Our Son Samuel is Born!

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am
- Green Eggs and Ham

At the beginning of February 2006, our first son was born at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Here is a summary of what happened.

On Tuesday January 31, 2006 Michele's water appeared to us to have broken. We had come in the preceding Sunday for what we thought might be the water breaking, but the physician resident sent us home after doing a test for "ferning" to see if it was amniotic fluid. The resident was really nice and sharp and we hoped that if our physician was not on call, that she would be the one to conduct the delivery.

Anyway, back to Tuesday. Michele had what appeared to be breaking of the water so she called in and we arrived at the Mayo Rochester Methodist Hospital by about 3pm. Unfortunately, the resident we had on the previous Sunday was not there. It was another one (hereafter referred to as "resident2") who had a medical student ("Hans") with her. Resident2 spent more time speculating about the origin of Hans' name than looking at Michele but managed to take a sample to test for the presence of amniotic fluid. About an hour later a nurse came in and told us Michele's water had indeed broken and that they were going to induce labor (as Michele had not started getting any labor pains).

So off to a room we went where they induced labor with some drug called Pitosin® . Michele's close friend Johanna snuck in and the three of us along with our nurse waited for her cervix to open up. George Bush gave the State of the Union address so while Johanna supported Michele, Paul's eyes were glued to the television set. As the night progressed, different nurses came on and off shift, but we were grateful that they were extremely skilled and kept a watchful eye onMichele and medical resident2. The pain increased quite a bit for Michele, so she opted for an epidural. Paul had to leave the room for that. They gave her one of those push-buttons for the epidural so she could give herself booster shots.

Through the night, Michele bore the pain while Paul fell asleep on the chair. Later on, about 9am resident2 came in and said Michele was fully dilated and then left the room. So the nurses started making preparations for the delivery. About 10am the resident we had on the previous Sunday (hereafter referred to as resident1) came in. Our spirits were immediately lifted. She noted that the cervix was not yet fully open and we would need a little more time. Noticing that Michele's temparature was a bit high, she ordered Michele put on antibiotics. Then, checking Michele's birth canal, she realized that the baby had gone to the bathroom in the womb. As a result, she said we would need to deliver in the OR.

Michele with the resident (aka resident1) who delivered our son.

Michele did an excellent job of pushing even though she was physically exhausted. Paul just kind of stood off to the side and rubbed her arm and head. To avoid passing out, he didn't look down there. Once Michele had the baby far enough along, they took us to the OR. Paul got to wear scrubs...just like George Clooney does on ER...well minus the good looks!

In the OR they wheeled Michele in. The people in scrubs would try to talk to Paul, but not recalling his name they kept calling him "Daddy." Not being used to being called "Daddy," Paul did not realize that they were talking to him. Additionally, since they were all wearing masks, he did not know who to look at. As a result, they kept worrying that Paul would pass out...which we are proud to say never happened. The anasthesiologist gave Michele some more epidural kind of stuff to help with the pain. Resident1 came in (thank God) and Hans was there too. Michele was pushing hard but then the baby would go no further. The baby's neck was off center in the canal. The chief resident came in as well as the consultant on call. In the wink of an eye there were like over 20 people in the OR.

The medical chief said they would have to use a suction cup to help the baby get out. The baby's heart rate was high (over 180) and they couldn't leave him there or go in with a ceserian at that point. So they put a suction cup on his head. They again had Michele push really hard. Now they had Paul standing by Michele's head to "be there" for Michele. Suddenly Paul was yanked back by a man in scrubs who almost lept on Michele's tummy. Boom. The baby was out. The man turned around and told him he was the consultant and that "sometimes you just have to push from on top to get them out."

An abrupt entry into the world by our son!

Our baby is beautiful. His name is Samuel "D" (I'm leaving out his middle name since this is on the internet). He's named after Paul's Father. The way we figure it is if Sammy is even 1/2 the man his grandfather was we will be extremely proud. Paul hopes he can live up to the example his father gave him of how to be a good parent...kind, decent, loving, selfless, and above all, extremely patient.

Sammy's grandfather Samuel "D" circa 1960.

Thus Samuel was born. Michele did great and is recovering well. Little Sammy was put on antiboitics because of the meconium and on dextrose because his glucose levels were iffy at the beginning. We'll do a followup posting on Sammy's time in the nursery at the hospital but just so no one worries, Sammy is just fine (rumors of missing eyebrows, etc. are not true although the one about no teeth is).

Our son Sammy...note we'll be making faces like this when he's in his teens.

During the labor, the nurses, the anesthesiologists, chief, consultant, and resident1 were excellent. It helped us better see why the Mayo Clinic is considered one of the premier medical facilities in the world. We would recommend to anyone having a baby or needing help with any lung related issues (such as COPD and others) to come to the Mayo.

And now, what we've all been waiting for...a pic of Samuel "D" and his beautiful mother Michele!

Samuel and his lovely mother Michele.