Master Duncan William MacLeslie

Photos. Click on image for a larger version.

Railroad engineer.

Relaxing on a rug.

Cousins.

Our first north shore hike.

The chainsaw is waiting for you Duncan.

Try as she might, Duncan remains oblivious to all outside distractions from Bell while drinking.

But wait! I'm ready for love now!

Spending a sunny afternoon at Anders house.

When we say "I'm coming to get you.", he starts chasing us!

Fun with some food.

Easter Sunday at the Grandparents. Did someone say "Bunny"?

A visit to the office! Al Angen explains the nuances of business to Duncan. January 27, 1999. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

WARNING! - Nudity   Tai Chi practice after a Zen mediation session on January 24, 1999. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

This batch was taken with a digital camera on January 16, 1999. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture. Can you guess which is my favourite?

The happy story with pictures

Duncan William MacLeslie was born Friday December 4th at 5:01pm. He weighed in at 8lbs, 3oz. with an Apgar score of 9,9. Many people have wondered why we call him perfect. With scores like that, what else can we call him?

Here is an image of the little guy barely 2 days old. He is seen here wearing todays' most fashionable baby gear from Old Navy. After many inquiries to find out what he plans to do with all that hair, that answer is yes, he has an appointment with a hair stylist next week. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Here is Nanc with Duncan at home after our stay at the hospital. The smiles are really just gas. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The details

The protracted labor began on Thursday at roughly 6:00 am when Nanc awoke. The contractions persisted throughout the morning until about midday when they subsided and basically disappeared. Since Nanc was two weeks overdue, we were scheduled to induce labor on Friday morning. After spending the afternoon of Thursday preparing for being at the hospital over the weekend, Nanc went to bed early. Nanc awoke again at 10:30 pm with contractions 5 minutes apart. In our childbirth classes the predominant message was CALL when the contractions are 5 minutes apart. We call the hospital. They say go back to sleep. Nanc starts vomiting and gets little if any sleep.

3:00am
we time the contractions at being between 2 and 3 minutes apart. To us this is a good sign because we may not have to induce labor. Once again we call the hospital and they say come on down!

3:30am
We arrive at the hospital and at 4:00am they examine Nanc to determine how dilated she is. After having labor contractions for more than 21 hours Nanc is dilated to somewhere between 2 and 3 cm.

This is disheartening since the goal of 10 cm seems like light-years away. To top off that disappointment, Nanc starts vomiting between contractions, offering her no rest between the contractions to recover her strength.

5:00am
The first Nurse Midwife, Janis recommends Zofran, a nausea-calming drug that should allow Nanc to rest between contractions. Nanc gladly accepts this and eagerly awaits the "calming" of her stomach and the much needed rest. They examine her to determine how much more she is dilated. We are now at a solid 3cm. We discuss options for inducing labor and decide to start inducing at 6:00am.

6:00am
The Zofran has had little effect and Janis is concerned about Nanc becoming dehydrated since Nanc continues to have vomiting fits between contractions. A RN arrives to insert an IV into Nancs' arm for fluids and Petocin, a drug that mimics Oxytocin, the hormone that creates labor. The RN inserts the needle and Nancs' arms "blows out", meaning the IV swelled against a valve in her artery and the valve is blocking the inflow of fluids. The RN tries the other arm. Same deal. Nanc is doesn't much care for needles and is now shooting her own hot needles of death at the RN who is causing her so much grief. Another RN comes and succeeds at getting the IV into Nancs' hand.

7:00am
Nancs friend Cathy Demaster arrives for moral and spiritual support. Nanc is in great spirits even though she hasn't really slept in 24 hours. Janis is off duty and Lisa, another Nurse Midwife is now in charge.

8:30am
Some time has passed and with the Petocin starting to take effect Nanc has gained some ground and has dilated to nearly 4cm. As the contractions have increased in intensity, the vomiting has increased. Since the vomiting appears to be related to the contractions, we discuss pain medication to ease the contractions and to hopefully curb the vomiting. With Lisa we decide to wait and see what happens. Nanc will be examined again at 10:30am to see how far she is dilated.

10:30am
Getting there. Nanc is examined and she is at a solid 4cm. We decide to take pain medication at 11:30am. That will allow the pain medication to last through labor if the Petocin can be increased enough to force labor to proceed more quickly. It's a matter of timing that Nanc cares very little for. It has now been more than 28 hours since this began and Nanc just wants it DONE! None of us can blame her and the next hour is very trying for Nanc.

11:30am
Like clockwork Nanc demands to see the anesthesiologist and get the pain medication underway! The candyman arrives and sticks Nanc in the back, next to the spine, similar to a spinal tap, but not as deep. The Intrathecal Mophine procedure is a success and by 12:00 noon Nanc is getting some sleep.

2:30pm
Nanc has slept for nearly two and a half hours. Lisa examines Nanc to find she is a solid 5cm dilated. The Petocin is increased and more Zofran is given to decrease the nausea. The only thing we can do is wait. The next examination will be at 4:00pm.

4:00pm
Lisa examines Nanc and we are all surprised to find Nanc dilated to 9.5cm. To action! Lisa calls the delivery nurse and the room fills with gear. Nanc is told to start pushing at 4:20pm. We are all instructed how to hold Nanc and assist her in pushing. Cathy is on one side, while I'm on the other. Lisa is trying to keep up with Nanc who is pushing the baby out with serious speed. Lisa barely gets her gown on in time when Nanc pushes the head clear. We are all surprised by Duncan when HE appears at 5:01 pm. Wives tales and other indcations led us to believe we were going to have a girl. The pushing lasted roughly 40 minutes and Duncan arrived without any of his own complications.

After what appeared to be a never ending wave of nausea and vomiting, Nanc suffered from postpartum hemorrhaging and lost more than a liter of blood. Now, after a very hard labor of 34+ hours and a postpartum uterine infection Nanc is slowly recovering at home with the assistance of her mother, Joyce Leslie. Duncan is doing GREAT!

We would love to hear your comments!

Send a message to us: bil@uptown.org or: nanc@uptown.org