#25 A Kole is Born

First things first: I don’t like blood. So much so that I was told I could not donate blood because I almost passed out when they pricked my finger to test my blood type. Imagine being hauled across a gymnasium on a stretcher because I was so dizzy…did I mention I was in college when this happened?

Strangely enough, when Megan asked if I wanted to be in the room when she gave birth to her first child, I said yes. Even thinking about it later didn’t get me worried. I kind of figured it would be like watching a car crash, I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off of what was happening, no matter how I felt.

I happened to be on vacation when I got the call on July 8th to go in and see Kole be born. When I first reached the maternity ward about 11am I was asked who I was going to see. I said Megan Sloan and of course they didn’t know anybody by that name. I said I knew that she was there as I had been called. It wasn’t until they asked me if she went by another name that I realized my mistake. Megan Kramer. She has been married for two years and I still couldn’t get it right.

When I arrived in the room, Megs had been induced already for about an hour and was doing well with the contractions. There were two nurses in the room helping her through them and keeping her as comfortable as possible. There was also a student whose last name was Love…that’s right, Dr. Love. ☺

It wasn’t long before the contractions starting coming fast and heavy and the real doctor came into the room. Kole was coming so fast that when Megan decided she wanted pain medication it was too late to administer it. Not only was she is pain, but she was also irritated mentally. So whenever Tim and I started talking about anything we got a ‘shush’ and a hand wave. Megs needed to focus.

She did keep saying that she felt like she had to poo, which was strangely cute, as I’m sure that a lot of pregnant woman use other words to describe the sensation of something wanting to come out of their nether region.

I’ll spare you some of the more not-so-pretty aspects of the birth, like the bag they put under Megs to catch all the stuff that comes out or the way they poked and prodded inside her. But lets just say the female body doesn’t look anything like it should when giving birth, and as a result, it didn’t freak me out.

Soon you could see Kole’s head rocking back and forth near his exit door and I thought, “Oh great, he looks so small. This should be a cinch.” Half an hour later when he finally did come out, that little spot that I thought was the whole diameter of his head, was actually about a quarter of it. He was huge and he shot out like a bullet. When Megan gave the final push, Kole practically shot out and the doctor heaved him immediately onto Megs’ lap. All she could say was, “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.” He was finally there. He was no longer in her stomach but suddenly on top of it. I almost cried. Almost. Though Tim, for sure, teared up.

There were plenty of pictures and they weighed Kole and cleaned him off. He was 9lbs 5 oz. and ridiculously long, but healthy.

But this is where things went bad for me. It is time to stitch Megs up. Needless to say, Megs was going through more discomfort and pain I start to get dizzy. It was then that I had to leave the room. I can watch a baby be born but I could not even stand and talk to Megan while they did all the clean-up work. You know you are a total wuss when the nurses are asking YOU if you are okay.

Kole is now a fast growing boy. I think he will be taller than his dad in a couple months. He almost weighs more than my twin nieces who were born two months before him. He is usually pretty content and I am happy to report that he no longer cries every time I hold him.

Thanks Megs for letting me share the experience with you!