Let the adventures begin.

Posted by Movie Dad On Wednesday, February 18, 2009 1 comments


I started this blog to talk about two things, movies and fatherhood. Movies I know a lot about. Fatherhood, not so much. You see, I just became a father to a beautiful baby girl just one short week ago today. Her name is Aellyn (long A lyn), and this is her story.

My wife (Paige) and I were married on April 1st 1999, no joke. In the beginning we were not trying to have children but we were not , not trying to have children. If it happened we would embrace it. As the years went by, Paige started to have the Baby Bug but we knew something was wrong. We both got tested for infertility and it ended up being male factor. Basically my body created anti-bodies that killed the sperm. We sought out a fertility specialist and she suggested in-vitro but it was way to expensive. We did however opt for insemination which is covered by insurance. We did three rounds of insemination over the course of a year with no luck. Depression for both of us set in. We both dealt with the depression differently, neither way was a smart choice but in the end we both still loved each other very much. We discussed alternatives to get pregnant and donor sperm was the next best way financially. We discussed it at length and we knew what we were getting into. Our fertility specialist still wanted us to do in-vitro and was not to keen on the donor sperm idea. NEXT!

Paige and I decided to find another specialist who was willing to go the route we wanted. And found her we did. We went in and told her our story and said we have come to terms with our decision and wanted to proceed in choosing a donor. She thought our story was touching and she wanted to help. She said we could do donor but had another idea. She told us about a foundation who would donate the money for in-vitro to well deserving couples and that fit their criteria. Paige and I cried right there in the office and thanked her every which way we could.

Fast forward to Feb. 10th 2009

I am at work (Best Buy) and while I am in the middle of helping a customer my phone rings. I have a special ring-tone for Paige. If you have ever seen a Star Trek episode you have heard the red alert siren. I chose that so that when she did call I definitely would hear it. So I excuse myself from the customer saying it was my pregnant wife. I answer the phone and Paige says her water broke and we need to get to the hospital. I speed home (which I have done in the past but this time I have an excuse) and fly into the drive way. Paige is sitting in the living room all calm like with a great big smile on her face. We gather up The BAG and any stray things we might need and head to the hospital and call the family along the way. I must note that Paige was not having any significant contraction.

After we are admitted and she is resting comfortably in bed, our mid-wife (Heidi) orders pitosin to help the contraction along. Heidi said it could take 12 hours and not to worry. As the night progressed the contractions became closer and stronger. Paige wanted to go natural but around 11pm they checked her and she was only 3cm dilated. They gave her something to relax and also pumped up the pitosin. She became a little loopy but relaxed. The contractions got a lot stronger and closer together. Around 2am Paige could not take the pain anymore. She wanted to be present and involved with the birth and with the pain she was feeling nauseous and not in control. She decided to get an epidural and that went in around 2;15. Heidi came in and checked her again and Paige was at 6cm. Holy Cow! 6cm in just a couple of hours. No wonder she was in so much pain. My wife is a trooper but I do not blame her for getting an epidural. Paige was finally able to relax a bit and try to get some rest. We put Ghostbusters in the DVD player and nodded off. Just as the end credits rolled, Heidi came back in and checked Paige again. 10cm, Fully Dilated! And Aellyn had descended and was making her way out. I swear if we had slept a little bit longer Aellyn would have squeezed out on her own. Everything that happened in the next 30 min. is kind of a blur. Things were set up, things moved around and I was positioned on Paige's right side to hold her leg while my mother in-law was on her left holding that leg. Up until this point I did not know if I wanted to watch the birth or not but at this point I did what I had to do to help Paige. In the end I was glad I did. The birth was not a hard as I was expecting but who am I to say anything. All I did was encourage her to do her best.The whole experience was amazing and will remember it forever. The first time I was able to look into Aellyn's eyes I knew this is who I was meant to be. Her daddy.

She is the most beautiful baby girl in the world and the light of my life. I know that I will do anything to give her the best life possible and all the opportunities she deserves.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Princess Aellyn.

1 comments:

Schmoker said...

I remember that day, or at least I remember hearing about it shortly afterwards. In fact, I have vague memories of stopping in to see you that day and being told you left early, but that may be my mind playing tricks again. But it's a great story that I can always hear again, and it's told well here, Movie Dad. Hope to read many more posts.

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