CYG Day 22

Day 22: Place of Care

I received my prenatal care and gave birth at Mount Auburn hospital. I am so happy with the care I received there. The nurses and midwives handled our situation with such care and respect. They allowed Julian's birth to be beautiful, even though the circumstances were tragic. Clare, a midwife, took care of me before, during and after my pregnancy. She was not scheduled to work on the 22nd, but she came from out of town to be there for Julian's birth. She arrived just in time to hold one of my legs while I pushed (Taison held the other). She took almost all of the pictures that we have of Julian. Her nurse, Jackie, doesn't work in L&D, but she reached out to me as soon as she heard what had happened. She was already my favorite nurse; now she has become a friend.

Tamara is the midwife who took care of me through labor and delivery. I love that she treated the delivery the same way she would have a live birth. She asked me if I wanted a mirror to see what was happening while I pushed (I didn't, not this time), and she told me to "look down and see your baby" as his head emerged. That first glimpse of his head is one of the memories that I cherish.

I only have a picture of two members of the team: Stacy (left) and Kathy (right), both L&D nurses. Kathy took care of us all day Sunday, and even stayed after her shift ended to be there when I delivered Julian that night. A lot of that day is a blur to me, but I clearly remember staring into Kathy's eyes and holding her hands to get through a contraction while my epidural was placed. Kathy was also a special support to my mom. She brought her countless mugs of tea that day, and even ended up giving my mom her favorite mug before she left that night. We talked about how great Kathy was for weeks after Julian was born.