Very happy to say that our birth went perfectly to plan! Marcello George Kenneth Ferguson arrived on the 2nd of October 2008 at 9:54pm. Weighing in at 8 lbs 6oz and 56cm (21 inches) long.
First, Marcello is the Italian version of Mark. It is pronounced March-ello. It means Little Warrior. It was one of the only names Scott and I both liked. We knew it was a little different....and that is partially why we liked it so much. George is for Scott's living Grandfather & Kenneth is for my living Grandfather. We wanted to honour both of them being Marcello's Great Grandfathers. The name is a little lengthy. But it just makes our son more unique. (:
Our birth went well. We actually thought he was arriving on his due day as I started to have some surges around midnight on the 1st. But the surges never really established a pattern. Scott did take that day off work and made sure the birthing pool was in proper order and put the first layer of water in the pool. We had a little scare, after Scott and my Mom put in the first layer of water they noticed some bubbles....after they established there was no leak outside of the pool they quickly found that it was just a internal leak which would be the padded cushioned floor of the pool. So no padded floor, which I didn't even notice. On the 2nd I started getting regular surges around 3:30am about 10 minutes apart. At 4:30 I realized I decided I should get up and walk to try and get them a little closer together. I walk figure eight patterns around our living and dining room. And my surges quickly came to about 5-6 minutes apart, but would not establish a pattern of getting closer together. So I decided to go back to bed & then they spread to hourly. When I got up later that morning Scott & I decided to go for a walk. Right away the surges came back at about 5 minutes apart. I had to stop walking for every surge they were much stronger. It took me several hours to walk a normally 10-15 minute walk. When I got home Scott made me a yummy omelette for lunch and we waited for them to become very regular and established. We called the midwife around 2:30 in the afternoon and she arrived around 3:30 and got everything set up. I waited a few more hours before I got into the pool. I was really nervous that the Surges would stop or slow down if I got into the pool too soon. At this point I had my relaxation CD's in and was easily going in and out of my relaxed state.
My total established Birthing time was about 8 and a half hours. And no drugs or medicines were used for Marcello or me. Not too bad. (: The last 30 minutes were of course very intense. I feel like I lost my relaxed state but I have been told that I was still in a deep trance till the end. I told the midwife I didn't think I would have any energy left if it didn't happen soon and of course that brought a smile to everyone's faces meaning I was really close. We decided to check and see how far I was along. So I had to crawl out of my pool and lay flat on the couch. I had a surge on my back, which was awful! Don't know how people give birth lying on their backs! I was 10 cm and the baby's head was right there. I got back into the pool and back onto my knees which was much more comfortable. With in a few minutes my bag of waters finally released. Turning the pool a reddish tinge. And a few minutes after that Marcello's head appeared. Then with in seconds after that he was born. I handed him to Scott under water and Scott lifted him out, I saw right away it was boy and Scott then laid him on my chest. He didn't cry, he was so calm and opened his eyes and just stared at me, and then at Scott, and then back at me. Scott said a prayer over Marcello and I think my Mom may have too, but I am not sure, that part is a little fuzzy for me now.
While still cuddling him I delivered the placenta. The placenta is in our freezer still. We plan on planting a tree and burying it beneath the tree. It is a custom here to do so. Scott held him for a while while I tried to get out of the pool. I was pretty weak and dizzy. Scott was the first to confirm his first wee and poo, as it was all over him. (: Scott cut the umbilical cord and I put on his first diaper/nappy and put on his first outfit, which was huge on him, especially the hat.
By midnight everything was done. We put Marcello in his very big crib/cot and decided we could not leave him there. So into bed he went with us. Snuggles all night! (:
Marcello is now 2 weeks old, and our love for him is overflowing. I feel like the most overprotective parent already! I cannot bare the thought of life without him now. He is such a huge part of our lives! It is truly hard to imagine these feelings before he was born.
FYI...Marcello now had established a nice routine for the most part and sleeps comfortably in his crib/cot.
Thank You for all your prayers & support! Hope to have another update for you soon!
XOXO Scott, Kristie & Marcello
