As the clock neared 2 PM, we were all exhausted. Both Diane and Angela (Midwife and assistant) were puzzled as to what was happening with this baby. Was he breach? Was he not? All we knew was that he was not moving into the birth canal. Jo was on the bed and exhausted, but had to deal with constant contractions coming every 30 seconds. So much for the baby coming before noon! Diane took charge and told me to get up off the bed and stand against the wall. Then she had Jo stand up in front of me and I grabbed her just under her breasts and held her right above where the baby was positioned. Then she quickly moved chairs to either side of Joann and had Liz (Jo's sister) and Marina (Jo's Mom) sit in those chairs. Then she said, "Joann, when the next contraction comes I want you put your legs up on the chairs and let these ladies hold your legs. Then I want you to take in a deep breath. Then on the second breath I want you to hold your breath and push for a 6 count! We gotta get that baby to drop!"
Then, if you can even fathom it, we did this process for at least 5-6 contractions, with Jo pushing with all her might 2-3 six counts per contraction as we all counted to 6 out loud. About every 5 minutes they tested the baby's heart rate and it was strong...every time. No worries. We moved her to the bed and I jumped behind her to put heat and pressure on her back. She was amazing and even writing this makes me beam with more admiration and pride. She had to find the strength to push 3-4 more times, and finally out came the baby's rear end..wait maybe it was his head?... They did put her on oxygen at this point too. What was happening!?!? After his head came out, his body quickly followed and Diane placed this little guy on Jo's chest. 2:26 PM. All of us were silent for a moment until Jo said, "What's wrong with my baby?" -- in the most tender expression of love and concern I had ever witnessed. His left ear looked all smashed by what looked like almost half of another head connected to his little head.
I was scared to death.
I put my arms around Jo and told her it was going to be all right. Diane, who had delivered thousands of babies was silent as was Liz, Marina and Charky, who had just entered the room. Charky and I put our hands on the little baby's head and gave him a special little blessing. The little guy wasn't crying at all. He was simply resting on his Mom's chest as if he was relieved to finally be here. Talk about a challenging re-entry! He made Apollo 13 look like a Ferris wheel ride!
Now, instead of enjoying this little miracle we all sat there in what can best be described as shock and fear. I asked Diane what was wrong and she said, "It's a birth defect." Everyone was silent for a few moments but there was a strange calm in the room. Diane said that she recommended we pack up and get this beautiful little baby up to Primary Children's Hospital and get him some care, and she pulled out her cell phone and started making a call.
We all jumped to action and I went down and packed my bag with who the hell knows what and ran back upstairs. Diane had to sew Jo up a bit, as she had torn giving birth to this little guy. However, by the time I got back upstairs, Jo was up and getting some pants on and after about 15 minutes of people scrambling for supplies and phones and food and bags, I got frustrated and said, "Let's get this guy on the road!" Jo looked at me and said, "Can I get my pants on?" and this calmed me down a bit.
Diane came in and said Primary's was wanting us to get the boy carried by ambulance but she felt the baby looked strong and fine enough and ought to be with his Mother. Within 45 minutes after this ridiculously arduous birth, I saw Joann carrying this child by herself outside into a snowstorm and climbing into the van! I jumped in my car and we sped off into the snow toward Salt Lake. According to Joann, he was a strong little guy and nursed really well on the way there, giving Mother a chance to bond for an hour with her new son.
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