GRANDparenting
From the Start: A Birth
T
he call comes at 7 a.m. on a February morning, when my daughter Naomi knows that I’ll be up and getting ready for the day. She’s been in labour since the middle of the night and wants to know if I’d like to come over and keep her and her husband Matthew company.
Of course I would! I’m self-employed and my schedule is flexible, so there’s no one to ask permission. I finish getting breakfast on the table for Naomi’s two much-younger siblings, then head over. I don’t even have to drive to be at my daughter’s side. She and her husband live in a suite on the neighbouring property; I let myself through her door less than a minute after leaving my own. “It’s happening,” my daughter says, catching her breath between 10 Grand
contractions. She’s smiling and looking impressively calm for a first-time mother, her face glowing with sweat and anticipation. The midwife arrives shortly after I do, and I try to be unobtrusive as she makes her assessment. Naomi is far enough along that she’s ready to be admitted to the hospital—but the perinatal unit’s rooms are full, and she’s asked to continue her labour at home. And so, we hunker down: Naomi, her midwife, Matthew, and me. Between contractions, the atmosphere is cheerful. Everything is proceeding as it should, and the four of us are enjoying the shared experience of this unfolding miracle. I watch my daughter with admiration. Can it be 26 years already since her own birth? She is a twin, born by caesarian at 35 weeks. At an impossibly tiny 3½ lbs, Naomi was almost 2 lbs lighter than her sister—and yet from the very beginning she was tough. She has remained the most petite of my three adult children, and yet she has always gravitated towards physical labour. I am grateful for her strength now, as I watch her bend into each contraction. I am grateful for Matthew as well, his unwavering focus as he leans in beside his wife. They were friends long before their interest turned romantic. I knew him as a loud and impetuous adolescent; now he’s a man who knows when to be strong and when to be gentle. He is exactly the birthing partner Naomi needs. Suddenly the contractions accelerate. If Naomi doesn’t want to deliver at home—and she doesn’t—it’s time to get to the hospital. NOW. We drive the 20+ minute distance in separate grandmag.ca
