The Story of Josiah's Birth

If we could have picked any day for our baby boy to be born, it was Friday, May 4th. Emily could still attend OBC's Women's Connection event Thursday night, I would have time to lead the singing Sunday and then take a whole week off- it would be perfect. Though I didn't want our child to forever hear chants of "May the 4th be with you!" on his birthday, it sure seemed convenient in the immediate. People asked what day to pray for, so we told them Friday the 4th.

So there was some sense of expectation as we went to bed on Thursday. Would it happen. It was a restless night of sleep. Did that mean anything? Sarah came a day early, on a Friday. Would it happen again?

Just before 4 a.m., the questions appeared to be answered. Her contractions were regular, although still only 7 minutes apart. So we got up, showered, packed our bags, and told ourselves we would decide later what to do about breakfast. We tip-toed up to see Sarah and say goodbye to my parents, and then headed to the Daily Paper for a classic breakfast.

Breakfast was great, of course. Plenty of workmen and older gentlemen creating a perfect atmosphere, and great food. We timed the contractions while we ate, called the doctor, ordered an extra muffin, sipped some tea, and had a great time. We could have spent all day there. But don't worry, eventually we left.

Just not for the hospital. It didn't matter that it was cold and a little wet, or that we didn't bring our coats, or that we told the Doctor we were going to the hospital- Emily wanted to go for a walk. It was a beautiful day, after all. (I didn't question her.) So we walked up and down Hyannis Main Street, until I broke the bad news to her that it was indeed 50 degrees and misty, and that we had a baby to meet.

We arrived at the hospital around 8 a.m. But things had slowed down. Still, even though the contractions had waned off, they admitted us because second pregnancies can be unpredictable and they wanted her to have 4 hours of antibiotics before she delivered. Apparently I should have extended our Main Street walk, because the prescription was to walk up and down the maternity hallway.

When we tired of walking, we went back into the room and Emily tried the birthing ball. But still no progress.

Maybe sitting in bed would make it happen. Nope.

Soon enough, it was mid-afternoon and the contractions were anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes apart. But the midwife was confident that labor was underway, so we put the epidural in and broke the water. It actually didn't break on the first try, and when it finally did it was quite minimal. Some babies, they say, just don't have much fluid around them.

We had gotten used to the pattern by now, so we pulled up an episode of Psych on Hulu. About halfway through it Emily remembers feeling some crazy things happening inside of her, but she was so used to the pattern of nothing happening that she thought it was just that, nothing.

It was getting to be about 6:00, so the nurse came and checked on her again, hoping that she had moved from 4.5 cm to something more like 5 or 6. That craziness Emily felt turned out to be her body dilating from 4.5 to 10 cm in a little over an hour. Suddenly, she was ready to rumble.

One thing that was different for Emily this pregnancy was the effect of the epidural. Last time she couldn't feel her toes, much less any pain from the birth. But this time it only muted the pain of the contractions. This left her free to feel everything that was going on elsewhere.

Emily did one practice push (which I still think is a farce), while the midwife showed me what to do. I had asked if I could, as it were, "Tom Brady" this birth, much like I had with Sarah. She did let me, and she made a great Bill Belichick. Rather than let me get in the way while she delivered the baby (which I expected because the Louisville doctor did just that) she put her hands on the outside of mine and just told me what to do. It was awesome. At 6:23 p.m., he came out clean as a whistle. We put him on Emily's chest and let her hold him while I threw off the gloves and picked up the camera.

It was great. He was here!

Within a half an hour, we pronounced his name as Josiah Michael Cook. We thank God for him and for a safe delivery. We hope you will join us in prayer for his life, that God would give him great wisdom and much faith. As his name proclaims, The Lord Saves. We pray He will save our little Josiah.