Wanted to take some time to write down how Sophie Jessica Rosenhouse made her way into the world.
Well, she took her sweet time, not caring what her "due date" was. She didn't see the eviction notice in the womb, I guess.
After having Chinese food for dinner Saturday, it turned out four days of extra stay would be long enough for our little girl. Amanda woke me up around 1:15 AM.
"I think my water broke, I'm gonna call the doctor," she said.
She'd been timing her contractions, and it felt like they'd become more consistent and intense. The doctor told us to come in.
With our "go bag" already in the car, we made quick calls to our parents and drove to the hospital. Whether it was a false alarm or not, we didn't know yet, but still, I knew this was the right move either way.
We got to the hospital around 2 AM and after some tests and contraction measurements, the nurse told us we wouldn't be leaving without a baby! "Okay, it's really go time," I thought to myself.
Watching Amanda go through the pain of contractions was tough. I felt helpless, even though I was trying my best to comfort her.
Thankfully, the anesthesiologist arrived quickly and the epidural made Amanda feel much, much better. My parents got to the hospital and wished us well, before we took naps, knowing Amanda would really need her strength for what was to come.
Amanda's Aunt Sharon arrived around 8:15 with a beautiful baby mum the Rudes made. See, I love the mums!
Well, around 9:45ish, the doctor came in to check on Amanda and told us she was ready to start pushing!
Now here's what I didn't realize, a lot of the helping work would be done by the labor nurse and myself, with of course Amanda as the driving force. With us holding her legs, Amanda would make three, ten second pushes, each time helping the baby move further and further down.
Around 10:30, the nurse (who by the way was wearing a Texans shirt because it was Sunday-I'm sure JJ Watt would love that) predicted the baby would be out by 11! As I jokingly said to Amanda, "it's less time than a John Oliver show to go."
A series of pushes later and then it all became very real. We could start to see the head!
Side note: for the longest time during pregnancy, my plan was to stay "north of the border" during labor and delivery. Well, that plan quickly went out the door, and in hindsight, I'm glad it did. Seeing this all was helpful for me in comforting and motivating Amanda. Also, there literally is nothing else like it.
Back to the story. Amanda was doing great: good breathing, then pushing, some quick chewing of ice chips and then back to breathing, pushing, repeat. More and more, the baby's head was showing.
Around 10:50 or so, the nurse brought the doctor in. Unfortunately, Dr. Pinell, who was our doctor throughout the pregnancy, was out of town Saturday and Sunday (Murphy's Law some might say). Fortunately, his partner, Dr. Maccatto, is just as well liked around the hospital.
The doctor came in, and quickly he was in position, saying "push, push, push" in his interesting accent.
Now, here comes the big moment, and it went in a flash. The doctor said on her next series of pushes, our baby would be out. That turned out to be true!
Finally, I realized why people had been saying the doctor would "catch the baby." First, the baby's head squeezed out with her face pointing in my direction, then the rest of her body just seemed to slide out into the world!
Amanda was crying tears of joy, and I was right there with her.
There she was, a baby, quickly cleaned off in a matter of seconds. I cut the umbilical cord, and the baby was brought to her mom's chest.
Through the tears, Amanda said "come here Sophie," and it all came together in an instant. She was born at 11:04 AM, Sunday, September 25, 2016. All in all, from telling me her water broke until the birth, it was about 10 hours.
From there it was a bit of a whirlwind. Amanda was so tired and immediately my thoughts started going into more of, how do I protect her, more than being focused on the baby.
We called her parents and let them know they were officially now grandparents to Sophie Jessica Rosenhouse. They liked how the name was easy to say. From there, I walked with a pep in my step to the waiting area to tell my parents and Bonkie. An added benefit, my brother Evan was already on the phone with them. I made a call to my brother David and then returned to Amanda.
She was focusing on the first hour, skin to skin time with Sophie, as this is the encouraged way to help Amanda bond and start creating milk.
We moved into the postpartum room. I don't want to write all about this part, mostly because at first I was kind of disappointed. It really felt like we were brought to the room and then basically told, "call us if you need us."
We didn't get too much advice or instruction on how to do anything really. I felt lost and totally unsure of myself. Some might say, welcome to parenting, but that wasn't a feeling I enjoyed.
As the day went on, we figured out the system a bit more, and again the protection feeling to get Amanda recovering well was very active.
We slept when we could and then started a new day. "Remember, one day at a time," I kept thinking to myself.
The rest of the time in the hospital continued with more ups and downs. That's just gonna be the way it goes for a while (or maybe forever). In the end, we'll just do our best to act in love and make the choices that feel right.
Thank you to everyone for the love and support you've given. Having the baby is really a blessing, and it will continue to shape our lives going forward :)
-- Sophie's daddy
