WARNING: Some of the pics (Click to enlarge) and videos may be deemed graphic to sensitive viewers.
Ah, finally. Heather's first day off. She did cut it fairly fine, considering our son's due date of the 18th. Some may call her a stickler for detail, but Heather just wasn't comfortable leaving her store any sooner.
We were happy to have a whole day to ourselves to button up some last minute preparations for the Stork visit. By the way, we both liked the name Samuel, but were determined to keep handy our short list (Alexander, Benjamin, Andrew, Naruto, and Humphrey-Barnard...just kidding on the last couple) and see what he actually LOOKED like before etching him his epithet.
I even accepted a job for Tuesday and Thursday flying a 240-lb. actor and some kids for a Nickelodeon show called, "All That!".
Our last visit to Doctor Rebecca Perlow was on Friday the 4th. She said Heather was 75% effaced and 1cm dilated. She warned us that our date may be off by four days or so, but that we should not go to the hospital until Heather's contractions required pain management.
Our errands were cut short, however, and by 4:30pm we found ourselves here:
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The nurse who checked us in was named Jessica Samuels (several 'signs' like this occurred before Samuel was actually born). Once admitted, Heather's station was checked again and she was up to 3cm. Luckily, all the birthing classes started paying off and I coached her through some breathing and positions. She felt some back labor, so I pressed on her lower back to relieve the pain.
We walked out of the antepartum room up to labor and delivery by 5pm. By 6pm, Heather was in so much pain she was wretching, so she signed off on the epidural. What a difference. In fact, by the time the rest of the support team arrived, the pain turned to just pressure.
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Doctor Perlow checked on us a few more times during the night, which was good--especially since Heather was a little disappointed in herself for asking for the epidural. Heather will always be my hero for what she went through to bring Samuel into the world and I hope someday to possess a fraction of her strength when it counts.
By the way, those that know me know that I would have shot this whole thing on video with the wife's permission. That wasn't the problem. The professional camera was on another job, so I shot videos like this with our digital camera that you'll see sprinkled over the next few pages....