Please meet Evelyn “Evie” Rose Pifalo
Born: 07.03.13 12:06 am
Weight: 8lb 4oz
Height: 21 in
It was a long time coming, but the end result was worth it. Beth’s water broke early Sunday morning, but her contractions didn’t begin until around 2pm. It took us all the way to around 10pm on Monday before the doctors felt that Beth could start pushing. Not everything was right, though, and after an hour and a half later Beth was rushed into the operating room for an emergency cesarean section. Those 30 minutes were longer to me than the previous day and a half…standing outside the operating room dressed in scrubs and waiting to be told that I could enter. But I finally got to sit by Beth, and together we heard a sudden baby’s cry, and at last knew that Evelyn Rose was with us in this world.
Well, today marks the end of the 40th week for Beth’s pregnancy 
. I’m officially starting to get nervous. I was surprised at myself last night when I recognized the fluttering feeling in my stomach; I realized that I’m scared about not only the future but by the actual event of the birth.
Will I be able to do everything I need to do in the best way possible? I don’t want to be a hindrance on the process; I want to be an asset. I know that all the effort will be on Beth, and that she will do exactly what she needs. But how will I help? I know what I’m supposed to do, but will I get so caught up in all the activity and bluster that I forget? I know that when I’m thrust into an uncontrollable situation, my mind shuts itself down…I cannot process anything other than the current second of activity. Sometimes that works ok (like when playing basketball or soccer and I’m really just reacting to everything going on at that moment), but in a birth…? I’ve got to be better performing than that because I haven’t got any past experience to fall back upon and let myself react.
Will I get so caught up in trying to make Beth comfortable that when she first lashes out in pain (and I know she will…I mean eight pounds through ten centimeters!) will I feel hurt and suddenly stop enjoying myself? Will I shell up and then be of no use to her? I know that I should just brush off anything she may say or do, and that she’s not rationally thinking when she lashes out (rather she’s reacting to what’s going on with her body and the pain she’s feeling)…but when I’m actually in that situation what will I do?
I want to do everything right. For her and for the baby…and even a bit for our families (I want them to remember the role I play fondly and not with embarrassment or bemusement).
So there’s my nervousness…not so much about concern for the health of Beth or the baby, but over the event. And maybe this will be my big mistake – I’ll get so caught up in my own actions that something unexpected will happen. I won’t pretend to have a special sense and that I somehow ‘know’ that everything will be ok, but I’m really feeling like we know the risks and somehow it just seems like things will go all right for Beth. We already had the bad news with that first miscarriage, and it seems like this pregnancy has been nearly textbook.
So, for the sake of posterity – and so that I can review these thoughts after the birth – I’m going to write down my assumptions of what I think will occur at the birth. I think the future me will re-read these notes and think ‘what a fool – that’s not even close to reality!’.
Beth will get the wide-spread contractions over the course of a day…eventually these will increase in frequency to the point that she’s concerned enough to call the doctor (I don’t think we’ll wait for exactly “five minutes apart”) but once we’re under seven we’re calling). We’ll go to the hospital and they’ll put Beth in the observation room. A few hours later (since we probably jumped the gun), they’ll want to admit Beth. At that point I’ll start calling folk. I’ll also keep asking Beth “how are you feeling? Are you ok? Can I get you anything?” so often that she tells me to shut up. The nurse will go over the details of what we should expect and will probably prompt me from time to time to do certain things – like get some ice chips for Beth. Beth will try walking a bit, but probably find that she’s more comfortable in a crouched, rocking position. And then things will pick up…the doctor will really take charge at that point and Beth will follow as well as she can…I’ll do my best to keep Beth focused on controlling her body until the point where she needs to push. This is where I really don’t know how quickly things will go…I think this could go on for an hour…but I just don’t know. But the kid will be born…and at that moment I won’t change as a person but I will look at everything differently.
Another creative commons video…
A creative commons video…
So I did a down and dirty placement of the latest blog posts onto the homepage; I haven’t messed with the styles though and personally that blue text is getting to me… The other big news with the site is that I’ve done some re-arranging of the Photo Gallery section; I’ve now made it so that as soon as someone creates an account they will get their very own photo gallery. For Lisa, Gina and Maria who already had accounts made, I’ve gone ahead and given you your galleries too. Let me know if you have any questions how to upload your photos.
