The next few moments are a blur in my memory. Jen suctioned her quickly, and there were no issues from the meconium staining. She told me to take my baby, and then we checked to find out that she was, indeed, a she! I held her close to my chest, and Joel announced through tears, “Her name is Mikayla Grace.” Jen clamped the cord, and offered Joel the scissors to cut it. I could tell he was nervous, but in awe of being able to do this himself. I just looked at my baby, completely smitten at her wide-eyed wonder as she looked back up at me. She was so alert, and so incredibly gorgeous with her dark hair and eyes! All I could say was, “My baby! You're so beautiful!” (etc.)
Jen told me that I had not torn at all, but could possibly use a stitch on one side to speed the recovery and lessen my discomfort, to which I readily agreed. The placenta was delivered within a few minutes, and Jen showed us how healthy and big it was. What an incredible organ, to have sustained and grown our daughter for the past nine and a half months!
They allowed us to just hold and love Mikayla, without doing any of the newborn checks aside from making sure she was breathing well on her own. The nurse, Bev, told us that someone’s sister was there to visit. Brittany, my sister, was there already! Joel went up to get her from the waiting room at the front of the birth center, and she walked in less than twenty minutes after Mikayla’s birth, with tears in her eyes. It was such a vivid reminder of when a similar scene played out at her daughter, Khloe’s, birth. How special to have her there right away! Not long after, Joel’s parents arrived from New Jersey, and we invited them in after Mikayla had nursed for the first time, and still within the first hour of her life. It was a joyous time, and I was so thrilled to be awake and unmedicated, and to enjoy the same qualities in our newborn daughter as she met her family. Brittany’s husband, Kory, arrived a short time later with food from Chick Fil A (what better first post-partum meal?).
We talked to my parents on the phone and shared the joyous news. They were so thrilled to hear about Mikayla’s birth, and how healthy and perfect her delivery had been. They just couldn’t wait to come visit and meet her for themselves! My parents were in Florida visiting my dad’s family, and they were able to share the news with my dad’s sister almost immediately. What a great time of celebration they had, even from a distance!
Things had gone so well during Mikayla’s birth that the midwife and nurse had no qualms about us going home early in the afternoon. We took care of the necessary paperwork and newborn procedures, got me up and out of bed, and generally assessed our readiness to leave. We were packed up and on the road by 2:30 p.m., about four hours after the birth! Granted, I was walking gingerly and eager to get home to my own bed, but we were ready to go. After one last birth center photo of Mikayla in her car seat, the nurse escorted us out, gave me a big hug, and sent us on our way. With plenty of phone calls to make and visits from family and friends to enjoy, this happy new family of three set out for home!
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