It's a Girl!

Sofia is 4 years old now!  She was born in very early in the morning and I can't remember the time.  Katherine was in labor most of June 2nd.  This is an account of History, not Herstory.  This is how it happened in my eyes and heart.  Some people (Mommys, Doulas, Midwives, and Nurses) might tell you a different story, but they are all wrong, because this is how it happened.

Back in the day, when I was working in the corporate world, I woke up early and made my daily trek up Highway 101 to go to work.  I received a phone call around 11am when Katherine informed me that she "may be going into labor".  She finished her morning meetings (while having contractions!) and then called me back fifteen minutes later to tell me that she was definitely going into labor.  I rushed home to take her to the hospital to have the baby, which was delivered a mere 15 hours later.

In the time between me coming home and going to the hospital, we were able to take an hour long walk around the block, go to the pool, eat dinner, rest on the couch, send the doula home to take care of her children, call her back to tell her we are ready, wait 2 more hrs, then finally head to the hospital.
I told you in the beginning this is History, so the fifteen hours of labor obviously wasn't as dramatic for me as it was for Katherine.  This is not Herstory. To this day, I promote and praise our doula for the work she did.  If I had to help Katherine by myself, she would have probably told me to leave and delivered the baby by herself.  I started to feel the pressure when we tried to go to the car and had to stop every 60 seconds for contractions.  After we finally got to the car, I turned a 15 minute casual commute into a 10 minute Formula 1 race to the emergency room.

We arrived at the hospital and I walked Katherine in and went to park the car.  By the time I got back, her water had broken and we were at Defcon 1!  What happened while I was gone?  Where should I stand? What should I say?  Where is the doula?  Why is the doctor smiling at me like that?  Is there a booger in my nose?  These are all things that are going through my mind at the time.

What happened next is truly a miracle, and until I heard first hand stories about our friend's hardships of labor I didn't realize how miraculous having a healthy baby with a problem free delivery was.  I was standing next to Katherine when the doctor and nurses started telling her to push.  I held her hand, tried to say all the right things, and looked in amazement at what was happening.  When I saw the baby start to crown, I told the doctor, "Excuse me, I can handle it from here.  If I need assistance, I will give you a nod." Our Midwife, Dr. Lin, saw the urgency in my eyes and stepped aside so that I could catch the baby as she came out of the womb.  It was then and there, that I cut the umbilical cord and raised the baby into the air, claiming her name, "Sofia, Princess of the Graham family!"  On top of that, Katherine went HAM (Hard as a Mofo) in the delivery room with a drug free delivery.  If I were in the same situation, pass me the epidural and an shot of Johnny Walker Blue! I still don't know how she did it!

Later that day, Dr. Lin later asked me to join her practice because of the calmness and expertise that I exhibited while delivering our baby.  I graciously denied her offer....That last part may have been a dream, I was very sleep deprived and almost slept through a red light on the way home that morning.