Maryland Del. Nic Kipke, the House Minority Leader in Annapolis, admits that his wife Susannah is a bit more unconventional than him.
For instance, the Anne Arundel County Republican concedes it took him a while to buy into the idea of using a midwife to give birth at home, but he went along with it. Things went just fine when their first two children were born.
“My role in those births were to support my wife and encourage her and get her water and be right by her side,” said Kipke. “This time was a little different.”
Child number three wasn’t due for a few more weeks. Susannah went into labor early Tuesday morning, but she didn’t panic because it had taken her several hours to give birth to their first two children. The birthing process started around 1 a.m. for all three kids. The first two ended up being born around noon.
“This baby was very different,” said Kipke. “Very eager to get into this world very quickly.”
Around 2 a.m. he called the midwife. When he hung up Susannah told him, “… I think you’re going to have to deliver this child.”
From that moment on, Kipke said it all happened really fast. The baby was born at 2:32 a.m.
“The next thing I know, I was holding my little daughter’s head and then her body in my arms,” he said. “It just happened really, very quickly.”
It’s a girl! 2:32 am, 7lbs, 19.5”
She’s two weeks early. Mom and my new daughter (no name yet) are doing wonderfully!I delivered the baby because the labor went so fast and we had no choice – an experience I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to tell my daughter the story! pic.twitter.com/ypg2jVazW8
— Nic Kipke (@Kipke) June 4, 2019
The birth of the 7-pound baby also came with some anxious moments. Kipke’s daughter had the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around her neck. But after a phone call with the midwife and successfully unraveling it off her neck, the baby girl began to cry and all was well.
Kipke said the scary moment is what’ll be frozen in his mind forever.
“I feel so much closer to my wife,” said the delegate, who described his wife as amazing.
“Today sort of made me feel even stronger as a father to be able to contribute the way that I did for my daughter and my wife.”
The couple have not yet decided on the girl’s name, but they are working off a short list of possibilities.
