Finally!

My nephew, Lucian Grey Collins, arrived at 10:20 pm on Tuesday, November 18th.

Poor Lizzy had to be induced in the morning after being overdue for 12 days. The weekend and Monday were stressful times. Tuesday, they wanted her to come in because she still wasn't having contractions. They were concerned about Lucian's heart rate, so they wanted to hurry things along and started her on pitocin instead of a more natural method. She was really disappointed because she didn't get to have the water birth that she'd planned. Shortly after noon, they broke her water and we waited awhile longer. For the first several hours, it was just Liz, Joel, my mom and I. Late in the afternoon, our godfather (Steve) arrived and stayed for awhile. Then Grandpa Chris and Barb arrived. Jessica got there shortly after them. Then Matt and Elaine made it. Bri and Robby showed up and then we set the record for the most people in one of the rooms.

She had several more hours of bad contractions and lots of stuff going on that made us nervous. It was horrible to watch her suffering, but she was very strong and such a trooper. Of course, being the way I am, I had to try to make her laugh a couple of times. :p

They finally sent us all out of the room so they could check her and give her an epidural. Liz and I teased mom about the fact that both of us had to be induced and we wondered what defective genetics she passed onto us since she (as Liz put it) shoots her kids out like an automatic machine gun.

After that, only my mom, Joel and I were allowed back in and everyone else remained in the waiting room. Liz amused us by attempting to jack up the dosage on her epidural, but the button wouldn't let her do it very often.

Before 9:00, her contractions had slowed and reduced in intensity, so we were really starting to worry that she was going to have to have a c-section. They restarted the pitocin drip and we waited. Her contractions didn't seem to be getting any stronger, so we wondered how long it was going to take. Dory, the midwife, came in at 9:30 and examined Liz. Mom and I weren't really paying attention because we were trying to give Liz a little privacy. So then before I know it, I hear Dory telling Liz she can push during the next contraction. She had fully dilated and we were so surprised.

So I've never been one to think that I would want to watch a baby being born. I'm not one for medical stuff or blood of any sort… pain is not something I like to think about… and ooky stuff makes me want to vomit. But I must say, when offered the opportunity, I was all over it in that moment. Poor Lizzy was beyond caring who was in full viewing range, so I took advantage of that and was completely fascinated. It is one thing to give birth and have that experience, but completely another to witness the amazing miracle of it all. The best part of it was that Joel and my mom had holding-foot-duty and I had nothing to do but watch and wait with the camera.

The midwife experience was completely different than the typical run-of-the mill birthing. It felt way more personal and caring. My mom didn't like the idea of the midwife at first, but she had to admit that it was much nicer that way. Dory was amazing and Amy (the nurse) was wonderful as well. Amy was determined that Liz was going to have the baby before she went off shift at 11:00. :) Dory just acted like a total pro and made things seem so unflustered and easy. It was just really nice.

So Dory starts telling Liz that she can see the head. I thought that she was just saying that to encourage Liz, but a minute later, I could see it too. And he had hair. :) She kept encouraging Liz and Liz was doing a great job of pushing. It was crazy to watch because she'd push and push and push and you'd think that the head was finally going to come out, but then the contraction would ease and we had to wait (impatiently) for another one. At one point, Dory took Liz's hand and had her feel his head and that kept her encouraged and pushing. All in all, she pushed for about an hour. It seemed to go so fast (for me anyway… LOL). Then his head finally came out. That was the only kind of freaky part about the whole birth. It came out and was so oddly shaped and grayish. He almost looked like an alien. Dory reached over and swiveled his head around (freaky again) and told Liz to look. Then she pushed again and he was out in a whoosh. It was so weird to see him come out like that and instantly unfold.

Of course, I cried. Then I had to scramble to try to see to get a picture. It was just so incredibly amazing.

We were in the room for about 15 minutes more and then went to the waiting room to tell everyone while they finished up. We all got to flood the room again for a little while so everyone could see the baby/take pics. It was like a concert in there with all of the flashes going off.

We were all tired, but so jazzed about the baby. People started filing out and then we were left at the end. We said our congrats and goodnights and then headed for the cars.

We got home and were still wired, and finally got to sleep around 1:30. My mom and Jess had it made because they didn’t have to go to work/school in the morning. I got up with 4 hours of sleep and made it through the day. I think the energy was still there from the whole experience.

We just love him to death already.

Lucian Grey Collins
11/18/08 - 10:20 pm
7 pounds 8.2 oz.
20.5 inches long
"Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band playing on the radio in the room (LOL)