New Kid on the Block
Jotaro Frederick Henwood (丈太郎くん) was born on March 13 at 3:36 in the afternoon. He weighed in at 3.1 kg and if stood up would be 49.5 cm tall. Both he and his mum are doing great.
I was a little bummed out yesterday because I wasn't home when Yukiko's water broke. I was away in Tokushima for work. I had asked my office to let me work closer just because I didn't want to be away from home in a situation like this. Then, what do you know, the first time I go back to Tokushima Yukiko's water breaks. She phoned me at about 5 in the morning to tell me. I couldn't get home until 8 in the evening. Yukiko's parents and sister came to spend the day with her and other than feeling slightly uncomfortable she was fine. I was really nervous and wanted to get home quickly. In fact, I tried to get home early by switching busses but everything was full so I had to take the bus I originally booked.
This morning, Monday, we woke up at 7 am and Yukiko's contractions still hadn't started. We were told to go in to the clinic if they hadn't started so we arrived there at just after 9. Normally they would have sent us home until the contractions were well on their way but this is a private clinic and we had a room booked so they said we could stay. Then at about 9:30 her contractions started, albeit very mild at first. So mild that Yukiko wanted to sleep. The head nurse (who is very friendly with us) kept telling Yukiko to stay awake and walk around or something. But Yukiko just wanted to sleep. At about 1 o'clock the contractions really kicked it up a notch. Yukiko was in obvious pain and there was really nothing I could do but let her squeeze my hands, give her tea, and try to reassure her. Did I mention before that this clinic doesn't allow anesthetics? Well it doesn't, so I felt really bad for Yukiko.
When the pain got really bad Yukiko forgot all about her breathing techniques and would just let out little yelps of pain. I felt pretty useless trying to remind her how to breath properly. When the head nurse would come in to check on things she would take control of the situation pretty decisively, "Tsuda-san, don't use your voice! Breath out like this fu-fu-fu-fu." I'm glad she was there to help out. I was really glad when the staff finally gave me my special clothes to put on at about 3 o'clock. Until then I'd been saying to Yukiko, "not much longer now" or "he's coming soon" but to her it probably seemed like I was full of it. Now here was some proof that the big event was soon to come.
After we got wheeled into the delivery room it was obvious to me that Yukiko was just exhausted. From what I've read in my pregnancy books one of the benefits of anesthetics is that they give the mum a second wind to help deliver the baby. When it came time to push Yukiko didn't have much steam left. At one point the baby's head was sticking out but Yukiko couldn't push anymore. The top of his hairy little head looked about the size of a tennis ball. I figured if his head was so small then it wouldn't be too hard to get out. Boy was I wrong. The head nurse (who handled most of the delivery) realized that Yukiko was tired too and performed a quick episiotomy to help things along. I'm not sure if she used any anesthetic here or not but it certainly happened very quickly. Yukiko was being stretched out so much that may not have noticed it anyways. On the next big push Jo's head popped out and it was much bigger than a tennis ball. He had that 'conehead' look that many babies do because their heads get smushed when being forced out the birth canal. The clinic staff call it a 'peanuts' shape. When he came out he was very purple and the umbilical cord wad a dark blue. His purpleness worried me and I wondered if he was breathing properly. Turns out everthing was just fine. They cut the umbilical cord and took him to another room to be cleaned and checked out. I went with him while the doctor on delivered the placenta and sewed up Yukiko. The nurses kept commenting on how 'gaijin' (foreigner-like) Jo's face was, with a tall nose and big, navy-blue eyes. He'll be a big hit in Japan I'm sure. Once we were out of the delivery room I was allowed to use my video camera so I took a lot of footage of Jo being bathed and cleaned. When the umbilical cord was removed I got to hold it. By now it was drained of blood and very white. It had a strange, rubber like texture. Then I got to hold him for the very first time. I was a real papa now. Wow, what a great feeling. Then, almost as quickly, he was whisked away from me and I got to see Yukiko again. She was tired but very relieved and happy. All in all it was a pretty short labour I think, about 6 hours in total with only 20 minutes or so in the delivery room. They brought Jo in to see her and suggested that Yukiko try breastfeeding him. She didnt' know if she would be able to because no milk had ever come out before. Once again, the head nurse took charge and gave her breast a little squeeze. To Yukiko's surprise a drop of milk popped out. Jo then latched on and mum and baby were united again.
In the evening, Yukiko's parents and sister came by to visit. They were really excited and everyone congratulated us. Visiting hours ended at 8pm and I went with Yukiko's family to a local restaurant for dinner. When I got home I was busy making phone calls, sending emails and updating this blog. I was really exhausted when I finally got to bed. But Yukiko was the real hero. I'll never forget what she went through and the special boy she made today.
I was a little bummed out yesterday because I wasn't home when Yukiko's water broke. I was away in Tokushima for work. I had asked my office to let me work closer just because I didn't want to be away from home in a situation like this. Then, what do you know, the first time I go back to Tokushima Yukiko's water breaks. She phoned me at about 5 in the morning to tell me. I couldn't get home until 8 in the evening. Yukiko's parents and sister came to spend the day with her and other than feeling slightly uncomfortable she was fine. I was really nervous and wanted to get home quickly. In fact, I tried to get home early by switching busses but everything was full so I had to take the bus I originally booked.
This morning, Monday, we woke up at 7 am and Yukiko's contractions still hadn't started. We were told to go in to the clinic if they hadn't started so we arrived there at just after 9. Normally they would have sent us home until the contractions were well on their way but this is a private clinic and we had a room booked so they said we could stay. Then at about 9:30 her contractions started, albeit very mild at first. So mild that Yukiko wanted to sleep. The head nurse (who is very friendly with us) kept telling Yukiko to stay awake and walk around or something. But Yukiko just wanted to sleep. At about 1 o'clock the contractions really kicked it up a notch. Yukiko was in obvious pain and there was really nothing I could do but let her squeeze my hands, give her tea, and try to reassure her. Did I mention before that this clinic doesn't allow anesthetics? Well it doesn't, so I felt really bad for Yukiko.
When the pain got really bad Yukiko forgot all about her breathing techniques and would just let out little yelps of pain. I felt pretty useless trying to remind her how to breath properly. When the head nurse would come in to check on things she would take control of the situation pretty decisively, "Tsuda-san, don't use your voice! Breath out like this fu-fu-fu-fu." I'm glad she was there to help out. I was really glad when the staff finally gave me my special clothes to put on at about 3 o'clock. Until then I'd been saying to Yukiko, "not much longer now" or "he's coming soon" but to her it probably seemed like I was full of it. Now here was some proof that the big event was soon to come.
After we got wheeled into the delivery room it was obvious to me that Yukiko was just exhausted. From what I've read in my pregnancy books one of the benefits of anesthetics is that they give the mum a second wind to help deliver the baby. When it came time to push Yukiko didn't have much steam left. At one point the baby's head was sticking out but Yukiko couldn't push anymore. The top of his hairy little head looked about the size of a tennis ball. I figured if his head was so small then it wouldn't be too hard to get out. Boy was I wrong. The head nurse (who handled most of the delivery) realized that Yukiko was tired too and performed a quick episiotomy to help things along. I'm not sure if she used any anesthetic here or not but it certainly happened very quickly. Yukiko was being stretched out so much that may not have noticed it anyways. On the next big push Jo's head popped out and it was much bigger than a tennis ball. He had that 'conehead' look that many babies do because their heads get smushed when being forced out the birth canal. The clinic staff call it a 'peanuts' shape. When he came out he was very purple and the umbilical cord wad a dark blue. His purpleness worried me and I wondered if he was breathing properly. Turns out everthing was just fine. They cut the umbilical cord and took him to another room to be cleaned and checked out. I went with him while the doctor on delivered the placenta and sewed up Yukiko. The nurses kept commenting on how 'gaijin' (foreigner-like) Jo's face was, with a tall nose and big, navy-blue eyes. He'll be a big hit in Japan I'm sure. Once we were out of the delivery room I was allowed to use my video camera so I took a lot of footage of Jo being bathed and cleaned. When the umbilical cord was removed I got to hold it. By now it was drained of blood and very white. It had a strange, rubber like texture. Then I got to hold him for the very first time. I was a real papa now. Wow, what a great feeling. Then, almost as quickly, he was whisked away from me and I got to see Yukiko again. She was tired but very relieved and happy. All in all it was a pretty short labour I think, about 6 hours in total with only 20 minutes or so in the delivery room. They brought Jo in to see her and suggested that Yukiko try breastfeeding him. She didnt' know if she would be able to because no milk had ever come out before. Once again, the head nurse took charge and gave her breast a little squeeze. To Yukiko's surprise a drop of milk popped out. Jo then latched on and mum and baby were united again.
In the evening, Yukiko's parents and sister came by to visit. They were really excited and everyone congratulated us. Visiting hours ended at 8pm and I went with Yukiko's family to a local restaurant for dinner. When I got home I was busy making phone calls, sending emails and updating this blog. I was really exhausted when I finally got to bed. But Yukiko was the real hero. I'll never forget what she went through and the special boy she made today.
posted by Jason at 11:41 PM
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