Nicolas was born 32 minutes into Monday 29 October 2007.
Three weeks before the estimated due date and without private anaesthetist, my latest project was delivered, as Vaughan puts it, before schedule and within budget. He is a normal-sized baby at 48cm. He was always going to be a light baby, but because he didn't reach full term per se, he's even lighter than anticipated, with a weight of 2.265kg (5lbs). Not having time to put on these last three weeks' worth of baby fat meant that Nicolas' blood sugar levels were low and therefore had to be monitored.
The delivery went quite quick, apparently a midwife's dream. I started feeling contractions on Sunday at around 16:00, during the Parent & Child Show. Not that I knew what contractions felt then, so I just thought that it was some random, harmless abdomen stuff going on. When it finally dawned on me what it might have been, Bas was a bit useless on the confirmation front, having never felt contractions or period pains before either. We arrived at the hospital at 21:00 and by that time the contractions were starting to feel quite painful, but not partner-abusing painful. Yet. By 22:30 I was on heat bag, hot shower, gas and Pethidine. I don't know if any of them helped manage the pain, but I sure wasn't going to stop taking them in order to compare with and without. When Dr McPherson arrived at 23:00, he was surprised to find out that I was already 7cm dilated. I guess that because I wasn't screaming obscenities yet, he must have thought that I was another hypochondriac drama queen who would have to be sent home till it truly was time. I had a another whole 3cm to go. At 1cm per hour, that meant that the pain could go on, and increase, for another three to four hours - something I definitely was not looking forward to. Thankfully things got a bit more rushed at around midnight. Waters gushing out after a charmingly audible plop, three pushes and voilà! With a squeak and a wail, Nicolas arrived into this world. All according to the birth plan too. There was some finger-crushing which Bas handled staunchly like the fantastic support partner he was, and there was also a tiny little bit of swearing though I was considerate enough to translate in French so as not to offend any hospital personnel, but no crying, no stitches, no forceps/ventouse, no epidural. Just lots of pain. Can't figure out whether this is more painful than the injection of Tetanus I received in my dog bite wound when I was a kid. In any case, if Nicolas turns out an ungrateful boy, he'll have some answering to do.
The next five days were spent at Auckland Hospital, in room 11. I had my private room which was nice and spacious enough to receive visitors. Most of the medical personnel were nice, informative and helpful, with a handful making you doubt the quality of training provided here. The food is typical blend hospital food but is definitely edible (can't say the same of some of my own cooking so I'm not about to complain). Oh, and any pregnant women make note: BYO soft 3-ply toilet paper. Walking around the corridors was an interesting experience. The walls are plastered with posters, sporting two main themes: breastfeeding and hand hygiene. I gather from that, New Zealand mothers use formula milk for their kids and don't often wash their hands.
