Skills point of view

Well Amy asked if I would also post, recalling my experience from a few nights ago, so here goes...
Wednesday morning Amy had started having some signs of labor and had called the midwife to see what could be done to slow things down until Saturday, the first day the midwives could deliver the baby.  I got home around lunch and she was having contractions, but they were far apart, and not too strong.  Throughout the afternoon and into evening they started getting faster and about 9:30pm Amy called the midwife to come check on her.  About 10:45 she showed up and calmly started administering some checks on Amy.  Baby's heartbeat was good and though Amy was having contractions, the midwife determined the uterus was not contracting strong, showing she still had a ways to go before she would be ready.  They tried having her take a bath and other calming techniques, but things then just started going superspeed.  While the midwife was on the phone with the other midwife who was out of town (they always deliver babies in pairs), Amy started yelling in pain which is unusual for her.  Jen (midwife) came back upstairs and I told her, "Amy never screams like that, so I know she's in a lot of pain.  The midwife said to Amy, "Can I check you here because even when we go to the hospital they're going to do the same when we get there and at least we can know where you are at and check the heartbeat.  Amy had a couple strong contractions and was able to be checked in between.  The heartbeat was normal and when she checked Amy, looked up at me and said "You need to call the paramedics, this baby is coming now."  I dialed 911 and got them on the phone and they said we'll be there in a few minutes.  Jen noticed that Amy was pushing and said, "Hey, are you pushing?  Not yet!"  Amy said, "I'm not trying!"  Jen then had me round up a bunch of supplies (oxygen, pads for the floor and bed, etc).  I saw at that point the ambulance coming up to the house and then saw them drive right past the house...argghh.  A few minutes later they found the place and came up to the bedroom with additional supplies.  I got out of the way and let them take over the position of assistant which was good as I was a little shaky.  (Guys, think of the feeling when you're in your deer stand and you first spot the buck approaching).  Jen checked the heartbeat again and could not find it, or it was very weak.  She said, "Amy this baby needs to come out now". Amy pushed over the course of 10 minutes and the baby came out very fast, necessitating a few new bedroom purchases :). 
When Tanner came out his color was gray and he was non-responsive.  The midwife asked me to run and grab a breadboard or something hard to put under him so they could start chest compressions.  They were pushing him around and rubbing his chest, hands and feet trying to get him to breathe.  They started chest compressions and administered oxygen, squeezing it into his lungs.  Nothing seemed to work, and at that point I dropped to my knees.  I prayed, "Jesus please breathe life into his lungs.  Bring him back to life."  More minutes passed and no progress was being made.  At that point I struggled with faith.  As I prayed, I would look up hoping, praying that he would start taking breaths.  With each check I wondered, 'Is my faith lacking?  Am I just not believing that the Lord will save him?'  Because we conceived on faith, part of me wondered, 'Is this our Isaac story where God has provided a son, and now is saying, 'I gave him to you, and I can take him back at any time'?'  I was mentally prepared for it to happen and said, "God I know you can take him back at any time, but if it is your will please bring my son back to life".  A couple more minutes followed and he started to take short breaths, but not enough to continue on his own.  Gradually, over the course of the next 20 minutes both at home and in the ambulance his breathing became a little more regular.  His heartrate during this time was slow, but never really dropped below 50 beats/minute (normally in the low 100s).  The midwife said because the cord was not cut during all the compressions and cpr that he was still receiving the vital oxygen he needed from Amy and should not have suffered any ill-effects from oxygen deprivation.  If we had been at the hospital when this happened, they would have cut the cord immediately and began working on him, which would have cut off that necessary oxygen supply.

By the time we got to the hospital there were about 8 people in the ER ready to go and started examining him.  The doctor said shortly after that he looked great and thought he would be ok.  They transported him up to the level 2 nursery and got him under the heat lamps.  Because of all the cpr and a cold ambulance ride, his body was at 94 degrees so he needed to be warmed up.  It was an odd feeling being there next to my son without Amy there.  I knew she still needed to finish up at home and recover slightly, but I guess I never thought about the fact Amy wouldn't be following me to the hospital immediately and that I would be doing this part alone.

Things have calmed down, and for now we are home, assuming his bilirubin levels stay where they are supposed to.  It was just nice to have had everyone in the right spot at the right time and that under the circumstances it went about as good as it could have.  I would not want to re-live that evening again, but know that it was a faith test for Amy and I...just a reminder that God is in control of everything and that His timing is best.  Thank you to those that were praying during this.

Here's a shot of our new buddy lying in the sun to try and get rid of those extra red blood cells and bilirubin: