We got our Christmas present a little early this year but we are thrilled! Jiro Elijah was born healthy and whole just before midnight on December 12th, the second son for our son Mark and his wife Aya who live in Vancouver. He weighed in at 6 ½ pounds and 22 inches long. We are so thankful that mama had a “quick delivery” but how she got there is something out of a nightmare.
Although her water broke early in the wee hours of the morning of the 12th and contractions were light, they did not head to their hospital until early afternoon and were told that she would be induced. After arriving, they were told that Aya was at the bottom of a long list of deliveries to happen that day, “a full house.”
Reminds me of when Jesus was born and there was no room in the Inn.
I found it quite erroneous that the hospital was planning birthing order of babies; I always thought that when a baby is ready to come, they come…but COVID has made everything complicated. Apparently there is a baby boom; just think about it. The pandemic was well on the scene from March onward, and now nine months later, babies are popping out all over. I guess there wasn’t much else to do when self-isolating.
So, the next step was for them to go home and come back in the evening and the nurses would “get things moving” or they could go to Langley hospital, a fair distance away with limited staff and no obstetrician. They opted for the first.
At 6 p.m. they headed back to the hospital and got the last room in the house. They were monitoring her contractions and were ready to start her IV induction. A little more than an hour later, they were asked to move hospitals because there were five babies scheduled to be delivered before them. Basically, they told Aya to get up and dressed again, pack up their stuff and drive to another hospital; total insanity. A nurse told them that at midnight was 24 hours after the water broke and the baby should be born.
…and the saga continues. Their midwife suggested going to Abbotsford hospital, an hour away, but it was dark and the weather was foggy. Considering the situation, other options were presented, the best of which was for them to drive to Maple Ridge.
Within an hour at Ridge Meadows Hospital, the staff were waiting for them with the midwife and the production was well on its way.
Baby arrived at 11:33 p.m. that evening and by early afternoon on the 13th, the parents and baby were home to stay. Things move fast nowadays!
This is an episode that grandparents at a distance sure don’t want to experience, but thank the Lord, it was a story in the making.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
