Happy Labor Day! and speaking of labor; It was serious touch and go, but baby Elijah was born at 8:30 pm, Sunday evening. He is alive and well, weighing in at 8lbs, 13 oz and 22” long. Wow, it sure wasn’t easy. My baby girl, Airica Nicole Bowman is one strong mommy! She was in labor for, get this 68 1/2 hours, from 1am Friday to Sunday evening when Elijah finally made his appearance. The care provided by Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Florida was wonderful! They were in absolutely no rush whatsoever to make Elijah come into this world. Wouldn’t you think there would have been some pressure put on mama Airica to go ahead and have a c-section after say, 48, 60 or more hours? That simply was not the case. Mother’s water broke more than a day before birth. That would have been another good reason for going ahead and having a c-section. But no. They gave mother anti-biotics to avoid infections and just kept waiting. Airica was thoroughly advised as to the risk and recovery period of a c-section which really cemented her desire to avoid that route. When it finally was baby time, of course it wasn’t easy as it never is. But this baby had some special issues. In his trip down the birth canal his umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck. Ouch! Grandpa was in the room, but certainly didn’t want to see too much, so was behind a curtain over toward the door. Therefore, I could hear them call for a special team to handle baby in distress, where others in the room could not. Fortunately, Elijah had finally popped out by the time the team arrived, shortly thereafter, but he was not that baby who loudly cried out upon coming into the world. In fact, he didn’t cry at all. The medical staff had to take him over to where I was and suction out fluids where after he cried a little and then a lot. He was really pale. His apgar score was only 5 at birth but thankfully rose quickly to 8 (out of a possible 10) at 5 minutes, so he’s OK. They were concerned that his shoulder might have been really stressed and maybe even broken as he came (and was pulled) out, but at the very moment they were discussing that, he stretched that arm out, so hopefully no problem there. He has long fingers and big feet, so he’s probably going to be tall, like his 6’9” dad, Franklin Thompson, who was on the set and performed his role, as birth coach, admirably during this difficult birth. It is making me emotional to relate all of this to you. Somehow, at the time, it was a little less so. Airica was just soooooo strong. She just did what she had to do! Grandma was so there for our daughter it blew my mind. She arrived 8-22 and supported our girl during this 8 day marathon wait from anticipated due date to actual birth. My wife, Airica’s mom, Phyllis, is always amazing! So, FBF, long story with a good ending. Thank you all for your prayers, they may have made the difference! Pictures are coming soon, I promise
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:10:47 +0000
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