One of the
toughest things about pregnancy is those last few weeks. You watch your wife go through a myriad of
emotions: from joy and hope to fear and distress. This is especially true when you have big
babies and when your wife is hoping to have a natural birth with these enormous
babies!
After we
hit the 40 week mark, I could see how each day that passed weighed more and
more on Stasia’s mind. She is always an
incredible woman and kept a smile up most of the time, but I knew it was a
shadow always growing within her. Still,
she kept going out, hanging out with people, and acting like it was any other
day, except she had a huge baby hanging on for dear life inside her…
Passing the
timing of Bailey Drew’s birth was another tough time for us. Again, as a father the last few weeks are
tough because you wait for nine months for this child and to actually be able
to help in some (in my mind) meaningful way.
While I am excited for this, I can’t help but wonder how things will go
for my wife. “Will the labor be longer
than last time? Will she be able to be
rested? How long until she hits
transition? How long will that
last? How long will she push?” The questions start multiplying and becoming
more and more real. This could happen
any day.
Finally, on
Tuesday night, July 14th, Stasia started feeling more consistent
contractions. We had gone out to Target
to walk around (because it’s just too stinking hot to walk anywhere outside in
July) and were trying not to get our hopes up or make a big deal out of it on
our way home. However, I was already getting
my game face on. We got home, put Bailey
Drew to bed, and Stasia told me that the contraction were coming more
consistently. At that time, we started
timing the contractions while still distracting ourselves. We played a game and had a movie on in the
background.
At this
point, things started moving fast.
Looking back, it felt like time just took off. Before I knew it, we were contacting our
doula and our family, it was midnight, and Stasia was already starting to have
to really focus during the contractions.
This was moving so much faster than our previous birth experience.
Our doula
arrived and Stasia just went to work.
Y’all, I just can’t express how impressed I am with this woman. She was pushing through each contraction as
they quickly moved from five minutes apart to four to three. We got around three minutes apart and the
contractions got much more intense. It
was time to head to the hospital.
We got to
the hospital around 2ish, checked in, and started meeting with our nurses and
getting Stasia settled while she was still have contractions every three
minutes. Long story short (which you can
read about in Stasia’s version), we flooded one room completely, moved to a
second room, which had water from the first room seeping in, and finally
arrived at the room where we would deliver our son.
After that,
things really sped up. Stasia was
already having very intense contractions and was getting really close to being
ready to start pushing. They broke her
water and things got moving even more.
I’m doing everything I can to help her any way that I can without saying
something stupid or having any nurse do anything that Stasia wouldn’t want to
happen in her birth plan. My head is
spinning! At the same time, I am having
to watch my strong, beautiful wife writhe in agony and struggle under each
contraction.
Then it’s
time to push.
At this
point, I have a very weird mixture of emotions going on. On the one hand, I know that it is almost
time. My son is about to make his entrance
and I am going to be able to meet him for the first time. I have been waiting for nine months for this
moment and it is finally here!!
On the
other hand, I know that this is probably going to be a very trying time for
Stasia physically and emotionally. I’m
not as green as I was last time around and I know that she is about to face one
of the toughest things she will ever do.
Also, at this point it is nearly 6 in the morning and neither of us has
slept at all, so I know she is tired in every way a human could be tired. At this point all I’m trying to do is make
her as comfortable (yeah…..) as I can while just praying over her constantly
and encouraging her.
Again, the mixed emotions rise
up. I’m so proud of her as she focuses
on every push. I’m also so excited that
with each push we are closer to seeing, holding, and knowing our son for the
first time! However, I also can watch my
wife struggle mightily and grow weaker and in more and more pain.
Birth is such a wonderful,
terrible, beautiful thing.
Finally, after almost eight and a
half hours, Jameson Luke Skelton takes his first breath and our son is
born! My son is here! The nurses clean him up, place him on his
mother, and our family of three is officially a foursome! God is so good!
After the chaos subsides and our room quiets down, I fall into a chair in the room and just watch my son with his incredible mother as she takes care of him, looks him over, and loves him the way only she can and I marvel at why God would give me such an amazing woman. My life is incredible and I can’t wait see how God is going to use Jameson to draw our family even more towards His heart!
and review the birth process!
