the emergent

Fortunately, he waited until we'd moved house before emerging. Nicky is of the mind that as it was only yesterday morning that everything had really been satisfactorily unpacked and arranged that only then did she feel unconsciously nested enough to start the drop sequence.

Fortunately, everything went quite swiftly. An hour after the first contraction (at 20:30 yesterday) the waters broke. The intake/assessment people on the phone said to ring back in about an hour. About an hour later the contractions were three or four minutes apart and an hour after that we were parked and heading through the doors. From 23:45 to 02:30 we were in an assessment room pending an OK to head up to a birth bath in the labour suite despite already being sufficiently dilated. At 02:30 this morning we were in the active birthing-room, at 02:45 the bath had finished filling up and at 03:16, one contraction after "one more contraction and the head'll be out" the whole thing popped out.

Fortunately Nicky hadn't had to accept anything not in the plan (apart from the long wait for monitoring and blood tests before being allowed into the pool), using nothing but a TENS machine until getting into the pool with the nitrous oxide pipe which she didn't really like. The temperature in the Simpson was unpleasantly high but there was at least a desk fan in the assessment room which was just able to stretch to the right place. Apart from positioning the fan and allowing my hand to be clenched I generally felt quite superfluous throughout apart from being there for encouragement. Hail wife, and hail midwives.

Fortunately Nicky's slightly raised blood pressure didn't warrant much intervention or hassle and it's dropped down to normal since the birth, though she's to remain in the hospital for a day or so just in case. Fortunately some sort of combination of hormones and adrenaline have made her cope marvellously well with bugger-all sleep when after anything less than nine hours she'd usually be a bit grumpy and tired-looking instead of smilily ace.

Unfortunately the child is currently being kept in an incubator and monitored after a paediatrician didn't think his heart and lungs sounded as clear as they should. He had an X-ray taken which indicates either fluid or infection so he'll be getting some intravenous antibiotics over the next several days along with extra oxygen and a glucose drip. He'd had a few feeds before being carted off and one or two since to supplement the glucose but whilst we want him better as soon as possible it's wrenching when he's spending his first night outside of the womb half a building away from his mother, both four miles from here. It's quiet here without them but I'll be back over first thing tomorrow after (hopefully) some sleep.