Read the story you selected below.  Click on a link above to view another story or use a link to the left to view another are of the site.

Griffin’s Birth Story

By: Mike Bailey

March, 11th, 2004

After a few years of planning, a few months of trying, and a few trimesters of preparing, we had finally reached a point where we could expect the birth of our first child at any moment. From mid-January, we were told that if Shannon went into labor, they wouldn’t stop it because they consider 36 weeks to be full term nowadays. Our due date was February 12th. Shannon had hoped for a February 3rd delivery so the birthday would have been 2-3-04. Alas, that day came and went.

Everything was set. The nursery was finished. The baby showers were in the past. We had a few Birth Preparation classes to attend but those were actually a calming distraction compared to a month or more of constant waiting. Everything was packed and we were ready at a moments notice. Shannon had instructions not to call me cell phone to cell phone unless it was time. I had watched a coworker 6 months ago take a call on his cell phone with his wife due any moment. It turned out she just wanted him to pick up some milk and didn’t feel like leaving a voicemail for him. I knew I would be able to take any calls like that.

So we moved from January into February. I warned coworkers that they would certainly be able to schedule commitments for me but I may or may not show up for them. I tried not to take any appointments on the south side of town and when I did, I always called Shannon before I left just to check in on her. “Do you feel anything today? Ok, I’m headed to Burnsville, I’ll see you tonight.”

We had weekly appointments to see Shannon’s doctor by that point. Each week she hadn’t made any more progress and the waiting continued. Finally, our appointment for February 13th came and still no progress. The doctor wanted to wait another full week before discussing inducing labor. That wasn’t going to work for Shannon or myself. Shannon wanted to avoid a Cesarian Section and feared the baby would be too big for her to deliver herself. The doctor relented and we made an appointment for Tuesday evening on the 17th for Shannon to check into the maternity ward and be induced early the next morning. That way, our doctor would be the one to deliver for us.

After work, Tuesday evening, we got Shannon settled in and they gave her the first set of drugs that night. They checked the baby’s vitals and everything seemed normal. Nurses and doctors who checked in on us kept asking if we knew how big the baby was. We had no idea and were puzzled by the question as if that should have been determined by now. Late Tuesday night, I left Shannon to head home and take care of the dog. I had the option of sleeping in the room with her on what the hospital feels passes for a fold out bed but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep well enough to get any rest and I’d probably do some damage to my back in the process. So, the plan was for me to come back by 7am when the real drugs were to start for Shannon.

Wednesday morning came and I got cleaned up, ate and headed to the hospital as fast as I could. The dog was awfully puzzled by the fact that Shannon wasn’t home and a little mad that I was locking him up for the day. Shannon had breakfast and the drugs for inducing labor started. Shannon started having contractions right away and we thought she was well underway in the early afternoon. The evening nurse thought we’d deliver by the end of her shift at 11pm. By late afternoon, they had broken Shannon’s water and the contractions were getting pretty intense. They had a monitor to measure the strength of the contractions and some of them were topping the scale. By then, Shannon asked for some pain medication so she could relax a bit and I couldn’t blame her at all. She was actually able to sleep most of the evening which was remarkable, I thought.

With Shannon’s mother and one sister and their house, my brother at my parent’s house and my parents vacationing in Hawaii, I had been busy on the phone keeping everyone abreast of the progress. They were then responsible for informing the rest of the family. There was a small group who wanted to see the baby that night, no matter how late it got.

Around 7pm Shannon had only opened to about 5cm and there was a concern that the induction drugs weren’t being effective any more. By 11pm there was no more progress and we were told to prepare ourselves for Shannon having a C-Section. We were both a bit heartbroken but by that point we realized that it was probably best for Shannon and the baby. We were told that our doctor was on the way and he would make the final decision around Midnight.

When the doctor arrived, his assessment was that Shannon was no longer in labor and that perhaps by stopping the drugs for the night and resuming in the morning, there was a chance Shannon could deliver the baby still. The bad news was that the doctor would not be on duty the next day and we would have another doctor deliver our baby. I then called everyone off for the night and headed home to get some sleep with a plan to return in the early morning again to start all over.

Thursday morning came and the only thing that we were certain of was that one way or another, we were going to have a baby today. We thought February 19th, 2004 had a nice ring to it but by then, any date would have. When the induction drugs were resumed at 8am, there was some concern that the baby’s heart rate had risen to a very active level and it wasn’t going down. Shannon’s contractions resumed and she again requested some pain medication.

By 11am, there had been no progress made. The new doctor came in to visit and asked us how big we thought the baby was. We again told him that our doctor had given us no indication of the size. He then made the decision, based on Shannon’s progress and the baby’s stressful condition, that we would begin prepping for a C-Section. I had to change into hospital scrubs and they began getting Shannon prepped. We determined that we should hold off on making any phone calls until after the delivery to try to reduce everyone’s concerns.

They rolled Shannon into the operating room and told me to wait in the maternity room until someone came to get me. By then my emotions were all over the board. I was scared, nervous, sweating and anxious. Waiting in the room, the phone rang and it was my parents. I told them what was going on and before I could receive any encouragement or advice, a nurse came to bring me into the operating room. Yikes!

In the delivery room, I sat down on a stool by Shannon’s head and there was a curtain between us and the staff doing the operation. Thank God for that! I am positive I would not have been able to handle the situation if I was in view of everything. Shannon was awake for the whole procedure and after about 10 minutes we heard the doctor say, “Woah, Big Boy!” The next thing we know, he was brought over to a table to get checked over and cleaned up. He came out pooping and peeing everywhere. I was called over to the exam table and allowed to take pictures. They then wrapped him up and handed him to me to bring over to Shannon so she could have a look. The doctor kept asking for someone to weight the baby so we could find out how big he really was. Someone asked me what I thought and I wanted to say, “over 10 pounds” but I had so much doubt in my head, even as I held him that I didn’t answer. I was then whisked away to the nursery with him for a thorough exam while the doctors finished with Shannon.

I swear, from “Woah, Big Boy!” to me taking him to the nursery felt like 90 seconds. It was just a blur. Thank goodness I took some great pictures. They called out 1:41 PM as the time of the birth. Someone asked me if we had a name for him and I said, “Griffin.” The first reaction from one of the nurses was, “Good, strong name. Nice choice.”

As we headed to the nursery, the staff told us that Shannon’s family had arrived which puzzled us a bit. Apparently, Shannon’s mother had taken the day off and could not stand waiting around at home any more. Just as we entered the nursery, I spotted Shannon’s mother and Sister outside and waved to them. I stayed with Griffin while a nurse checked him over. Even she guessed over 10 pounds before putting him on the scale. He came out 10 pounds even and 21 inches long. I turned around towards Shannon’s mom and held up 10 fingers. She thought I was gesturing for 10 fingers and toes until she heard some of the nurses talking among themselves that we was 10 pounds. Her eyes were as big as dollar coins. There was no way he would have been able to fit down the birth canal for Shannon to deliver naturally.

As the exam continued, I took more pictures and started to take in the fact that this was my child. He looked up at me and had taken a hold of my thumb. I could hardly believe it. I was a father. I’m somebody’s dad! What the hell had I gotten myself into?

After the nurse finished checking him out, I began asking whether or not Shannon was in the recovery room so I could bring Griffin to see her. I figured she was anxious to hold him. I was right. I brought him in to her and once she was holding him in her arms, I could finally relax. The waiting was finally over. We were a family.

Use of the links to the left to check out some of the other fun areas of my site.

Please refer comments or suggestions regarding this web site to mike@baileyhome.us