Dylan Harper Bonanno

It's been quite an incredible year! The wait was most definitely worth it...

Our new baby boy, Dylan Harper Bonanno (the baby formerly known as "Spud") was welcomed into the world at 10.21am on Thursday 13th March 2008!
He weighed in at 3.51 kg and measured 52 cm (or 7 lbs 12 ounces & 20.5 inches in old speak).

Below is a little summary of the happiest and scariest few days of our lives...I might be indulging just a little and it may be a little graphic at times, so you may choose not to read it, but remember it does have a happy ending!

When Michelle got her first signs that labour had commenced (~11pm) we tried to stay as calm as possible (I even had time to have a quick shave). Employing the breathing techniques picked up in our calmbirthing classes, Michelle was able to relax in the bath and breathe through the waves as they passed through her body. This continued for about six hours until we made our way to the birth centre at 5.30am (traffic on Parramatta Rd was great).

By this time labour was well established. We constantly kept reminding ourselves that it would only be a matter of time before we would actually get to meet and hold Spud! Michelle says of this time: "I wasn't really aware of time as I laboured in the bath, just of the presence of the midwives, our doula and most of all James. I am not sure if all his words filtered through to my conscious mind, just that I felt secure and without fear."

She had resisted the incredible urge to bear down and push for some time, instead, letting the waves of contractions do the pushing for her (mostly, sometimes pushing was impossible to resist). When the time to push came she gave it absolutely everything, but something wasn't right.

Spud's heartbeat was intermittently dropping low and the decision was made between ourselves and our midwives that he needed to be born as soon as possible. We were rushed across to the labour ward where the midwives and doctors did an amazing job to uncurl the umbilical cord that had wrapped around his neck and deliver our purple little baby boy, Dylan! He recovered on his own without resuscitation and pretty soon let out a very welcome cry. Unable to move, Michelle asked me to go welcome our son to the world. I touched his chest with just my fingertips (he looked so fragile) and spoke to try and calm him, he opened his eyes and looked into mine and he stopped crying. I picked him up, carried him over to Michelle and laid him on her chest, where he peered out from under a blanket up into his mother's eyes, instantly transfixed!

Despite the wonder of this experience, Michelle's battle had only just begun. The need for forceps and a non-cooperative placenta meant that she'd lost almost a litre of blood at the delivery. Virtually unnoticed, the bleeding continued into her uterus for a few hours. Our concerned midwife insisted that a doctor come down immediately! When the doctor eventually did, she managed to remove a massive blood clot. Michelle, who is normally already quite light skinned, was now looking extremely pale and feeling very weak, barely able to keep her eyes open. Her red blood count was extremely low...not surprising considering she had now lost an estimated 2 litres of blood (out of about 6 litres in total!!!).

Throughout this whole ordeal, after receiving his first few feeds, baby Dylan quietly looked out at us through the side of his basinette barely making a sound. It may sound like a silly thing to say but it seemed like he somehow knew that this was not the time for him to be a troublesome little newborn...?

We were transferred to a ward where they could closely monitor Michelle while they pumped her full of saline to try and replace all the lost fluids. What we found out later was that there was a real threat of cardiac arrest with her red blood cell counts as low as they were. After a day or two of monitoring it was recommended that a blood transfusion was probably the best idea. We considered and weighed up the risks and consequences of this and eventually said yes. On Sunday afternoon Michelle was given just over half a litre of blood and was able to leave her room and take a walk with baby Dylan and myself for the first time in 3 days! By Monday morning her red blood cell count had improved to a point where we could go home when we wanted to.

Michelle says of this time: "James did a wonderful job looking after Dylan. Lying there I could see how Dylan looked at James with such love and of course how much James loved Dylan already. I remember waking up one night to see my big man (James on the pull out sofa) and my little man (Dylan in his bassinet) looking so alike. I felt such a mixture of protectiveness and feeling protected. I am still amazed by James' compassion, strength and calmness, in what must have been a terrifying experience for him, first with the drop in Dylan's heartbeat and then through all the unexpected complications of my hemorrhage. I am so happy and proud of my expanded family."

During these five days, Michelle uttered not one word of anger or complaint (apart from the odd "Ouch! That's really sensitive!!!", and "Can I have some more Panadeine Forte now please!"). I am still amazed by her courage, determination, strength, calmness, and sense of humour throughout, and just wanted to let the whole world know how happy and proud a husband and father this experience has made me!