As enjoyable as it is to write a column, it can sometimes be a difficult task, especially during trying times such as these, with the recent floods devastating much of our area and the loss of two who were close to the Cochrane Eagle, Billy Powers and Jack Gotta.
Eagle readers can expect to see a column by one of our editorial staff each week on page 6 from here on out, and despite the trials and tribulations many have been forced to endure of late, I’ve decided to kick things off on a positive note and share with you the past couple weeks of my life, which resulted in my becoming a father for the first time.
You can prepare as much as you want for the moment your first child enters the world, but from what I’ve learned over the past couple weeks, it just doesn’t matter…you have to be ready for anything.
My wife, Kirsty, knew she was going to go into labour once the clock struck noon June 24. By 4:30 p.m., it had begun.
The clinic we attended throughout the pregnancy was in Canmore, and we had always planned on delivering our baby at the Canmore Hospital.
Funny how Mother Nature shows little concern for your plans.
With the floods wiping out all entry points into Canmore, my first worry was that we wouldn’t be allowed in, but by the time we made it to the checkpoint at 11 p.m., we were granted permission through, taking Three Sisters Parkway and looping around to the hospital.
After an examination, my wife didn’t appear close to delivery, so we rented a hotel room around 2 a.m. in Canmore so we wouldn’t be far away if the situation changed.
At 5:15 a.m. Kirsty told me we had to go back to the hospital, and as it turned out, she had rapidly progressed over the course of three hours and was ready to deliver.
Unable to receive an epidural due to her speedy advancement, my wife pushed with everything she had for four grueling hours, but due to her contractions not being strong enough, she had to get Oxytocin to increase the intensity.
An added wrinkle was that the baby’s head was not tucked in chin down the way it was supposed to be, making it even harder to get her out.
After six hours of pushing, six of the hardest hours of not only my wife’s life, but mine as well, Madeleine Ann Colleen Clouthier was born at 11:37 a.m.
My friends who have children always told me that you don’t know what it’s like until it happens to you, and boy were they right.
But what many first-time parents don’t realize is that once the baby arrives, the hard part truly begins.
I could write another 1,000 words on the buffet of worries, scares, problems and setbacks my wife and I have had since Madeleine was born.
But, despite the hurdles we have had to clear during the past two weeks, it’s been the best time of our lives.
Having a child puts everything in perspective, and even though I knew how amazing my wife was when I married her, after seeing what she had to go through 15 days ago, and all that has followed, I cannot put into words how brave and incredible a woman she is.
