| Dad's Diary |
| Welcome to Dad's Diary, the journal of Ray Sendejas. Erika Poethig and Ray had their first child, Samuel Peter Sendejas, on Thursday May 30th, 2002. Throughout the pregnancy Ray sent a weekly email journal about his experiences, thoughts and observations as an expecting father to friends and family. Those journals, and the birth story are archived here. |
| Dad's Diary: He has arrived! Samuel Peter Sendejas Born Thursday, May 30 at 12:48 PM 9 pounds, 1 ounce (height not available at press time) Erika, Ray, and Sam are all fine. See below for the full story. |
| Wednesday morning, I went to work as usual and Erika went to a work-related conference, although she took her mother with her, just in case. Sure enough, sometime that afternoon, the midwives called and said the doctors had looked over Erika's chart and wanted her to come in for another non-stress test, where the check the baby's movement. So, after the conference, Erika and her mom went to the hospital for the test. At about 5:30 p.m., Erika called me to say the baby didn't move much during the test, and seeing as the midwives thought the kid might already be overdue, they were going to induce labor at around 7 p.m. So, I finished up my work, stopped by the house to get our bags and headed for the hospital. Once I got there, Erika was hooked up to the machines that dispensed pitocin into her veins. Pitocin is a synthetic hormone (I think) that begins contractions. I conferred with the midwife privately, because I wanted to hear the justification for inducing labor myself. I was afraid the reason they wanted to do this was because they thought the baby had |
| A birth story |
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| been in the womb for 42 weeks, when Erika and I were certain it was only 40 weeks Also knowing how much Erika was hoping for a natural childbirth, I wanted to exhaust our options before going for the induced birth. The midwife said she was "not at all ambivalent" about the decision and talked about the higher risk for stillbirth in "post-mature" births. So, it was enough for me, but don't get me wrong, it was Erika's decision all the way, I just wanted complete information. The pitocin begins to flow. Erika can stand up and down but that's about it with all the IVs and monitor attached to her. The monitors amplify the sound of the baby's heartbeat, so we can instantly know when his heartbeat picks up or slows down. And, we wait. The contractions get progressively stronger and closer together. By 7 a.m. Erika is about 6 cm dilated. The midwife predicts a 2 p.m. birth. At 11 a.m., the midwife found Erika to still be 6 cm. And, the baby's head was beginning to mold (literally, the kids head looked like a cone because of the way it was pointing down the birth canal--this went away after birth). With a "failure to progress" like that and the baby's heartbeat increasing all the time, the doctors came in and recommended an emergency C-section. At this point, a small army of medical students, residents, and doctors descend, many of who are clutching release forms. These folks all explain what's going to happen very well, then ask Erika to sign a form. Erika's dad is at the hospital by now and he immediately buttonholes the doctor who will be performing the operation. I believe this was to gain confidence in the doctor and also to befriend him, in addition to Erika's dad's general friendly nature. He discovered the doctor was Palestinian, from Bethlehem. A good sign. They let Erika's dad (both her parents are Presbyterian clergy) say a blessing before wheeling her into the OR. So, I get all scrubbed up (see attached picture) and head into the OR with my beloved, somewhat frightened wife. Actually, she went in about 15 minutes before they let me in. When I got there, she was already being cut open--I stayed with Erika behind this curtain so we couldn't see what was going on. I'll spare you those details but after about 15 more minutes, we hear the sounds of a newborn crying. Erika immediately relaxed and even started to doze off--prior to that she had been very tense. Once the baby came out, I ran over to the side where the doctors were checking him out. There were a little concerned that he had swallowed some meconium in the birth canal. So, they suctioned him out pretty good with this tube they kept putting down his throat. Tough to watch, but it had to be done. And, then he started his lusty cry--a cry that just keeps getting lustier but that's another story. And, that's how Samuel Peter Sendejas came into the world. Later the midwife would tell us that after looking at the baby, she knew we were right about the 40 weeks--apparently babies who've been in for 42 weeks look cleaner when the come out than a 40-week baby. However, the C-section probably still would've had to be done if we'd waited, because of his size and the fact that he passed some waste (meconium) in the labor process, so it all came out the same in the end, except that maybe we wouldn't have had to have labor induced. |
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| We'd like to give special recognition to our anesthesiologist, Dr. Weaver. She kept us in good humor through the whole procedure and even came in to check on us the next day. Erika and Sam are still in the hospital and will be coming home tomorrow. I've been trying to spend most of the time there, with some breaks where her mother or father stays with her. Sam is doing well, trying to figure things out. I'm probably leaving lots of details out but this is already a long message. See the whole pregnancy story at www.jakecowan.com |