. We could delay labor by hours or more. So, I desperately coached her to breathe and relax. One of the nurses turned Anne Marie onto her side. I continued to help her breathe and relax, but she was pouring sweat. I thought someone poured a glass of water on the side of her bed. Every few minutes, Anne Marie would tense up, look at me desperately in the eyes and said she wanted to push. I would immediately take a deep breath with her, rub the hair stuck to the sweat on her forehead and remind her not to push. She could not help but push. One of the nurses said she saw miconium. That’s bad news. I hoped Anne Marie did not hear that prognosis. I did not want her to get more nervous and increase her blood pressure. By the time the technician came at 7am, Anne Marie’s cervix was already fully-dilated and effaced. There was no time for an epidural. The baby was coming.
Anne Marie continued to get uncontrollable feelings to push. I asked her to look at me. Our faces were only inches apart. When we heard that she was fully-dilated and effaced, I smiled at my wife and happily said that we would soon see Maya! I told her how much I loved her and what an amazing job she was doing. I held her hand and cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes each time she got a break from wanting to push and smiled at her. My love smiled back. I couldn’t believe she could smile back in spite of all that pain. One of the nurses called for one of the ER doctors to prepare to come down in case our OB doctor couldn’t make it.
Dr. Della Fong arrived at around 7:20am. She was cheerful and reassuring. All the nurses were busy around us converting the bed that Anne Marie was laboring in into a delivery table. There were soft plastic stirrups that were designed to support the calves. There was a table covered in hospital linen with all sorts of tools and scissors. Bright lights turned on in the ceiling from wells that I never noticed before.
Dr. Fong asked me to hold on to Anne Marie’s left leg. A nurse held Anne Marie’s right. As I changed position from my intent connection with my wife, encouraging her not to push, I noticed that there was a pale sliver of hairy growth protruding from my wife’s vagina. It was Maya’s head. She was crowning! I saw Dr. Fong massaging Anne Marie’s perineum. I saw her pour buckets of this thick clear goo that I assumed was lubricant. I held Anne Marie’s hand and kissed her forehead. I continued to coach her in her breathing and relaxing. Dr. Fong said not to push, but let the contractions push the baby out. Every time the desire to push came, Anne Marie’s legs and arms would tense up. I reminded her to relax and my wife tried her best not to kick the doctor in the face or pull herself up from the bed while holding my hand.
When Dr. Fong announced the head was out, I took a brief glance and returned to my wife, exclaiming with joy that Maya’s head was out. As I finished saying it, Maya was out completely and the doctor handed this pale, gangly and wobbling baby onto Anne Marie’s belly. The nurses came and covered them with a cloth. They wiped Maya down and somehow got Anne Marie completely naked so the baby could be skin-to-skin with her mother.
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