It's a Boy!

Aaron James Dyck was born this morning at the Fort St John Hospital. He had a little bit of a rough (maybe unusual is a better word) entry into life, but all is well. He and Sandra are spending the night in the hospital, and I'm home with the kids trying to keep the rest of our lives going.

Happy parents!

For all you baby statistic fanatics out there, here are the details:
Name: Aaron James Dyck
Time: 6:59am
Weight: 8lb 4.5oz
Length: 19.7in

I have to tell the Aaron birth story because it is a bit of a unique one, and the best way to tell this is via a time line. The dialogue is not exact, but it's a pretty close approximation. Here goes...


6:20am - Reuben comes to our bedroom like he does every morning. Neither of us had a great night, and Sandra is already awake, so she takes Reuben so that I can try to get a little more sleep. She goes to the bathroom, has a shower and gets dressed. Then she groans (a 'contraction' type groan...if you know what I mean).

6:30am - I hear the groan, leap out of bed and head to the bathroom. Sandra is bent over, holding onto the toilet for support.
Dave: "Are you okay?"
Sandra: "I think it's starting."
Dave: "Can I shower?"
Sandra: "Sure."
I quickly shower, and as I'm just starting to dry off I hear Sandra yell "Hurry up Dave. We've got to go now! We don't have time to drop off the kids first". I scramble into some clothes, quickly call Juli and Marlo (friends that are going to take Greta and Reuben during the birth) and grab the bag that was packed for the kids, and the bag that was packed for Sandra.

6:4?am (exact time unknown...all I remember is that it was in the 40's) - I run into Greta's room, wake Greta up and throw some extra clothes into the bag for her. I get both kids to the door and start whipping their boots and coats on. Sandra starts the car (thanks to command start). I take the kids to the car and buckle them in. This whole time, Sandra is at the top of the stairs doing her 'contraction' groan and just throwing/kicking things down the stairs to the entrance. I come back for Sandra, help her crawl into the front seat on her knees, slam the door and we're off.

6:5?am (again, exact time unknown) - Sandra continues her groan.
Sandra: "Drive faster!"
Dave: "I can't. It's minus 30 and insanely slippery. The tires are just spinning."
I drive as fast I can without getting into trouble. The hospital is less than 5 minutes from home (about 16 blocks).

Five blocks from home -
Sandra: "My water just broke!"

Three blocks from the hospital -
Sandra: "This baby's coming! You have to pull over!"
Dave: "I'm not pulling over. The ER is right there Sandra. You're going to make it!"
I pull into the ER, and park right next the the door in the Ambulance parking spot. I run in and tell the clerk at the desk "My wife's having a baby! You have to come now!"

I run back to the car, open Sandra's door, and help her out. The clerk is right next to me, so I grab one of Sandra's arms and the clerk grabs the other.

At the ER foyer door (10 feet from the car) -
Sandra: "I have to push!"
Clerk: "No you don't! You can make it! We're almost there."

We get through the foyer door, move 5 feet forward, and open the second door into the ER -
Sandra: "It's coming! It's coming!"
Clerk: "You can make it."
Sandra: "It's born! It's out! It's out!"

I look down, and Sandra is standing bow-legged. In her jeans just below her crotch is a bulge. I reach down, grab hold, and sure enough...the baby's whole head is mashed into Sandra's pants. A nurse quickly comes and grabs Sandra's legs, and the three of us carry Sandra into the ER and onto a bed. I yank Sandra's boots and jeans off as fast I can (while the nurses are all busy trying to get their hands down her pants), and as soon as her pants are around her knees, we could see Aaron's head lying there on the bed.

6:59am - One more push and out he came.

I stayed with Sandra for about 5-10min, and then went back to the car, where our kids had been sitting all by themselves during this whole ordeal. Thankfully, they were both fine. From then on, the day was MUCH more normal.


All is well with everyone. Aaron escaped the ordeal with only some minor 'jean burn' on the right side of his forehead, Sandra's tired, but looks great, Greta and Reuben both really enjoy holding Aaron, and I'm just looking forward to all of us being home together tomorrow.

Siblings

Excited Greta

Tender Reuben