Official Release: Book of Kai, 1st Edition, Chapter 1: Kai's Birth

Good night everyone, have been having some internet issues so couldn't update as I would like, but guess what??!!! HE's HERE!!!!!!!! Birthday: 19th July, 2013

Kai Nathaniel Haynes was born this afternoon 36 weeks into the 40 week journey. My baby boy is tiny, looks like 6 lbs but we are not sure as yet. Now before people start scrolling all the way down for photos... I didn't take any today. It has been a very, very, VERY long day.

Now from the beginning. As you know, Deborah had her bloody show last week and with the help of google we found out labour would be along between a few hours, up to 3 weeks after this event. I really did not get any sleep last night and neither did Deborah, if she wasn't getting up for a glass of water, she was going to bathroom. Around 4 am this morning now Deborah woke me up and told me that she thinks her water broke but she is not sure. Now I'm a big fan of google, so out came the laptop to search for "i think my water broke but i'm not sure" and seems this is a very common occurrence with women and there were lots of stories and things to look for. To look at the colour, the smell and consistent flow... Now Deborah's water didn't come swooshing out with a big popping sound some women seem to get, It was more of a small steady trickle, with no sign of contractions in sight.

Since Q.E.H. is famous for sending pregnant woman back home we decided to monitor this event and see if any contractions would start. There was only the usual back pain and the trickle, so I told her to start getting herself ready for the hospital by making sure she had everything she needed, getting breakfast and a shower then relax and wait for our ride. As stated before, the Ambulance is never an option, and if you play stubborn and call, then proceed to wait for one, you better have someone at home with birthing experience.

We got to the hospital around 7:00 am and when Deborah waddled into the Accident & Emergency section we were ushered straight inside to await an orderly. Anyone is Barbados would know the usual procedure of on arrival speaking to the guard and having a seat and waiting to turn to dust. Up on the Labour Ward now I must say the nurses on that shift were very nice and information was flowing on her condition. It was only then that I found out Deborah was a High Risk patient with Edema and Pre-eclampsia so she was awarded her own little private room. Should any complications arise, surgery would take place on the spot to get out Kai.

I was allowed to go check in on her a few times through out the day and was promised to be called when the actual pushing started. When I went in she had drips to try stabilize her pressure and antibiotics since her "water" was leaking for so long before she came in. Around 11:00am they broke her water and induced labour, now induced labour hurts a lot more than natural labour and the look on Deborah's face said it all. The contractions were in full swing now and the breathing technique was sharp, there was no doubt as to when a contraction started as her body would tense up and the breathing would get faster until it had passed. I was only allowed a few minutes visit at a time since they were trying to keep her as calm as possible and I returned around 2:00 pm, this time she could barely speak and her body was shaking slightly as she struggled between focusing on breathing to say "5 minutes apart".

The hospital shift changed at 3:00 pm and from there it was like the dark side of the moon, total black out. No information, no visits, and on inquiring several times was only met with the response "hold on a minute". I heard a few loud cries and in rushed some student nurses ...I don't have to tell you how worried I became because it sounded very much like Deborah and I told myself it couldn't be since I was supposed to be there. Around 5:00 pm her mother and brother arrived from work and also asked a nurse about her status to which they received the same response.

Around 5:30 pm the nurse came to the door and told that my son was born and he is healthy, that Deborah is also good but the delivery came so fast they had no time to call me and with it being high risk all the student nurses filled the room. Half hour later they came for me to go see Deborah and she too said it happened fast as they were focusing on her pressure and tell her not to push, but she was pushing because the pain was too great. I looked around and down the hall and saw a small baby in an incubator with the temperature set to 36 degrees Celsius, I knew he came early so I wouldn't expect him to be 8+ lbs so asked Deborah if it was him, to which she said she was unsure as to where they took him. It was only after I say the ziplock bag on top the incubator with the stuff we picked out for him to wear that I knew it had to be him. He looked tiny, like around 6 lbs and the shimmy the nurse put on almost swallowed him whole. She put on the shimmy, socks, the hat and whole piece suit with legs then wrapped him in a receiving blanket and a baby towel with the head piece over the hat.

At this point Kai was not crying at all and just sucking his finger with his eyes closed. She handed him to me and I held my baby boy for the first time and started to speak to him, and asked him where he was going with such long finger nails. On hearing my voice he stopped sucking his finger and started to open his eyes. I know they say babies can hear you in the womb, and lord knows I spoke to that child almost every night, but it was still breath taking to see his recognize my voice and open his eyes. It was now time for mommy's trial run at breast feeding so the nurse took him back and he closed his eyes and she handed him to his mother to show her the way to breast feed and to see if the Colostrum was already coming out. He found the breast with ease and after the nurse made sure he was latched on it was smooth sailing, not sure if he was getting but he seemed contented and either way if nothing was coming as yet, his constant sucking would eventually bring it down.

Kai's eyes were the first thing I wanted to see when I held him and I'm glad he opened them for me, my other son Dominic had grey eyes when he was born but the turned dark brown a while after. Deborah says Kai will be a Daddy's boy since he only opened his eyes for me and not her. All in all, I am grateful that this high risk delivery was practically uneventful and my baby boy though small is happy and healthy and all went well. Can't wait to go back tomorrow and hold him again, also have to let Dominic know that his new little brother is here.

Welcome to the world Kai Nathaniel Haynes, there is tons of love here waiting for you and I can't wait to see you grow, experience and explore the world.

The Bloody Show

For those who don't know, I will start by explaining what the bloody show is; those who know can skip this part.

"A cervical mucus plug (operculum) is a plug that fills and seals the cervical canal during pregnancy. It is formed by a small amount of cervical mucus.^[1]

The mucus plug acts as a protective barrier by deterring the passage of bacteria into the uterus,^[2] and contains a variety of antimicrobial agents, including immunoglobulins, and similarantimicrobial peptides to those found in nasal mucus.^[3]

Normally during human pregnancy, the mucus is cloudy, clear, thick, and sticky. Toward the end of the pregnancy, when the cervix thins, some blood is released into the cervix which causes the mucus to become bloody. As the woman gets closer to labor, the mucus plug discharges as the cervix begins to dilate. The plug may come out as a plug, a lump, or simply as increased vaginal discharge over several days. The mucus may be tinged with brown, pink, or red blood, which is why the event is sometimes referred to as "bloody show". Loss of the mucus plug by no means implies that delivery or labor is imminent."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cervical_mucus_plug

So now that we are all on the same page, I shall begin.

Deborah is 35 weeks into her pregnancy and as stated in a previous post, we had started packing her hospital bag just in case Kai got impatient. Well last night that impatience started to materialize when Deborah got her Bloody Show, now as with all first time mothers who are just rolling with the punches and not sure of the fine details of pregnancy, the bloody show was cause for great concern. I usually keep in contact with her when I'm on duty via whatsapp, and after she googled this strange discharge, sent me a message saying she found it was the first sign of labour and she thinks I should come home. She was even nice enough to google a photo of what it looks like and sent it to me... awesome right??!!

Since she wasn't having pain or contractions, I instructed her to call the hospital and ask a question to which they told her come in through Accident & Emergency and bring her and Kai's things. Now! I don't have to tell you the panic that ensued after that phone call. First thing she stated was that she was afraid, I'm assuming since she was only 35 weeks... but that wasn't important as the important thing now was to keep her as calm as possible. I came home and took her to the hospital, (never, ever, ever, EVER as long as you can help it, wait for an ambulance in Bim) they got her a wheelchair and with her mother, mother's boyfriend, Deborah's bestfriend and myself in tow, we headed to the labour ward.

We reach the labour ward around 9:15pm and it is only when put in these situations you realise the hospital doesn't give updates AT ALL. A few people where there when we came in and it was only after a doctor was came out to see off a girl who came in too early that everyone had questions about the condition of their loved ones inside. The funny thing about it was that he came back out and stated the person gave birth a good while ago and the baby and mother are doing fine. Unless they are leaving, and even then there is a seperate staff entrance, you don't see anyone to even ask a question to, so make sure the person goes in with a full charged cell phone... at least you will be informed up until the actual event. 

She was assessed and blood pressure taken, baby heart monitored etc. and after a brief encounter with the dreaded Speculum, she was told she could go home and return when the contractions are at least 5 minutes apart. We got this message at 10:30pm... do you know we did not leave QEH until 12:45am? waiting for the doctor to Officially discharge her? If you are lucky you will encounter nice nurses but the nurses at QEH are not nice at all. They are also very spiteful so you have to take any abuse in silence and be polite or face neglect and rough treatment. All in all I think we only encountered two unmannerly nurses and kudos to Dr. Chatrani (hope it spell right) as this man is very kind, polite and a ray of sunshine in that hospital.

Until next time, I hope you enjoy reading the Book of Kai.