Toby at 4 weeks old, 10lb 2oz, 21.5" long
Many thanks to Riverdale Community Midwives:
Melida Jimenez, Sandra Fleming, Esther Willms and Christy.
Also thanks to Richard "Grandpa" Johnston,
Jon-boy Harris, Lynda Hill, James Roy, Quinn Hill-Roy and Tessa Hill-Roy.
Here are some pics of our little man and for the gory details of the birth see below...
"It's a tiring business this being born thing... one needs as much rest and relaxation as possible..."
"A good thing I have the men in this family to watch over me... now - where's my milk?"
"The girls in my life so far"...
"Mummy, he's not staying is he?"
The pregnancy was a cakewalk - except for the nausea in the first
12 weeks and a bizarre craving for sweet and sour pork with rice.
Toby, like the rest of us, was late. His due date was October 12th/13th.
10 days later, after another "stretch and sweep" (use your imagination...), I'm at the Midwives discussing various methods of induction - spicy food, blue and black cohosh pills (homeopathic method), acupuncture, castor oil (yeuch!), breaking the waters, then a hospital induction with oxytocin... none (except the curry Grandpa had made) appeal and threatened with castor oil, my body and baby decide to get on with it after all...
Labour was fast and furious - 5 hours from start to finish.
5:30pm - There I was having a cup of tea and a chinwag with my old friend
Jon-boy, when suddenly a contraction hit... and then 10 mins later - another
contraction. They get more and more frequent. By 6pm
I'm sure this is it! I call Andrew to come home NOW!
6:10pm - Andrew, Tiggy and Grandpa all get home. Midwives called
- we check the length and interval of the contractions - time to get to
their office. We ring up Tiggy's boyfriend - Quinn and see if she
can have her first sleepover - Lynda, James, Quinn and Tessa: thank you!
7:00pm - Taxi to Quinn's then onto the midwives. Taxi driver
senses imminent birth and gets us there pronto - a bit too pronto actually...
meanwhile Grandpa and Jon-boy eat curry (damn!).
8:00pm - 6 cms dilated - In bath riding the waves of contraction -
OWWWWW!
9:30pm - 9 cm dilated - out of the bath and wondering how anyone could
have an orgasm from giving birth.
10:00pm - Midwife intervention to break the water and get on with this...
Baby drops - AARGH!
10:21pm - Sole thought going through my mind - NEVER AGAIN!
10:22pm - BABY!
Wow. Stunned. Beautiful. What? Now I have to push the placenta out? ...
I have to have stitches. Immediately after the birth, I start shaking and quivering and my teeth are chattering - I guess this is what the DTs are like... Stitches - OOWWWW!
Sweet tea, energy bars, peanut butter cookies, baby on the breast, clean
up time - we go home at 2am. FAB... but I'm still not having another
one...