As you may know, Ash was due April 13th. However, Dev was born Wednesday April 14th at 13:57.
Ash felt odd and weird around 10:00 that morning and thought she might be having the good ol' braxton hicks contractions that had been nagging her for about a 2 weeks period or so.
I casually went off to work that morning at 6:40 as I had been doing day-in and day-out, to attend an all day corporate meeting with my bosses, under the assumption wee-man was not in any rush to join us on this side of the world.
Somewhere around 10:30 or so, Ash started texting me and saying these weren't the usual braxton's she had been dealing with and that something was different, that she was "scared".
Luckily my mom had flown in from AZ the night before, under the guise that Devin would eventually be born at some point during her stay. So I told Ash to call my mom, because as a retired nurse, she could assess the situation and get back to me about what the heck was going on. Smart move if you ask me. So Ash calls my mom.
Side bar 1:
Jeff is at work. My mom is at their home in Mississauga with Paige. Sio is with Parker at a doctors office. I'm downtown at a conference. Ravi (Ash's brother) is somewhere over the Pacific or Atlantic. Lalitha (Ash's mom) is also downtown at work. Ash is at home... alone... and more than a little worried.
The Original Plan:
We planned to use midwives. We really like the one-on-one time you get with these professionals. The plan is to take our sweet time (because first time labours takes hours! so people say) and meet our midwives in Oakville at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. Get a room. Get drugs. Birth baby.
Time to go by timeframe:
10:40 - My wonderful mother calls my awesome brother and tells him he needs to come home because she needs the car. Jeff drops the hammer on the 401 and is home in about 10 minutes. My brother rocks. My mom leaves.
11:10 - My mother arrives. Assesses the situation and realizes "Sweet Jesus" Ash looks to be in labour.
Option 1: 911. No. Ash will have none of that because they will take her to the Milton Hospital which is not associated with the Halton Region's Midwives Association, with which we have two amazing midwives who have been assisting and coaching Asha throughout her pregnancy.
Option 2: Call the midwives and get their recommendation.
11:30ish - Ash and my Mom go with option 2. The midwives explain that they will be there as soon as possible, but they are somewhere in the range of being about an hour or so away. Ash is now in labour. The pain is excruciating. There's no reprieve from the pain. My mom is left to coach Asha through this ordeal on her own.
Side bar 2:
Let me explain a little something here too. My mom came to town in hope for Devin's arrival and to spend time with her two other grandchildren and at some point when Ash, Devin and I were happily at home, she and Jeff and Sio and Parker and Paige would gingerly drop in for a visit. Not the case. Jeff and I have talked about this a couple times now, but the fact is... my mom became Ash's labour coach.
It's like stepping into the Superbowl and taking the 4th string quarterback and saying "here kid... we know this is not what you prepared for today... but congratulations... you're now our starting Quarterback". She wanted to be an observer. Somewhere on the outskirts looking in. Alas, not that day.
Asha's Quarterback pecking order - Me (1st String), Lalitha (2nd String), Ravi / Jeff / Siobhan (Potentially 3rd String), Everyone else including Ash's mother-in-law (4th String).
Back to the timeframe:
11:45 - I'm now sitting at the back of the conference texting Ash like a mad man, but getting very little response. I think this strange, so I call my mother. She says Ash is in a labour. I'm thinking "cool", guess I should pack up my stuff and head home. No rush right? Talk to a couple people... walk briskly down to the subway... Next train departs to Oakville at 12:30. This is part of the original plan. Take train to Oakville. Get in cab. Go home. Get wife. Drive wife to hospital. Get a room. Get drugs. Birth baby.
12:30 - Train departs Union Station. I read the Baby Whisperer to kill time.
Between 12:30 and 12:45 - The first of the midwives arrive. Ash is in full blown labour. If pain were likened to a volume control between 1 and 10... Ash is at an 11. 911 is still an option, but there's a 50/50 chance Dev gets born by the side of a road. The midwives and my mother spring into action and determine that Ash is going to have a home labour. No ifs ,ands or buts about it. Its baby time and the original plan is thrown completely out the window.
1:00 - Train arrives at Oakville. I get in a cab. I explain to said Cabbie my situation. Cabbie acknowledges and drives casually away. I'm ready to choke him out and take over the cab myself. There's no way the assault stands up in court. I was under severe duress.
1:00 - Ash is in our bed in labour. She's doing amazing. 2 midwives & one mother-in-law are there to help her get through this. Still NO DRUGS. NO HOSPITAL. Did I mention no drugs?
1:15 - My mother calls me and says in a very cool and calm voice (which is obviously the experience of a veteran nurse), "Robin" - that's when I knew something was bad... "Robin, your wife is in labour and your child is going to be born... here... in your house. How far away are you? Asha can't wait that long".
Now I'm not a smart man. I'm not exactly what you would call an attractive man. But I do like to think that I'm a man of action. And it was finally at that moment I realized what was truly transpiring at home. I thought we would have all the time in the world... Truth was... Ash was seconds away from delivering Devin. Totally Crazy! Home delivery was not part of this plan!
It was at this point, I "casually" explained to the driver, that if he did not start breaking land speed records with his mini-van... I would drive. If his wheels did not spin-out each time we had to stop at a red light or stop sign, his God could not save him from the wrath that I would deliver.
1:25 - The third midwife arrives. Ash has all of these people's professional experience and skills necessary to successfully do this delivery. Surrounded by amazing healthcare professionals, Ash focussed and set forth to deliver Dev. Did I mention no drugs?
1:35 - I arrive and provide pathetic attempts at breathing and coaching. Fact is... I'm about a useful as tit's on a bull.
1:57 - Devin arrives. Ash officially becomes the strongest person I have ever met.
