Well, he’s here. Simeon Ryan Pernick arrived at 6:28am on October 22, 2005.
The last couple weeks have just zipped by. I think the last I wrote, Ari and I were considering an induction. Well, we went through with it late Friday night. We were actually afraid we wouldn’t get in…the hospital was packed. I think I heard that they had to clean out a linen room to make room for a bed. When we got to the hospital and told the lady at the front desk that we were here for an induction she was surprised. For some reason I think my doctor had something to do with us getting in that night.
Things I was unprepared for:
- An early IV and Pitocin. When we got to the hospital room, we weren’t quite prepared for the nurses to come back with an IV. We were under the expectation that all Dr. Lawler had to do was break the water. Turns out, we didn’t quite understand what it meant for the baby to have floated back up to -3 station…it meant pitocin was needed and that meant an IV. Turns out getting the IV early was good…as much as I tried to stay calm, my body didn’t listen. I’m pretty sure I went whiter than a ghost, and the baby’s heart rate dropped big time. I’m not sure how things would have been if they had to give me the IV while I was in pain with contractions and wanting an epidural.
- Easy Epidural. One of the things I was worried about was getting an epidural. Turned out to be much easier than I feared. I had made a goal not to get an epidural until I was at 6cm. I have no idea how much time went by, but I was still at 4cm when I started thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea. The anastesiologist was busy, so I decided to take a narcotic to hold me over…turns out I dilated 2cm in the 10 minute span of trying to make that decision. The anastesiologist had good timing. He came by between c-sections and showed up just as the narcotic was wearing off. He had a wonderful bedside manner, which probably helped a lot too. I have to say the lack of feeling to half my body was strange – and trying to move or hold my legs was…interesting.
- C-section. Labor turned out to be pretty stressful for the baby. I was on oxygen most of the night since the baby’s heart rate would slow down with many of my contractions. I managed to get fully dilated and started pushing, but the cord had wrapped around the baby’s wrist. Every time I pushed, the cord contracted and the baby’s heart rate slowed. After a few pushes, I was wheeled to the OR. I was in a bit of shock at this point. I just did what I was told and sort of stared into space. Well…actually, I stared at the door waiting for Ari and hoped he’d make it in time. He had to put on scrubs before coming into the OR. Silly thing to worry about…not only did he make it in plenty of time, but the doctor had to remind him to take pictures. 🙂
Overall, the experience wasn’t as bad as I expected. Maybe that’s due to having a c-section rather than a natural birth. Maybe I had good timing with requesting drugs. Maybe the “short” labor period of 6 hours and not having any sense of time helped. If nothing else, Ari was wonderful support and I don’t think anybody else could have kept me as calm.
I’ll stop here for now and get into the hospital stay and recovery next time. And eventually include the bris and family visit. In the meantime, here are pictures of Simeon Ryan (Shleimah Racham).
Actually, before I sign off…how we came up with the name.
His hebrew name is Shleimah Racham. Shleimah, which means “complete”, was the name of my father’s father. Racham, which means “compassion”, is a masculine variation that Ari and I chose for my mother’s mother (Ruchel). Both my grandparents passed away when I was little and I never felt that I had the chance to get to know them very well. What I do remember of them is that they were very loving. I enjoyed the time I did have with them and treasure the memories. As I look at my son, I look at a little boy who I will get to know completely and who will embody the compassion of both his namesakes.
Choosing the english variation of his name was more difficult. The tradition is to choose an english name with the same first letter as the hebrew name. Neither Ari or I could find an “S“ name that we really liked. We even leafed through the siddur (prayer book) during high holiday services in hopes of finding something. We finally agreed on a name a couple days before checking into the hospital. Once we agreed on the first name, the middle name actually came relatively easily. Now I am finding that the more I hear Simeon Ryan the more I like the name and the way it rolls off the tounge. A unique but not ridiculously made up name. I just hope he grows up to like it too.
Piya's Perspective 
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