No Name Brand

On May 27th, our newest grandson arrived, pulled by forceps from the snug and cozy womb of his mother, Tanya. After more than 30 hours of labour, he was finally delivered; 7 lbs, 14 ounces of perfection. Mom, Dad and baby are doing very well; all just very tired.

Despite the distance between Nelson, British Colombia and Jaffna, Sri Lanka, I was present at the birth thanks to Skype, my sister, Teresa and Tanya and Brent's good pre-planning for the event.    

First, communication to me arrived by I- Phone texts:

"I think I am in labour"

"Contractions coming 7-10 minutes apart"

"At hospital, 2 cm dilated, baby fully effaced. Still a while to go. Baby doing great."

Then, nothing for 12 hours.
Phone by my bed, fitful sleep.

At about 1:30 our pm, I telephoned my sister, 1:00 her a.m. Due to the slow progression of the labour, the nursery staff shooshed everyone home, except Tanya and Brent. They firmly instructed Tanya to turn off her phone and for both her and Brent to get some sleep.


Ok. Go back to bed and wait and wait.

And wait.

By morning, I was beside myself and in a flash of brilliance and a bit of panic, telephoned the Nelson hospital. To my surprise, her doctor picked up the phone and after I introduced myself, he chatted away to me. He informed me that Skype had been set up and all was well, although he was considering that it was time to move her to the OR (after more than 30 hours of labour).

Teresa, my good sister and second mother to Tanya stood in as Tanya's doola (birthing support) and continued a newsy and admittedly, a bit tense by now, back and forth communication via a very poor quality Skype connection. Despite the connection, we persevered through dropped calls, poor video quality, garbled voices and frozen screens in order to communicate the progress. I had one small opportunity to offer Tanya love and encouragement, and chatted briefly with Shirley, her mother in law and Craig, her brother in law.


"Ok, they are prepping her now for the OR. They are going to try forceps and if that doesn't work, then C-Section."

"Ok, she has left for the OR." Nurse says about 15 minutes if the forceps are going to work."

½ hour later.... nothing, nothing, and nothing
"It's a boy!"
½ hour later
"Forceps, no C-section."
1 hour later
"7 lbs, 14 oz, no length yet."
1 hour later
"What's his name going to be?"

"No name, no length yet."


We do have a length now, but still no name.

This techie baby skyped grandma yesterday morning. I saw him feasting on milk, giving gaseous grins, splaying his giant fingers, and snoozing placidly in his mother's arms. He is lovely, he is so loved.
His name is elusive... maybe Eli? Evan? Eron?
They want a strong name: Peter? Jade? Coal?

Whatever name Tanya and Brent grace him with will be perfect ... a perfect name for a perfect little man. Our fifth grandchild and freshest cousin for Jayden, Lainee, Gwendylen and Mickey.

2 babies down in 2012.

7 days later
Michael Gary. Our no name baby now has a premium brand name label. No President's Choice for him.