Mercedes Rose

It's been a few weeks but I don't want to forget this experience so I'm going to put in my blog.

November 16, 2010 sometime around 6:00 am I got a text from Kelsey that they were at the hospital and the baby was coming! Around 10:00 am I got antsy and started calling, her husband. Dustin answered and said that everything was going good and they gave her Oxytocin to speed up her labor. A little while later Dustin called back and asked if I could bring some chewing gum, of course I said yes! We (Giovanni and I) hurried and got ready but when we went outside the car was gone. I called Biggy and he said he would get the gum, they were leaving anyway. 35 mins later (exactly, I checked) impatiently I called him back and told him to forget it and then I called my mom and she came and got me.

Biggy showed up with the gum and I finished whipping up some Labour Aid at my mom's house which is conveniently located across the street from the hospital. I left little Giovanni with his Papa and uncle Cheyne and my mom and I ran across the street to see Kelsey. When we got there Dustin met us at the door looking tired so I asked him if he wanted to get something to eat while we stayed with Kelsey. He thanked us and went downstairs to the cafeteria.

I stepped into the clean, simple hospital room, it was larger than I expected (bigger than mine, anyway). Kelsey was sitting in a lounge position on her hospital bed looking exhausted. My mom took her hand and not really knowing what to do I just stood there awkwardly and watched for a moment. A contraction came and Kelsey's face suddenly went from relaxed to pained. I tried rubbing her back but she said no.

I tried to think of something helpful and I remembered some of the experiences I read in Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth when I was pregnant with Giovanni. A couple of women used visualization to aid them in childbirth. One woman pictured a flower blooming and the other visualized a cave opening. In a low even tone I started describing a flower blossoming and opening up, a few minutes later the nurse came in and started updating Kelsey. I was already feeling kind of silly so I hushed up, but Kelsey asked me to keep talking. As embarrassed as I felt I couldn't say no, it was a simple request so I kept describing a blooming flower. Dustin came in a little while later and I wonder what the scene must have looked like to him. On one side of Kelsey next to the monitors and machines was my mother, putting pressure on Kelsey's back during contractions and holding her hand in between. Sitting on the other other side of the bed her "hippie" sister chanting nonsense about flowers and waves. He seemed unsure of where he fit into this unusual picture, but we all found our place and focused our entire energy on Kelsey. Once the nurse saw Kelsey was fully dilated and ready to push suddenly there was this huge commotion and the nurse was yelling for someone to get the doctor (stat!) and people began filing in. I looked up for a moment and couldn't believe how many people were packed in there. I wish I had taken the time to count but I quickly centered my focus back on Kelsey not wanting to slow her down or halt her labor in any way. The doctor rushed in and they took part of the bed away. Three or four pushes later little Mercedes was born. They immediately laid her on Kelsey and began wiping her off before they laid her on Kelsey's chest, skin to skin. It was such a special experience, I felt very blessed to have been apart of. We had not intended on being there for the birth but unexpectedly only about an hour and half after we arrived Kelsey had her baby.

After Kelsey had the baby she was suddenly alive with energy, I thought that was so funny especially since I felt so exhausted and at one point lightheaded. I went home and took a nap with Giovanni afterward. But what a miracle I got to be a part of.