Father FoolKiller

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FoolKiller

Don't be a fool.
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FoolKiller1979
Long story here. Skip to the end for the important bit.


I went to bed early Wednesday, February 17th because I needed to get to work early to take care of some stuff with my third shift crew before they left at 6:30. That early bed time was a good idea for a much better reason.

At just around midnight, now Thursday, February 18th, my 39 weeks pregnant wife wakes me up with five words that have changed my life forever, "I think my water broke." Sure enough, her water broke, but there were no contractions. None. For those that don't know; that is not normal. The amniotic sack protects the fetus from the outside world. When that breaks the clock begins ticking on what the risk of infection for the fetus is. Our problem: We were planning a fully non-intervention pregnancy. No induction, no pain medicine, and absolutely no C-section surgeries. Emergencies happen and unless you think that every mammal on the planet does it wrong, those are the only reason we created those interventions. We were not pumping my wife full of chemicals or cutting her up unless one or more lives were at stake.

So, we called our doula to get her guidance, seeing as how she is trained for giving advice in non-intervention births. She suggested that if there were no contractions we get some sleep, because we will need it soon, and then call the doctor in the morning. So, we slept. I got up just long enough to call the third shift people and deliver a message that I hoped would hold off all problems for two weeks (it probably won't happen, but I don't care now).

At 8:00 AM my wife notices small and irregular contractions and calls the midwife and asks her for advice. Our midwife is fully on board with our birth plan and tells us that if the contractions don't become regular to come in for our weekly check up at 3:00 PM as planned. So the rest of my day was spent packing last minute items for the hospital and leading my wife through relaxation exercises during contractions. I even went out and bought sausage and eggs to make the brunch my wife requested. At 3:00 PM we went to the doctor's office. The midwife did an exam and determined my wife was at 2 centimeters. She told us that we needed to monitor the baby for about 40 minutes to be sure she wasn't under any stress and if all was fine we could choose to go home or stay in the hospital until 7:00 PM, when we would be checked again. Without any progress we would need to induce labor.

We opted to stay in the hospital (we were already packed). The baby was perfectly fine, but by 8:30 PM (the midwife delivered another baby and was late) nothing had changed, so they started my wife on pitocin (which is synthetic oxytocin, the hormone that starts labor). The nature of an induction is that contractions are much, much more painful and hard. My wife quickly wanted an epidural: birth plan out the window. The problem here is that my wife apparently does not respond to local anesthetic very well and so she actually felt the epidural being inserted into her spine. That was hard to watch.

After that things began to progress, but after about an hour my wife's blood pressure dropped to 95/42 (not healthy), but the baby's heart beat never dropped below 130 bpm. Nurses were running around everywhere. They shut off 6the pitocin and tilted the bed so my wife's head was lower than her heart. After about 30 minutes things returned to normal and we began waiting again. By this point it was nearly midnight and my wife was at 3 centimeters. Twenty-four hours in.

After the blood pressure scare I decided that I could not just relax. My wife was finally completely numb from the epidural and she fell asleep, but I was determined to remain vigilant. I sat a chair at the head of her bed and stayed up watching her and the monitor. At one point I did pull out my PSP and play some Gran Turismo to keep myself awake, but for the most part I sat with my head leaning on the bed rail watching.

At around 7:15 AM, on Friday, February 19th my wife woke up feeling a lot of pain. That was interesting, considering the epidural. So the nurse came in and did a check. She was at 9 centimeters (10 is the go point). The nurse called our midwife and then another nurse came in and asked for me. Apparently, my mother (my wife's mother and the doula were present the whole time) had shown up without us calling, just as the delivery was beginning. Weird. She stayed in the waiting room, but wanted me to know she was there. Then the anesthesiologist explained to my wife that she had a new kind of pain and would require a change to the epidural that would include a narcotic in order to stop this. Even at this stage, a baby can get some narcotics in its system. My wife, ever the trooper, said no. The epidural was allowed to run out so she could consciously feel when to push, and the delivery would be almost completely without pain medication. We were mostly back on track to what we had planned for.

At 7:45 the midwife came in and checked my wife and told her that it was time. The baby had dropped down into the pelvis completely and she only had to push her about an inch. What an inch. I was by one of my wife's legs because we were trying various positions and she still didn't have full control of her legs yet. So, only the midwife had a better view of the goings on than me, and she would point out everything to me.

What transpired in the following hour and 15 minutes has made me love my wife more than I had ever imagined possible. She became the strongest person I have ever met. For a very brief moment she was the most beautiful woman in the world. But then I saw I was wrong and that my wife comes in a very close second.

33 hours after her water broke, at 9:00 AM on Friday, February 19th, 2010 my wife gave birth to a baby girl the most beautiful baby girl to ever exist* and my life was changed forever. That was when I met Tova, my daughter, and both cried and smiled more than I have ever done in my life. She was 19 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 15.6 ounces.

In the few days following I have learned that a father knows his child's cry over all others. I realized that seeing the eyes of your wife looking out of your daughter's eyes is a scary and beautiful thing, because those are the same eyes that first drew me to my wife. Those eyes will break hearts, and maybe even some heads that I will have to break. Seeing the tiny, fragile hands of your daughter wrap around your finger is the most amazing thing ever, especially when allowing her to do that small act guarantees she will stop crying.

Of course, I immediately asked about my own congenital heart defects (because no amount of ultrasounds will satisfy me) and found that she is free of every congenital issue I had. The only complication we dealt with was jaundice, but that was under control in time for us to take her home within 48 hours.

She is perfectly healthy in every test they can do right now. And for me, that removes the greatest fear I had from the moment my wife and I decided to have a baby. She got my cheeks and my hair (she has a lot) and apparently my gas, but not my problems.

So, I would like to introduce you all to my daughter, Tova Marie.



IT'S A GIRL
dscn0140s.jpg

:D



* If you wish to argue this point, don't. You are wrong.
 
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Bravo!

And 'great job' to the mother! We have similar stories, my wife's water broke without any kind of contractions. 2 days in the hospital and induction later *the most beautiful girl in the world was born.

Enjoy very minute of it as it goes by too quickly, that is for sure.
 
Congrats Steve! Glad to hear she's healthy and doing well. It seems like you just announced to us your wife was pregnant and here you are introducing us to Wee Foolkiller.

And cool choice on the name. I don't think I've ever met a Tova before but after looking into the background on it, it's a pretty awesome name.
 
Congratulations, sir. You are launched on the greatest voyage of your life.

Respectfully yours,
Dotini
 
Congrats Steve! Glad to hear she's healthy and doing well. It seems like you just announced to us your wife was pregnant and here you are introducing us to Wee Foolkiller.
That is Little Lady FoolKiller. :D

And cool choice on the name. I don't think I've ever met a Tova before but after looking into the background on it, it's a pretty awesome name.
Which background? I have found a couple of meanings, although it is my grandmother's name, which is from her mother's Scandinavian best friend, making it the female version of Thor, which means Beautiful Thunder.

The other I have run across is that it is Hebrew for Good.
 
Damn, so you haven't become a Vicar then? Misleading thread title much... :P

Congrats! :D

Although uh... I know you're new parents and all, but I think socks traditionally go on the kid's feet ;)
 
That is Little Lady FoolKiller. :D

Which background? I have found a couple of meanings, although it is my grandmother's name, which is from her mother's Scandinavian best friend, making it the female version of Thor, which means Beautiful Thunder.

The other I have run across is that it is Hebrew for Good.

I looked into the Scandinavian meaning and came across Þórrfríðr, which as you said loosely translate to beautiful thunder. Having some deep Scandinavian roots in my family and loving everything about their mythology, especially Thor (I wear my Mjolnir pendent daily) I find the name Tova to be pretty awesome.

I'm just glad to see Little Lady Foolkiller ended up with an awesome, uncommon name. So many people now days name their kids something really uninteresting.
 
Thanks to all for the well wishes.

Although uh... I know you're new parents and all, but I think socks traditionally go on the kid's feet ;)
Yeah, we have mittens but her hands are small enough to slide out of them, and she keeps scratching at her face.

I'm just glad to see Little Lady Foolkiller ended up with an awesome, uncommon name. So many people now days name their kids something really uninteresting.
My other grandmother was a Minnie, and that wasn't happening.
 
Nice story and great to see everything turned out fantastic. Congratulations :cheers:
 
Congrats on the birth of your little princess. Looking forward to seeing lots more pictures in the coming weeks.

Not sure why they tell you water breaking before contractions isn't normal. Half the people I know had water breaking before contractions, me included with Jack.
 
Some amazing words there, FK. Big congratulations to you and your family!!! All the best with your new daughter 👍.
 
What a great read! A great job of showing just how proud you are of your ladies. Sounds very justified!

Congrats on the baby! I'm sure you're in for a lot of fun with her.

:cheers:
 
Congrats, Stacy and Steve! Glad to hear that Tova doesn't have any heart issues! :cheers:

9:00 AM on Friday, February 19th, 2010
My sources tell me it was actually 8:57 am. ;)

And Tova was the only baby born at said hospital on the 19th.

When our oldest was born, my wife was having contractions but her water hadn't broke yet. After sitting in the hospital on a monitor for a few hours, the nurses said that we might as well go home. Less than 5 minutes later, her water broke and we had a room. Less than 12 hours after that, Thing 1 was born.

Enjoy very minute of it as it goes by too quickly, that is for sure.
I know everyone says it, but in this case it's because it's true. My oldest turns 6 next month and youngest will be 5. :scared:
 
Congrats man! Looks like your first birth was as exciting as mine. :) It's usually harder for the man watching than the woman doing it (according to my wife anyway :P) I think my wife would have killed me if I brought a PSP and GT though. :lol:
 
Congrats on the birth of your little princess. Looking forward to seeing lots more pictures in the coming weeks.

Not sure why they tell you water breaking before contractions isn't normal. Half the people I know had water breaking before contractions, me included with Jack.

I knew you were gonna say something about Jack :lol:.

Congrats, FK!!! She looks so cute as well!
 
Awesome read, congratulations Sir. Foolkiller.

Hopefully she follows from a great mans foot steps :cheers:.
 
Great to see she's healthy after all you two have been through. I'm truly, sincerely happy for you.
 
:cheers: Welcome to the club FK. Good to see everyone is health and well. Your story is not too dissimilar to my experiences in December. My wife's water also broke and she did not get contractions straight away either. Actually took about 12 hours. And my daughter Jasmine also had a slight case of Jaundice. Anyway, enough of that, this is your moment, and again congratulations to both yourself and your wife:tup:
 
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