Let me tell you the story of the eventful birth of my son
Paul Giuseppe Micarelli, the survivor- who has already lived through so much
with me & Loretta, his warrior mother...
In the midst of the
craziest time in modern history - with pandemics, riots, and social
upheaval - Paul was born into even MORE crazy circumstances.
We
planned to have a natural water birth in our home, with the assistance
of a midwife. Things did NOT go according to plan, to say the least!
Loretta's water broke around 12 midnight on Fri. 6/13/20 after having a
few days of contractions, so we called the midwife. We were as prepared
as we were going to be, and after the midwife arrived were waiting
through the early contractions.
The midwife decided to do a check
around 3AM, & I walked out of the room to give the women privacy.
After a minute or 2, I was called back in to horrible scene that I will
never forget. My wife was on her hands & knees crying, and the
midwife looked panicked. The midwife told me she had already called
911...
The umbilical cord was in front of the baby's head. If he
continued to come out, there was a chance he would have the cord's
circulation cut off. I woke her mom Donna up on the couch & told her
to get up. We went back in the room trying to comfort Loretta, but were
both absolutely terrified.
We had cops & medics at the house
within minutes. Loretta went in an ambulance to Jefferson Hospital,
still on her hands & knees with the midwifes hand inside her the
whole time, who was holding the baby's head up to prevent his oxygen
from being cut off. Loretta had to get an emergency C-section, due to a
prolapsed cord. Her mom came with me & we followed the racing
ambulance, full of worry and fear for Loretta and the baby.
We
were all very scared & upset that this happened. We were rushed into
the ER, and met with the medical team who insisted on putting Loretta
under for the surgery. Loretta (still in the same uncomfortable position
& midwife holding the baby's emerging head!) pleaded for a risky
spinal, even though she couldn't sit up, so she could be awake for the
birth & because she was afraid to go under anesthesia. She had a
very bad feeling about losing consciousness at that time.
The
team walked out of the room to discuss, & then reluctantly agreed to
give her the shot while on her side- with the stipulation that they
would only try the spinal once & then they would have to go with the
original plan.
Loretta was taken away for the longest few
minutes of my life while the shot was given... & it worked! I was
rushed into the operating room, where Loretta was already being prepped
for surgery.
The procedure only lasted 5-10 minutes, and I tried
to comfort Loretta as much as I could, although I was scared out of my
damn mind... When we finally heard the baby's cry, we both let the tears
flow out of pure joy & relief.
The surgery was a success!
Paul Giuseppe Micarelli was born at 5:25am on June 13, 2020 weighing 6lb 13oz.
Everyone is fine now! Paulie is such a good baby. We’ve been holding
him & loving him like there's nothing else in this world, grateful
he's still alive. He’s so peaceful, both when sleeping and awake.
Loretta is recovering from the C-section & is already walking around after 1 day.
This has been the wildest emotional roller coaster of my life, & as
I write this I've cried once again- out of remembering the pure terror
of the beginning & then the indescribable joy of his successful
birth. It's all still very overwhelming.
We are so grateful for
everyone's love and support through such an important time in our lives.
We look forward to you everyone meeting this amazing (& cute)
little guy!
Here's an album of photos from our time in the hospital after his birth:
P.S. I was really excited that the day he was born, "
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" was playing in the hospital room! My wife turned on the TV just as Luke was training with Master Yoda. We will be watching these movies together for many years to come!
