Delivery Dads/SOs

[roseinbloom]

Has this been done yet?

Share your partner's reactions/support given during the birthing process!

[roseinbloom]

MH arrived at L&D 2 minutes before DS was born. He got lost trying to find the hospital I was transferred to, then had difficulty parking, then got lost without a reception staff on the weekend in a huge hospital complex. He walked in, was directed to hold my hand, the NICU staff arrived, and R was born.

MH's face lit up and jaw dropped when R came out. He got to tell me our child's sex, too! So sweet.

He couldn't stay with us in the hospital, but brought me tiramisu and was the absolute best emotional support ever.

Every once in a while, he'll gaze lovingly at R in his arms, then turn to me and say with admiration, "Thank you for our boy. I'm so happy to have him every day." Cue heart swell.

ETA: I had pretty much no stages of labor and went straight to delivery, so he actually wouldn't have had a coaching role even had he been there earlier.

[halfahippy]

DH came in to the OR right before they started the c/s. He made some silly joke to me and the anesthesiologist that helped calm me down. When A was born they lifted her over the curtain, but not far enough for me and I only got to see her foot. He told me how beautiful she was and went over to where they were cleaning her up and kept telling me she was perfect. He took pictures and brought them over for me to see her. He got in trouble for walking back and forth between us so many times.
When they finally brought A over to me he got to help hold her skin to skin on me for a few minutes and he just cried and said how perfect our family was now and we were finally complete.
They sent them both to recovery while they finished me up and he still says the best part of a c/s for him was that he got like 30 minutes of skin to skin with her all by himself while I was still in surgery. I was selfish once I got to recovery and wouldn't share for most of our hospital stay. He got his time when he could.

[sunshineshades]

DH was great during labour. When it became hard and fast he had me hold his hand and grabbed what I asked for. He helped push my bed into the delivery room. I had him hold my leg when pushing because it was shaking so hard I couldn't control it.
With her cord wrapped around her neck she came out a little purple and he kept his cool even though it freaked him out to see the cord like that. Same with I had a lot of bleeding after, more than the doctor liked, and he again remained calm and took E for me. After he commented more about how he didn't like it all and it worried him. I know he stayed calm for me since I couldn't see what was going on I had no idea how bad things were and he kept it that way.
He spent a lot of time holding her and keeping her calm and then taking pictures once the doctor was done with me. It was nice to have him so involved because with dd1 we didn't get any of that baby holding after.

[jewel441]

I woke H up when my water broke and told him. He was surprised and a little disoriented (it was 5 am and I was only 38 weeks). After I got the ok from the MW to stay home he went back to sleep and I woke him like an hour later bc I was having contractions and we needed to go. He asked if we needed to go ASAP or if he could shower. He showered and we finished packing (poorly) and we went to the hospital. He was really calm through and did what he practiced. I threw up a lot in labor and he dos really well with that. He stayed calm as they did the U/S and reminded me it was out of my hands (baby had been breech and they were confirming). He stayed calm when my labor began progressing very rapidly and they had to quick clear an OR for us. He was very calm through the C section just talking to me and holding my hand even while they really struggled to get LO out (she had descended into the birth canal tuss and foot first and was quite stuck) when they finally dropped the blue drape (we did a clear drape so we could see her being born only it didn't really happen bc she was so stuck so they just dropped it at the very end) he cried when we saw her, which for him is a huge deal, the only other time I've ever seen him tear up is when his grandfather died (who LO is named after).

He continued to stay calm. They let him go over to see LO when they were checking her and he had to go on the other side of the curtain for that so he saw ALL the blood, etc and still stayed really calm. Then they let me hold her skin to skin until I was shaking to hard and then he held her right near my face for the rest of the surgery and then he pushed her crib out of the OR as they wheeled me. Although not the birth we planned for it was really beautiful and we feel really grateful to the hospital for there liberal policies. I can't imagine a better place to have a C section.

TL/DR: H was a rock through the labor and surgery and everything after.

[isolemnlyswear]

I labored at home the whole time (accidentally) and he was great. He got me to the hospital in 6 minutes flat and really didn't have to do much for the pushing part as E was out in 25 minutes. This birth was way easier for him than C's

[rachelilly23]

This was our 3rd child and a planned induction that was pretty "boring." Everything progressed normally and without any drama for the most part, so H mostly sat on his phone/tablet during labor. Hospital policy made him leave the room for my epidural, which was the hardest part for me since I would have preferred him to stay. After I got my epidural, my blood pressure crashed pretty low and I almost blacked out- he didn't really budge though since my nurse was on it and he just doesn't get frazzled since we had such a crazy labor and delivery with my middle child.

He likes to get up close for delivery, and he watches EVERYTHING. He and my nurse held my legs while I pushed. My doctor is awesome and was the most encouraging during my 5 minutes that I did push, but H was helping. The sweetest part was watching him with his daughter for the first time after having boys for the past 5.5 years.

TLDR- My labor and delivery was super easy, so H didn't have to do much. But I loved seeing that bond from the beginning with him and his baby girl.

[katespade]

H unexpectedly decided to come with me to my appointment the morning we got sent to L&D. I'm so glad he did obviously. The funny thing is he took a photo of me shoving a bagel down my yap in the OB waiting room because "this could be the first photo of our birth journey!" And it was.

He was mostly great during the failed induction. He kept telling me how great I was doing, and he was helpful when I was in pain. He became a bit of a grouchy papa bear though, very protective of me. Then he got tired and wasn't so pleasant but that's ok.

He was left behind when I was whisked away to the OR but they came and got him once they decided not to give me general anesthesia. He even convinced the nurses to let him keep his Red Sox hat on underneath the scrub cap, which was cute. Unfortunately he wasn't in the room when J was actually delivered, but he was allowed in just afterwards. He held my hand and kept talking to me even though I was a complete mess.

He saw a lot of blood apparently. He won't tell me if he saw organs but I can't see how he didn't LOL.

[zombiesquad]

I went into labor in the middle of the night and opted for an epidural this time so not much for H to do except put clean sheets on the bed from my water breaking and driving to the hospital. At the hospital, after my epidrual, we both slept. When it was time to push, I asked him to take note of the time so he could tell me how long it took to get this guy out. He held my legs back and coached me until he was born and then cut the cord.

Much different than when I had DD med free. He was much more involved and I think that made him anxious and nervous. This time he was very relaxed and easy going.

[FunniBunni]

My labor was pretty short, and H was kicked out so we could have the epidural replaced. (Wasn't working.) Minutes later, we were rushing to the OR for an emergency c/s, while H was chilling in the lobby with no idea what was happening.

They came to find him after LO was born, and while he was shocked at what had happened, and upset that he couldn't see me (still in surgery) he was able to really bond with LO on his own for the next few hours. When I came to recovery, he helped keep me calm by answering my repeated questions (What happened to the baby? Girl or boy?) over and over and over for the next 2 hours until my memory finally started, and I began to comprehend and make sense.

He changed every diaper for days until I felt well enough to stand and pick LO up. Helped me shower while I cried over how useless I was, and still today is mostly running the house, making all the meals, running all the errands, and mostly taking care of 4 of our 5 kids.

My H is a rockstar.

[peachesncream]

I didn't tell H I was in labor until 5 or so hours after the fact. When he woke up I said "You'd better shower so we can go to the hospital." I am not a vocal or expressive person so my inability to communicate made him somewhat helpless during labor but when it came time to push, this time he watched everything (NOT the case last time), told me our baby had a full head of hair, and after the 5 or so pushes told me (after the nurse said "dad, can you see what it is?) we had another beautiful daughter.

[roseinbloom]

Apr 4, 2016 19:41:45 GMT -5 FunniBunni said:

*snip* Minutes later, we were rushing to the OR for an emergency c/s, while H was chilling in the lobby with no idea what was happening.

They came to find him after LO was born, and while he was shocked at what had happened, and upset that he couldn't see me (still in surgery) he was able to really bond with LO on his own for the next few hours. When I came to recovery, he helped keep me calm by answering my repeated questions (What happened to the baby? Girl or boy?) over and over and over for the next 2 hours until my memory finally started, and I began to comprehend and make sense.

*snip*

I'm glad the doctors acted so quickly, but if I were him I would have been suuuuper pissed that they left me there and I waited clueless while you were having surgery. Not that it would have changed anything. It sounds like he is supportive in all the right ways to help you, though, which is great.

[roseinbloom]

So proud of the dads in these stories! Even CoffeeNinja's who followed her "get out" instructions so well.

[FunniBunni]

Apr 6, 2016 0:46:34 GMT -5 roseinbloom said:

Apr 4, 2016 19:41:45 GMT -5 FunniBunni said:

*snip* Minutes later, we were rushing to the OR for an emergency c/s, while H was chilling in the lobby with no idea what was happening.

They came to find him after LO was born, and while he was shocked at what had happened, and upset that he couldn't see me (still in surgery) he was able to really bond with LO on his own for the next few hours. When I came to recovery, he helped keep me calm by answering my repeated questions (What happened to the baby? Girl or boy?) over and over and over for the next 2 hours until my memory finally started, and I began to comprehend and make sense.

*snip*

I'm glad the doctors acted so quickly, but if I were him I would have been suuuuper pissed that they left me there and I waited clueless while you were having surgery. Not that it would have changed anything. It sounds like he is supportive in all the right ways to help you, though, which is great.

Yeah. I asked for him mid-flight, but they said he couldn't be with me. He wishes they would have found him sooner though.

[rosetyler72]

H was awesome, massaging my face, giving me water, holding the bag for me to vomit in. He cut the cord after C was born too. He has been wonderful through this whole pregnancy and newborn adventure.

[songbirdsinging55]

DH was amazing. In the delivery room, he gave me scalp and hand massages when contractions got a little rough. He got me chicken broth and popsicles when they wouldn't let me eat anything else but those. He made sure that I got to talk to Isaac when he was at his Aunt and Uncles. It was my first overnight away from him. He watched everything and was coaching me. When they told me that she would be there before they could fix the epidural, I panicked a little. Mostly because a mere 10 min before I was only at 5cm and then suddenly I was complete and ready to push. I was shaking so bad. DH was my rock, he spoiled me with the massages. He was very attentive and loving. I couldn't ask for a better labor support.