Things moved very fast today to bring Micah George Brown into the world at 3:28pm Sat 19 Feb 2011, weighing 1.5kg.
Kat started having some minor contractions overnight, which progressively got stronger and stronger. By the time I got to the hospital about 11am they were coming every 10 minutes and were clearly not at all pleasant. Just after 2pm we were down to every 5 minutes and the midwife decided to declare Kat “in labour” after a quick examination and they bundled us down the hall to the delivery suite.
The examination seemed to trigger things to move even faster, and about 20 minutes after we’d been in the delivery room, just after Kat had asked for an epidural, they decided that there was no time for that and it was time to just start pushing. So push she did, very nicely, even though we never had a chance for antenatal classes or training and within about another 20 minutes Micah was out. The whole thing seems like a bit of a blur to me now, and of course I was very emotional and tearful all the way through while trying my best to be a good supportive husband…
We have no idea what a normal birth is like, but we had lots of attention – at least 4 doctors, 3 midwives and a couple of other nurses and support people in the room all focussed on Kat and Micah. They cut the cord immediately and whisked him across to a heated table for an initial assessment and then we managed a quick hug with mum and a family photo before he was straight into the incubator and up to the Neonatal ICU.
For nearly 30 weeks he’s doing very well, he’s breathing on his own with just a bit of support from the CPAP machine to help his lungs take it easy. I sat with him for a couple of hours tonight in the ICU while Kat slept and had a great time watching him blow bubbles at me and stretch his tiny little arms and legs.
So, a day of excitement and emotion! We’re very happy and confident that our little boy is going to do great over the next few months as he fights and grows up to his “normal” size so we can bring him home!
We got plenty of photos, which you can see in Micah’s First Hours in Picasa.
Comment from Ee Liang on 2011-02-20
Congratulations!! Well done mummy Kat and good job daddy Mat for being there for her…Will continue to pray for Micah to grow healthily.
Comment from Sean on 2011-02-21
Congrats dude, to you and your new family! Good luck with the next bit 🙂 Sean
Comment from Chris Morris on 2011-02-21
Hey Matt & Kat – such awesome news! Glad Micah arrived safe and well…… his continual growth will watched and loved by those near and far. Life will never be the same now. Take care all of you.