The Birth of Melody Jane Haftmann

On February 5^th, 2011, I was having contractions, and just after 4 o’clock, things started to increase and become more serious than usual.  The contractions didn’t change when I got up and walked around like usual, and they consistently hurt.  After about an hour and a half of these, we headed off to the hospital. 

While driving we discussed- as we often did- how anxious we were for her to come, and wouldn’t it be amazing if they actually kept me at Labor and Delivery this time.  We had gone in 3 times previous, and while we were incredibly grateful for the weeks we gained, 7 weeks of wondering and worrying if she was coming was incredibly stressful.  Not to mention having weeks of constant contractions that I always had to monitor, and battling symptoms that came with the meds to stop them.  We were very ready for her to come, and the last thing we wanted was to be sent home. 

It was just before 6 pm and there was a gorgeous sunset, Rico commented that it was only fitting that there be a beautiful sunset on our little girl’s birthday.  He had said it mostly joking, but I remember thinking that it was true.  I remember feeling like we would be coming home with her this time, and that this really might be it.

When we arrived they put us in the triage section like usual, hooked us up to monitors, and we waited.  They asked all the usual questions, and the nurse was impressed with the size of the contractions and that I wasn’t reacting more to them.  Having been contracting for weeks previous, I was used to it to a degree, even though these were more painful.  

When she checked me it turned out that I was 6cm dilated and about 90-95% effaced.  At our appointment on the Thursday before I had been 5cm dilated and 85% effaced and our doctor had predicted that I wouldn’t last another week.  She was right!  The nurse went to call the on-call doctor but came back pretty promptly to report that they were keeping me and we were having this baby today.  We were both grinning, immediately so excited that the time had finally come!  I always thought I’d be incredibly nervous, but with all the craziness of the last few weeks and always thinking I could deliver at any time, I was ready.  Not to mention the wonderful strength the Lord had given me.  I have always been one of those people that dreaded the time I’d have to actually deliver a baby, but God helped me work on my fears and brought me to a calmness that I never expected. 

From here we were put in a room where they proceeded to blow 2 veins before being able to get my IV catheter in.  I’d gotten used to IVs with our other trips to Labor and Delivery, but I wasn’t thrilled to get poked so many extra times!  Within about an hour they gave me my epidural and broke my water.  They gave me a small amount of pitocin to keep things from slowing down, and within an hour of them breaking my water I dilated from a 6 to an 8, and another half hour later I was a 9+ or a 9 ½.  This was so much faster than I expected, time was flying by, and when they came back another 45 minutes later I was completely dilated and we started pushing.

Pushing was the hardest thing I have ever done.  I always expected it would be difficult, but I never knew my body could work so hard.  I bore down like usual, and we also did ‘tug of war,’ where the nurse and I each held opposite ends of a rolled towel and I pulled against her while pushing to increase effectiveness.  It was nothing short of exhausting, but again time flew and before I knew it I’d been pushing for an hour and they had me stop so they could get the doctor to deliver her.  At this time I could see the top of her head in the mirror, and as the doctor ‘suited up’ everyone was commenting on how much hair she had- one nurse even gave her a faux-hawk! 

Once everything was set and the NICU pediatrician was there (standard protocol) I resumed pushing.  Over the last 10 minutes or so I had to keep up little pushes to keep her low, and at this point she was very close to crowning.  The doctor told me if I feel pain I just need to push through it because it means she’s just about here.  I did feel some, but of course didn’t care, and within a few minutes her head was out and she instantly started crying as they suctioned out her mouth.  I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh that’s actually her, that’s her head, that’s really her!”  With one final push the shoulders delivered and the rest of her slipped right out.  She was immediately placed on my chest and it seemed completely surreal.  I still could not believe that this was actually my daughter!  She felt very warm and wet, and had gurgly cries.  I couldn’t really see her but I remember being surprised at how tiny she felt in my hands. 

After about a minute they clamped the cord and Rico cut it, and the pediatrician took her to check her over and make sure everything was good.  I watched from the bed as she weighed and measured her, and checked her out from head to toe.  Then I could really see how tiny she was and a minute later they reported that she was 5 lbs 6 ounces, and 18 ½ inches long- really tiny!  I was so focused on her that I had no idea I’d delivered the placenta and was only vaguely aware that they were doing some repairs on me.  Looking at me, one nurse commented that she could see that I wanted her back, and they were wrapping her up so I could hold her again.  Rico had been with her while they checked her out, and it was so precious to watch him interact with her.  She calmed instantly to his voice, you could tell she recognized it.  He looked SO happy, you knew he was already an incredibly proud daddy! 

When they gave her back to me I felt relieved to finally hold her again, though it had only been a couple minutes since they’d taken her.  I didn’t want to let her go, and it felt amazing to look at her and really study every detail of her.  It was starting to set in that this was who we’d been waiting for, that she was really here, that I’d made it through delivery, and we were finally a family!