skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Our family was delighted to welcome Theodore Amos Green Beilfuss into our fold on the first day of February.
The waiting period leading up to Theo’s arrival seemed endless: I had received three due dates from three separate medical providers during the course of my pregnancy, and we had chosen to believe the earliest of these, January 19th. Actually, truth be told, I believed Theo would arrive earlier than that, and hence when January 15th passed, and then the 19th, and still no sign of baby’s arrival, we began to go a little stir crazy. The latest due date we had been given, January 24th, even proved to be a bit early. All babies come in their own time!
Theo also had been breech. He was in the “right” head-down position when we arrived in the States, but then flipped head-up in early December. With some effort we got him turned back around (playing Afro Cuban All-Stars at the bottom of my womb seemed the most successful technique for getting him moving in my belly), but all of this movement had its price, which we learned when he was born!
Theo’s birth was very dramatic, and not just a little scary. After the peaceful and uncomplicated natural birth of Ian in a hospital 5 years earlier, we were good candidates for a home birth. Seattle has one of the best-developed “alternative” birthing communities in the nation, with many experienced midwifes. There was some irony in our trying a homebirth, considering we didn’t have a “home” in Seattle! Several friends offered us their homes, however, and we ended up staying in the home of family friends I have known nearly since birth (the couple was staying at their other home in the mountains, so we had the house to ourselves). The home was on the crest of a hill overlooking Seattle neighborhoods and the Olympic mountains in the distance. It was also at the end of a steep, narrow, one-way road.
After a week or more of occasional contractions, I went into labor sometime on Thursday January 31. By 11pm things were getting more serious, and we called in the support team: my mom and best friend Christy. By 2am we called in the midwives, Beth and Bev. At about 5:30 Theo’s heart rate began to concern the midwife who, after experimenting with putting my body in different positions to see if this would resolve the baby’s stress (none did, entirely), wasted no time in ordering a hospital transfer.
First the fire truck arrived to “triage” the situation to see if we were a true emergency. The fire truck had difficulty coming down the steep, narrow street, and so parked in the middle of the street. This of course blocked the way for the ambulance, which showed up soon after. The gurney wouldn’t fit around the corner of the hallway into the bedroom where I was waiting and the firemen couldn’t figure out how to lift a naked laboring woman on her hands and knees to move me to the gurney. Finally, I walked to the gurney myself. I traveled on the gurney – on my hands and knees (the position in which Theo’s heart rate was most stable) – in the ambulance all the way to the hospital, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Rich and Beth accompanied me in the ambulance, thankfully, or I don’t think I would have stayed on that gurney.
We arrived at the hospital in 6 minutes flat. Theo was delivered by c-section 18 minutes later thanks to the speed and skill of the surgical team. The cause of his distress had been that his umbilical cord – short to begin with –was tightly wrapped around his neck, preventing him from descending to the birth canal and tightening around his neck each time I pushed – the result of too much in-utero flipping and moving around?
Theo spent about three hours in the neonatal ICU to monitor him for problems (none materialized, mercifully – he is perfect) while I slept off the general anesthesia. The whole family was reunited within about 4 hours of the delivery, mom delirious from the drugs but happy and safe with her new babe in her arms.
I had feared lectures from the hospital doctors and staff about trying to birth at home. I got none, but instead heard praise for our midwife who “called” the situation just right and in time to save Theo. It was lovely to be delivering in Seattle where the “alternative” birthing community is well-established and (generally) well-regarded by the medical community.
Ian is a loving and doting big brother, holding Theo gently and sharing kisses and cuddles, helping mom and dad, and paying attention to the ways he can help Theo be happy and comfortable. We are super proud of him.
I am so far behind posting to this blog I don’t know where to start! Will briefly cover the past 6 months for a little continuity, but then move on to the more interesting current…
Ian and I returned to America in late November to await the arrival of his new sibling. Our return was the single worst international travel nightmare we’d ever heard of! 52 hours delay in Johannesburg which included spending one night (a 7-month pregnant lady and a 4 year old) 
on the floor of the airport. Finally we arrived Chicago and enjoyed a few days of papering with Rich’s mom Sandy before heading further west to Seattle.
My sister Rebecca and her family were extremely gracious in offering us a space in their home during our time in Seattle while we awaited the arrival of Ian’s sibling, due in (we thought) mid January. Rich arrived from Africa in time for Ian’s birthday December 15th.We had a great stay in Seattle, visiting all manner of museums and 
other venues for kids as well as some of my old stomping grounds from my own childhood in Seattle. We also got a great chance to spend meaningful amounts of time with friends and family whom we previously had mostly only seen in short visits once or twice per year. Highlights for Ian included the soccer class he attended once a week with his friend Maya; his 5th birthday party with a homemade whale piñata; and the Montessori preschool he attended during our stay.
Katie spent February resting up and healing from the ordeal of Theo’s birth thanks to a ton of help from many family and friends. (Couldn’t have done it with out you all!) By the first of March, it was time to begin the long trip back to Africa. First stop: the Midwest, to visit friends and family in Chicago and Madison
apologies to those whom we weren’t able to see!). Rich’s entire clan came to town (but for brother-in-law Parker – we missed you!) and we enjoyed the Brookfield Zoo and seemingly endless food. 
