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all about eve - the birth

the pushing phase of labor was by far the worst part. because of the epidural, the active phase of labor wasn't too bad, but the anesthesia didn't seem to even touch this pain. each push brought julie enormous pain, but the midwife kept urging her to "push into the pain"... seems to me kinda like telling a football player with a broken leg, bone sticking out of the flesh, to just "play through the pain." keep running on that leg and ignore the fact that that bone seems to be working its way out of body, blood spurting everywhere.

the most amazing thing was to look down and begin to see the top of the baby's head. how incredible! there really is a baby in there! the hair looked dark, and there was more of it than i would have expected. both julie and i were bald babies.

a few pushes later, the baby's head was out. they suctioned her mouth and nose out. there seemed to be an arm wrapped up around her neck, but couldn't really tell which one! the elbow was still obscured... i'm sure having that elbow up like that didn't make things easier for julie.

soon our baby was all the way out, and they laid her right up on julie's stomach. she started crying--what a sweet voice! i cut the umbilical cord, and just like that... she was on her own! (well, not completely) how amazing... a new person.

---THURSDAY---

julie had torn quite badly, and was bleeding profusely. they wrapped the baby up and handed her over to me. i sat down and held her close as they spent the next 45 minutes stitching julie up. it seemed no matter how many stitches they put in, the blood kept seeping. julie told me later that she could feel each stitch going in; it was agony... oh how i wish we could have turned up that epidural!!

eventually they got the bleeding under control. for the next few days i would be pushing julie around in a wheelchair. she could hardly move without excruciating pain.