The Fed-Ex of Deliveries
2:56 PM
Jeff Burmeister
,
I'm going to attempt to put down the whole story of Elizabeth's birth for the record. I'm hopeful that I can recall with accuracy all of the details, but my mind was running on empty on the morning of January 18th, but I think I'll be very close.Our story begins on Sunday the 17th. I made plans (my first mistake) to spend some time with a few of my cycling friends. On Sunday Nights our sponsor, The Birchwood Cafe, has a Burger and Beer special. So the Men's team likes to get together, have a burger and a beer or two and chat about cycling for a few hours. Around 7:15pm I get a call from Sheila saying casually "you know how you were going to hit Cub Food's for us after hanging out with the boys? Why don't you come straight home instead. But no need to rush home now. Everything is fine."
So we order another beer so we can say a toast to my little girl. I drink it down quickly and hit the road to see how my wife was getting along. I get home to her on the couch looking pretty relaxed but with a look of concern is running across her face. She has been getting a cramp like contraction every 90 minutes or so. So we try to make her comfortable and I help her into bed.
I roll into bed around midnight. Sheila is now somewhat comfortable and Stefanie is out with her friends watching a movie. So I crawl into bed and dose off assuming that I will be heading into the office in seven hours. 2:15 AM Sheila wakes me with a look of terror and pain across her face. She says that she has been dreaming about having contractions and that she has just had her bloody discharge, and then she informs me that its time to go to the hospital. Code Red is declared.
I call Stefanie to let her know we are on the way, she says she will meet us there. Sheila and I start gathering our things as quickly as a woman who is having contractions every 7-8 minutes for about 20 to 30 second long can. With the Van loaded we hit the road for the nearly 30 mile drive up to our hospital, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. Before you go and ask yourself "Why the f#$@ would they drive all that distance for?" I'll tell you that this is the hospital attached to the woman's health clinic that Sheila works in. So she knows all of the doctors etc. hence it is our hospital of choice.
I'm in panic and concern mode at the same time. I need to get her there fast, but slowly enough to avoid the drunk drivers who are out after the Vikings win and don't have to work tomorrow because of MLK. We arrive at the hospital to find Stef and her two friends already there. They unlike me put the pedal down and got there quickly. The four of them chat for a few minutes while I unload the bags, and park the van. We enter the hospital just a few minutes prior to 3AM.
We get pointed directly to the Labor and Delivery unit, we called ahead and they are waiting for us. Surprisingly we are informed by Crystal our nurse that we are the only ones in the unit tonight. So she starts to check us in, taking blood pressures, temperatures, and hooking up the fetal heart monitor. Then its time for the physical exam, this doesn't go well, and a second nurse is called for. They work together and determine that Sheila is now at 6-7cm dilated and baby is at a -2. So its time to get us out of the examination room and down the hall to our birthing room. Doctor Ron (the on call Doctor is paged for us) and we make our way down to room #470, which will be our home for the length of our birthing.
We get ourselves settled into the room. Sheila's contractions are now hitting every 4 minutes or so, and she is dealing with them as best she can. She is a walk it out kind of girl, so a lot of pacing back and forth starts. I find the chair that pulls out into a bed and try to relax, assuming that we're in for a very long morning. It's now shortly after 4:15 AM and we make the decision that it is time for Sheila to get an epidural as the pain is becoming too much, and she can't get herself comfortable.
The doctor arrives and is a very pleasant fellow who has been with the client for nearly 40 years. Sheila and the Doctor talk shop while he puts in the epidural. This is completed around 4:45 AM and we're now visited by the on call doctor, Ron. Introductions are made, Sheila and him joke about being called in, and he says its not a big deal since he was on his way in for an Emergency downstairs in the OR. So he goes in and does his check of Sheila. "Opps sorry about that Sheila, I think I bumped you to 8cm dilated." The second nurse, Lisa now comes in and tells us that we should all try to rest a bit since it will be a long morning. Lights are turned off, beds are made and Sheila is feeling comfortable for the first time in a ling while.
At 5:10AM Nurse Lisa walks back into the room with a walk that is very focused. "We've lost baby's heart beat on the monitor." She grabs the monitor and searches for baby, she searches some more, and more, and more. No luck. You can see Sheila start to get concerned. I'm starting to get concerned. The nurse is now getting concerned. She pages the other nurse to come and help her and... Beep, beep, beep, "There that stinker is!" Baby has moved down on us. So the nurse says that she is going to put in a intro-vaginal heart monitor. Sheila turns to me and says "I feel like pushing, its like I need to use the restroom or something."
Nurse Lisa, "Ahh lets page the Doctor Now! Sheila, we can see your babies head." 5:45AM
Organized panic now hits our room. The equipment carts are all wheeled in, lights are set up, bedding and sheets are changed and Sheila is put up into the stirrups. Doctor shows up and is in full dress already. "Hey Sheila, how are things going for you I hope that your.... Okay so I see you're +2 already, and ... Well lets have a baby!"Doctors assumes his Johnny Bench position at the end of the bed, the two nurses are now magically in full dress and are on both sides of Sheila. Stef is on the other side of Sheila holding her hand and acting as the birth partner. I'm a feet away as the Doctor announces, "Jeff, your little girl has a lot of hair, would you like to see?" I'm in a state of shock and move around behind the doctor to take my new position as birthing umpire and see that my daughter already has a big patch of dark brown hair. I take this seemingly safe position for the rest of the delivered.
The Nurses, Doctor and Stefanie are now all instructing Sheila that it is time to push (5:55AM)
Sheila takes her first shoot at pushing. She breaths in deep, and then does a classic yoga move as she blows out as she is pushing. The nurses are now all trying to correct her. She is about to take a second push during next contraction when the Doctor stops everyone and says, "Sheial. Breath in. Hold the breath. Bare down. Push!"
Sheila does. The baby's head crowns on this good push. The second push and baby's head comes out and she turns to the right a bit. The doctors says okay, "Okay a big push here." As Sheila is getting ready to push, Baby decides she isn't going to wait for anyone else and pulls her arm through and reaches out just as Sheila starts to push. This sudden passing of the shoulders makes baby come the rest of the way in the last push.
Our Book will be titled. "Boom! Have your baby in just four pushes!" It will be the latest crazy in all of those self-help birthing books.
Elizabeth Quinn Burmeister is born at 5:58AM on January 18th 2010 to very proud parents and a very excited big sister.
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