My Son

The following is my account of the birth of my newest son.

My part in this story is far more than it used to be. I remember the birth of my last three children very well, but most of all I remember my wife Christina's ability to bring forth our child without anything more than simple encouragement and endearment from me. This time, as she progressed through a very short labor, perhaps the shortest yet, I noticed she seemed more uncomfortable than usual. I did not fear for her, because I knew she would tell me if something was wrong - she can feel what's happening and would know better than anyone when she needed help. This time she did. I stood by and did as I always have, watching closely and taking pictures when I could, but this time as the baby's head emerged she didn't just push and smile, she asked me to help. This I later understood was not a plea for help, but actually was a simple request to help catch the baby because she felt is position was too awkward for her to push him out without leaning as far forward as she could.

I felt nervous at first, but quickly recovered from that as I knew she wouldn't ask me unless she needed me. As she leaned forward and I moved behind her to help the baby out, I felt a moment of terror like I never have; I saw my baby's head completely emerged from his warm, cozy womb and looking completely lifeless. In absolute disbelief that anything could be wrong with my child, I placed my hands around the neck and shoulder area of my little one and
began to guide the turning of body as Christina pushed. At the first attempt, the baby actually pulled back when she stopped pushing, so we tried again. This time around, I tried to slide my fingers gently inside the shoulder area to move sort of "pry" the baby out. At this attempt, I saw what at first looked like the baby's cord around the neck area, but it was actually the shoulder itself which followed the rest of my little one as I caught the rest of his little body.

A boy. After all the buildup to us having a girl as our last born child, I got another boy! He was extremely slippery and given the fact that I was so jittery and green to being so involved, I almost dropped him in the water as I tried to lift him to Christina's arms, but I didn't. My heart still felt as though it hadn't had a beat since I looked at his face when I began trying to guide him out because at this point I realized he hadn't moved or twitched at all.

I was absolutely reeling at this point. My mind was full of excitment, fear, and confusion as I sat and watched for him to respond with a sign of life. Would this be the one horror story of our babies that everyone always "warns" us about? Would I, could I, lose my fifth and final child after the only time I've ever needed to help one of them to be born? The things that were going through my head as I fought them back with the sheer stubborness and insistent parts of me that knew my children would never give in so easily. I sat in fear for what felt like an eternity but would later be realized as merely a few seconds when suddenly, he coughed.

Relief washed over me in such a rush that I almost screamed, as a few seconds went by and again, he coughed. Life. My son was born and defied my fears that he may not make it and is here even now, sleeping with his mother beside me.

After a little research, we found that his type of birth, with the "shoulder stuck" as it was can create possible health concerns if the baby is stuck for upwards of 5 minutes. It fills me with absolute pride that my wife and I meld so well together that we can both see a situation that demands attention from us and respond with such urgency that we don't even miss a step. These sorts of situations, in hospital births, would often be a horror story of "near death" incidents and so on, but not with us. We are as we always have been; a family that lives, loves, and understands each other and that I truly believe is what made what some would call a horror story into yet another incredible baby born into our fold.

Our boy, Peregrin Jameson Cartwright was born at 4:15am on February 2nd, 2009