At 42 weeks and 5 days... after coercion with breast pump, castor oil, membrane stripping, water rupturing and all... Xander finally decided to make his appearance. Labor came on fast and hard on Sunday afternoon. My contractions were two to three minutes apart (varying in length from 30 to 45 seconds) from the beginning and they were very intense. Early Monday morning, the contractions were coming at one to two minutes apart and at least a minute long each time. We called up Jill and she had us head on in to the birth center. I don't think any of us expected labor to continue on until that evening.
Holding His Hands
After 27 hours of labor... two hours of pushing... Xander was born. He wasn't breathing. Our hearts all stopped as the midwives desperately tried to get him to breath. The paramedics arrived and he was whisked away while I sat there unable to go along. I don't think I started breathing again until Ross called from the hospital to tell me he was okay.
He has muconium in his lungs, a few infections and some swelling of the brain. He is on oxygen as his lungs clear out the nastiness, but he is quickly being weaned off of it. There is some delay in his sucking and gagging reflexes, but he is making huge strides every day. In just the last week he has gone from an irritable, red-faced baby to an alert, happy little man. At birth, he was eight pounds and eight ounces. He is already up to nine pounds and an ounce. He is stuck in the NICU until he is able to eat by mouth. We've been given estimates of at least another week. I'm hoping the progress he's making will mean he can come home more quickly.
Harlequin Coloration
An interesting and rare thing popped up. It's referred to as a Harlequin Coloration... not to be confused with the Harlequin Mark. It is rare enough that they were calling nurses into the hospital to witness it. It's something, we are told, most nurses will never see in person. In fact, many had never heard of it. Jill also took pictures to show at her midwives meetings. The very little information on it said that it is from an immaturity in the hypothalamus. It usually goes away within a few days and never appears again. Leave it to our kid to be odd!
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