The Birth of Maddox Orion Fortenbury

Andrea so kindly allowed me to be apart of the birth of Maddox Orion Fortenbury (3/2/10) on Tuesday.

The day at a glance:
6:00am - her water broke while snuggling with Zoe
6:30am - we dropped Zoe off at a neighbors house for the day
7:00am - arrived at the hospital and got cozy in her birthing room
12:00pm - lots of walking around, waiting and some minimal discomforts with contractions
2:00pm - introduce pitocin (the inducing drug) where the fun of contractions really began!
5:00pm - the pain of the contractions welcomed the epidural
6:30pm - She was ready to push!
7:00pm - Out popped a 9.3 pound, big ass baby boy!

I first want to comment that Hollywood needs to witness a couple of births first hand to really get it right. The rush to the hospital after the water breaking was needless to say anticlimactic. Andrea remained cool and collected all morning and had all her ducks in a row to ensure a smooth transport to the hospital. Zoe was even on her best behavior and willingly went to the family friends house for the day. Brandon on the other hand was a wee bit nervous and anxious - he held himself together but he was definitely psyched up for the day!

When we got to the hospital it really felt like checking into a spa. The room was over the top nice and all of the nurses were ready to serve our every need. For the rest of the day, not a whole lot to speak of happened. Basically Brandon and I sat around watching Andrea as she transitioned into more and more intense contractions for about 11 hours. The hardest part of the whole day was watching her be in pain and uncomfortable and knowing there was absolutely nothing we could do about her pain.

Things did not get too exciting until about 6:00pm when the nurse removed her hand from Andrea and said, "she is at 8cm". It was priceless to see Brandon's face! From there on things moved quickly, but in a controlled manner.

The doctor, Karen, was cool as a cucumber. She came into the room around 6:30pm. I was grateful that Andrea let me be so involved in all aspects of the process (well, I guess I wasn't really around during conception or the 8 months leading up to the big day). Andrea was telling me how hungry she was so I insisted on putting an order of food in as they stopped serving hot food at 7:00pm. The doctor patiently waited for me to put an order in for Brandon and Andrea so that I could have the hands on experience helping (as much as anyone could) Andrea with the birth.

Seeing that I want to become a nurse, and that I have fainted at the sight of a needle in the past I was worried that this gooey process would find me on the floor. People have told me stories that deliveries have a horrible smell and an unwelcoming sight to see. I was enthralled by everything asking questions like that of a 3 year old. Not at any point did I feel the slightest bit faint.

When it finally came time for Andrea to push, it seemed to all flow naturally between the calming coaching of doctor Karen and Andrea's instincts. After a short series of pushes, my mind was baffled at the sight of a human head appearing out of a human orifice. I still cannot wrap my head around the whole concept. Little Maddox's whole head appeared, and then those damn shoulders also had to come out! With one gut busting grunting of a yell a miracle happened. An entire human being presented himself, with the swift hands doctor Karen had the Maddox's passage clear and we heard the most beautiful screaming healthy 9.3 pound baby boy! Andrea and Brandon allowed me the honors of cutting the umbilical cord. Brandon of course immediately started crying, had two cell phones pressed to his ears telling the set of grandparents about the good news.

Many people told me how I would feel about seeing this "miracle of life" but I do not think I followed suit in most predictions. It did not deter me from wanting to be pregnant and go through labor. I would love to be pregnant and go through labor just so I can know that human experience. Witnessing the birth, however, does not make me want to mother a child. I still have absolutely no desire to bring a child into this world and for that matter raise a child. I have thought briefly that it would be an amazing experience to be a surrogate mother, but I still stand strong in my belief that there are already so many parent-less children in this world who need loving parents.