Baby Maxwell

Sharing an August 1 birthday with the likes of Francis Scott Key, Herman Melville, and Coolio, Maxwell Ryan Meacham decided to come into the world after 14 hours of induced labor at 11:46 pm. Weight: 8 lbs, 7 ozs. Length: unknown.

The labor process was quite “laborious” (how ‘bout that for a descriptor). Apparently, Baby Max just didn’t want to come out. I mean, who wouldn’t want to stay in a microwave oven drinking over and over again his own urine to his heart’s content?

The delivery was unique for me because the nurse midwife, knowing that I was a 4th year med student, convinced me that I should be the one delivering the baby because this might never get to happen again. So I scrubbed in and when the time came, pulled out his greasy cheese-caked body.

We actually had a little scare for a few minutes when he came out. The cord was wrapped so snugly around his neck that they couldn’t reduce it, but had to cut it off him before he was out of the birth canal. He came out completely blue and limp. After I tossed him onto Sarah’s belly for 5 seconds while they dried him off, they quickly took him over to the incubator where they placed a bag valve mask over his mouth and pumped oxygen into his lungs. He stayed blue and still hadn’t moved. They called the NICU nurse to come intubate him. After a minute of endotracheal ventilation he started turning pink and about 30 seconds later he started moving on his own. They took the tube out 5 minutes later and he has done fine ever since.

In total he was probably motionless for about 3 or 4 minutes, but it seemed like a couple of eternities waiting for him to show signs of life. We were so grateful for the nursing staff who acted so quickly to resuscitate him. I have no doubt that had it been a home delivery he would not have lived.

Sarah was a champ throughout it all. In fact, true to form, she seemed more concerned about other people than herself. She asked Dad Jeffery if he needed an extra pillow for his head while he rested, and then she kept asking all of the nurses, doctors, and midwives about their own children. It was very painful for her, but she was very much under control. She didn’t even need me to do the Bill Cosby cheer I had prepared ahead of time: “Push him out, shove him out, wayyyyy out!” (Actually, I might have been slapped if I had tried.)

In short, things are well. We hope you all get to see him at some point, hopefully sooner than later. He seems like a real calm fellow so far.