Avary Ann

 

 

Weighing in at 8lb 1oz, and 19" long, we welcome Avary Ann to our growing young family.  Generally speaking, the birth went well...except true to our family's form, we had to inject a little surprise into the mix.  When she engaged in the birth canal, Avary's heart beat dropped to 60 bpm (it had been 150).  The nurse immediately notified the doctor that we were in a strenuous situation.  Then here's the play-by-play over the next two minutes before Avary was born:

The heart monitor flat-lined, ie, went completely to zero.  This caused panic.  The nurse thought the leads that monitored the heart rate came off, but they didn't.  She then frantically tried the wire connections to see if it was a mechanical failure.  But cords were connected properly.  She then pushed the panic button to alert an army of nursed that rushed in to help, all while saying "Tasha, we have to get this baby out now!  Push, Push, Push."  The army of nurses started joining in the chorus, "Push!  You've gotta push.  Harder...Push harder!"

My dear wife was pushing with all her might.  Meanwhile, Avary's head appeared, but her shoulder was stuck on the pelvis bone, something called "shoulder distocia".  Our nurse, Pamela, quickly directed another nurse to push on Tasha's pelvis bone in an attempt to make a little more room, while Pamela turned the shoulder.  With that, Avary was finally born...and you could see that the last two minutes took a toll:  Her cheeks were bruised and her body a deep purple.  She then started to slowly cry--a major relief to all of us.  It was soft at first, but then gradually getting louder while her body gained better color.  Whew!  A very tenuous 2 minutes of our lives, and in hind-sight, we realized that what had occurred was an absolute miracle in the truest sense.

You see, nurses don't deliver babies, and when you're a VBAC, the doctor and anesthesiologist HAVE TO BE on-sight...which they were, but neither obviously made it in time.  Now add the complexity of shoulder distocia, a situation that is a cause for cerebral palsy and even infant fatality.  Our nurse just completed a training course where she specifically paid attention to what the doctor did in that situation.  We firmly believe that this recent training was literally a God-send.  We all know that God is aware of us individually, and this is a testimony that He is a God of miracles.

About 4 minutes after the birth, our doctor arrived.  He delivered the placenta, and then to make matters even more interesting, Tasha was hemorrhaging.  We eventually stopped the bleeding through the administration of some medication, but she ultimately lost 800 ml of blood, three times the normal blood loss.

Needless to say, we are very thankful that everyone came out of this healthy.  We are blessed to have a great family and an understanding of God's plan for each of us.