"Birth of our baby"

Our baby entered the world with a flurry of activity and drama. Born via caesarean at Bass Coast Health (BCH), our baby had a little trouble breathing when they came out which didn't get better when it should have. Our baby was started on antibiotics and was picked up and in the Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval (PIPER) team's care via helicopter within a couple hours of the birth.

Our baby arrived at the Casey Special Care Nursery at Monash Children's Hospital a short time later, they were very accommodating and let Dad stay nearby the whole time while the antibiotics continued and they kept on eye on the baby. Luckily things improved very quickly; our baby's breathing got better and our baby started feeding, and soon enough all the tubes and drips were out and our baby could be taken back to Mum recovering in Wonthaggi.

Since the dramatic entrance our baby has been super chill, feeding well, sleeping well, and generally not being too fussy.

The professionalism and openness of all of the caregivers in this process was outstanding. From the moment our baby was born we had a midwife within earshot. There's nothing quite as frightening as watching a newborn baby struggling for breath and having a drip put in, but not once did I feel like I wasn't being told what was going on, and I was allowed to stay near baby's side as long as I needed to. The midwives and doctors at BCH were calm and meticulous in the chaos of the evening; the PIPER team were professional and expert in their transfer of our baby; and the singular focus of the midwives at the Special Care Nursery was outstanding. When our baby came back to Wonthaggi the midwives at BCH picked things up in their stride.

What could have been any number of a nightmare of scenarios ended up going about as well as it could have, and now we're all reunited and whole, thanks to the hard work and dedication of all of the staff involved.