Angus Brian Quirk

The little guy finally decided to arrive! I guess the process started about 4:00am on December 23. Mindy woke up with some cramping/contractions that were more intense and quite regular, compared with the other contractions she had experrienced over the past couple of weeks. She had an appointment with her mid-wife at 10:00, so we figured it would be perfect timing to see what was going on. So, we were both a little flat, confused and disappointed when she was told that no dialation had occurred. Her advice was to go home and wait...it could stil be a few days yet and made a follow up appointment for 5 days later.

These contractions continued throughout the day, 10 minutes apart. At about 6:00 that night, we told the kids that we would let them open their Christmas presents the next morning. This way, we would be sure to be around as we had to figure things COULD happen any day now. Of course, I am guessing this was just the trigger he needed as at about 8:00, they started to get much more intense and were only about 5 minutes apart. At about 10:00 we called a friend over who had offered her services to watch the girls and we all waited together until about midnight. I then made the statement "Things are not moving any more quickly now and we could spend all night sitting here awake, only to THEN have to go to the hospital the next day in any case. Perhaps we should get some sleep as tomorrow will likely be a big day for you.". Of course the additional meaning behind these words was : "I don't know about you but I am exhausted and could use some sleep. Tomorrow will likely be a big day for me.'.

I got about 3 hours sleep, Mindy about 3 hours less than this (but at least she was resting) before she woke me to tell me that they were getting stronger. After walking around for a bit, they were now coming about 3 minutes apart and so we decided to leave for the hospital. I guess the Christmas morning for the girls will have to wait!

Nothing is every easy it seems. You would assume that driving at 5:30am on Christmas eve would mean that you would at least get a clear run through...well, about 10 minutes from the hospital, all traffic was stopped for an accident on the road. We must have waited there about 10 minutes. The good thing was that we were about the 5th car from the front so IF things had become worse, we could have easily spoken to the police to help us out. As it turned out, they cleared things quite quickly and we were on our way.

We arrived towards the end of the nurse's shift which was a good thing for us. The nurse on duty could be described in any of the following ways - surly; short; abrupt; disinterested...but I think "complete bitch" probably works best. I understand she was at the end of a 12 hour overnight shift...but there was really no excuse for her attitude and manner. We were quite glad to find her shift ending at 7:00. The replacement, Arlene, was an older lady and was amazingly nice, helpful and friendly. Soon after this, Tina the midwife arrived and examined Mindy. Progress was being made!!!

Slow progress however...it was hard to watch - Mindy was really working hard but things were not happening particularly quickly. From 11:00 - 1:00, she was having very severe contractions and when checked again, no further dialation had occurred. Tina then gave us a couple of options. She had seen this sort of thing before and after 33 hours of contractions, pretty much said that Mindy was flat out exhausted and her body was not responding to this. We could continue to struggle but the chance of success were quite low in her view due to the length of time she had spent there already. So there were two options - a c-section, or to use pitocin in combination with an epidural to help her rest and let her body continue with the process. We tried this route figuring that the worst result would be a c-section in any case...so it was worth a try.

Two hours of this and things were ready for pushing. Mindy was able to get a bit of rest and I fell asleep in the chair as well, despite all of the coffee I had been chugging all day. The pushing did not last too long actually, maybe 45 minutes. It is truly the most amazing thing to watch. Once you can actually see something happening it is almost over! A few particularly big pushes and there was a head...one more push for the sholders and there is your baby! Born on December 24 at 5:22pm, 9lbs 5oz and 21 1/4" long, so not as big as Fiona but certainly a solid bloke. Mindy was in OK shape, obviously sore and tired but obviously this is to be expected. A few pictures, some video and then I had to leave to get the girls. Unfortunately, due to the swine flu, there was a "no children" visiting policy at the hospital, so they would have to wait a couple of days to see their brother.