The Story of My Birth

By Kael Randell James Markle

Bzzzzz. It was 6:00 am and my Daddy was getting up for work. It must have startled me, because my little house of warm water sprung a leak. I could hear Mommy tell Daddy that she thought she was wetting the bed. (Some friends had told Mommy that in the last few weeks of pregnancy, some women lose control of their bladders.) As Mommy sat up I suddenly dropped, and most of my waters came gushing out. I heard Mommy say that it wasn't her bladder, but her waters had broken, and Daddy should call into work. He did.

It was my birth day! Mommy's contractions started right away, we were all very excited! She called Nana and Aunty Trish (Mommy's twin), because they were going to come and help welcome me into the world. Aunty Trish was quite emotional when she found out I was coming. She had woken up briefly at 6:00 am with a weird feeling in her stomach. It was almost as if she could sense the start of my journey.

Daddy paged our midwife to let her know that labour had begun. Most of the morning was spent getting ready for my arrival. Mommy had a few showers to relieve her aching body. Our midwife suggested we go for a walk, so me and Mommy and Daddy walked to town to buy the rest of our birthing supplies.

The midwife suggested that Mommy put one of my disposable diapers in her underwear to catch any fluid that was still leaking out. It was a great suggestion, because as soon as we arrived home, the rest of my waters came out! Boy are my diapers absorbent!

At about 2:00 pm our midwife came over to check how we were doing. Mommy's contractions were much stronger and frequent now, and she had to concentrate more with each one. The midwife decided we still had a while to go and said she would be back in a couple of hours, but to page if anything changed. About fifteen minutes after the midwife left, I decided that it was time to push a little harder. I wanted to meet my family soon! I made Mommy feel like she wanted to push. Daddy paged the midwife to tell her how Mommy was feeling. (Mommy will tell you, if you want your midwives at your house in a hurry, tell them you feel like pushing!) Both midwives were there in what seemed like a minute.

I could feel the midwife touching my head. She told Mommy that her cervix was 5-6 cm dilated, and that she still had a few hours to go. She said that sometimes when a women is going from early labour to active labour, there can be such a drastic change, she might feel like she wants to push.

One midwife stayed and for the next few hours labour became more work. I could feel Daddy pushing Mommy's hips together with each contraction. He massaged mommy's back, and helped her hang from his shoulders. They tried a lot of positions to help ease Mommy's pain.

Aunty Trish recorded each contraction now, as they got more frequent. Nana helped Mommy with her breathing, and at one point she told everyone to "hush up", because it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. Mommy's focus point was Daddy's face. She stared into his eyes with each contraction, and he stared back with reassurance.

At about 9:00 pm I was ready to come out. Mommy wanted to push, but we had to wait for the second midwife to arrive. I could feel Mommy holding back. It was hard for her. The midwife helped her breathe through her tough contractions. I heard Mommy say she wanted to go to the hospital, because she really wanted something for the pain. Daddy and our midwife helped her concentrate on me again, and not the pain. She soon forgot she wanted to go to the hospital.

To Mommy's relief, the second midwife arrived. When Mommy was checked, she was 10 cm dilated and could start pushing me out. It took Mommy a few contractions to get the hang of pushing. She loved pushing, because she could finally feel me coming down her birth canal. Slowly my head started to crown and Mommy reached down and touched me. Nana and Aunty assisted our midwives with hot compresses for Mommy's perineum. The heat eased the pain my head was creating.

My head was almost out and Mommy wanted to go on her hands and knees. I heard Mommy say, with a little disappointment, that I'd gone back in. The midwife assured her that I was just gently stretching her perineum so I could get my head out without tearing her. With gentle pushes, my head emerged. I took a small breath and let out a little sound. Aunty told Mommy that I was already trying to talk, with only my head out.

Daddy was watching at my end now, and holding the flashlight for the midwives. I could almost see the love and excitement on his face. The midwife checked to see if my cord was wrapped around my neck (it wasn't) and with the next contraction Mommy delivered my shoulders. The excitement in the room rose and finally the rest of me was born. I heard Daddy say "there's our boy!" Mommy had pushed me out in only 21 minutes! I guess with all the concentrating Mommy was doing, she almost forgot what she was doing it for. The midwife told her to look down. Mommy saw me lying beneath her, she picked me up and started to whimper. She laid me at her breast as her and Daddy told me how beautiful I was, and how happy they were that I was finally here.

I smelled Mommy's milk and wanted a taste right away. The midwife helped me to Mommy's breast. As I had my snack I could hear a lot of things going on around me. Daddy phoned Grandma in Calgary to let her hear my cry, and say she has a gorgeous grandson. I could hear my Aunty crying. I knew she wasn't sad, but so happy that I was here, and healthy.

Our midwives helped deliver my house (placenta) and explained how everything worked. They showed all of us where my house had sprung the leak. It was so nice to finally meet my parents. We were all so happy! My dogs and cats were also very curious to meet me.

I was 7 lb 14 oz and measured 20 1/4 inches long. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I was born on February 25, 2000 at 9:41 pm at home in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

My proud parents are Shea Markle and Teresa Ainey and they love me more than anything in the world.

Thank you to our midwives for helping me gently come into the world!

Kael