You are my Sonshine...

January 26, 2010

4:00 am: Wide awake, staring up at the ceiling looking at the time, today is the day that I will add an addition to my family. Today is the day I will have a son, a little boy, just thinking it sounds so weird to me.

4:15 am: Get out of bed finally. Takes me about 3 minutes just to be able to stand up. This pregnancy is brutal, my hips and back hurt so bad that I feel as if I am about 80 and have arthritis as bad as at gets, nope just really preggo and ready to have my body back.

4:30 am: Hot shower, relaxing and still a race is running in my mind. Do I have everything I need for the hospital? Is everything ready for the baby to come home? How will Havely do without me for two days? How will Havely react to having her baby brother home? When is the last time I scrubbed this tile in here?

5:15 am: Angela shows up and is pretty awake for this early in the AM. She is going to spend the morning with Havely and then take her to daycare so that Havely can have somewhat of a normal day. Now I am getting nervous, it is time to go, time to do this. I say goodbye to the dogs, make my husband change his shirt (there will be pictures today, one of us has to look decent), and go upstairs for one last moment with Havely. She is upside down in her bed as usual, I turn her back around, kiss her on the forehead and then head downstairs. The next time I come home I will be a mom of two.

The ride to the hospital is good, it is cold and raining today. Traffic is very light, and Jaaron and I talk about different things as we go down the highway, and discuss how excited we are to be parents to another child. We arrive at the hospital, and gather our belongings and check in. I sign all the paperwork and we are off to check into room 17. We are greeted by my nurse Kathi, who had one of the most welcoming smiles and personalities, I just knew today was going to be a good day.

6:30 am: IV is in and was done in one shot, with Havely I had many many problems with this and ended up with two horribly bruised forearms to hold a baby in, OUCH! So I was very happy that this went well, one thing down. Pitocin was started and the contractions came with it. The first hour was not too bad, they were coming every 4 minutes but it was nothing I couldn't handle, I was even able to keep up with the conversation.

7:00 am: Jessica arrived and was ready for the day. She even brought a bag full of snacks for the team and some activity books. She was ready to be here for the long run. Contractions were getting a bit worse by this time, but I was still doing pretty well.

8:00 am: Dr. Feinstein enters the room and is ready to get things progressing. I am only dilated to 3 cm. She takes a small hook and breaks my water. This is when things really get going. Contractions get worse and more frequent. I am trying my best to hold out and get through them, but by 9 am, I have decided that it is time to throw in the towel and get the epidural.

9:15 am: Where in the hell is the anesthesiologist? These suckers are brutal and I am ready to kill my husband for doing this to me. Good god how do women do this naturally? They must be crazy or already self medicated. Dr. Rhodes enters the room and I think he is surrounded by an aura of light, he is here to end my suffering, my knight in shining armour!

9:20 am: Epidural is in-this doc is not kidding around. He is quick like lightening and very good. In one swift move he puts in more meds and my legs go numb, ahh tree trunks and no pain. This feeling is so strange, I cannot feel anything from my sternum south, but the contractions are not blinding me anymore and that makes me one happy girl.

I cannot really give you much of a timeline right now, this is where things began to get a bit fuzzy. I could not maintain my temperature and kept shaking uncontrollably. I was layered in warm blankets but yet still shivering. I also felt like I was off in space a bit, just not myself really. Then the baby's heart rate would drop with each contraction. They told me that the cord was probably stretching when there were contractions so they needed to put me on some oxygen so that we could make sure he was getting all he could. This freaked me out a bit because I knew the cord was around his neck. Havely's was as well, and she is fine so I am trying to focus on the fact that they know what they are doing and if he was in danger they would make the best decision.

11:55 am: Dr. Feinstein is back to check on me. I am dilated to about 6 cm, but the baby is at zero position, so she wants the nurse to have me do a test push. She is off to check on her pre-op and will check in with me before she goes into surgery. Either this baby is coming now, or I have to wait about two hours.

12:00 pm: Kathi waits for a contraction and tells me to push. A count of ten and she tells me to stop. She announces that this baby is ready and calls the doc back up. It is time, I am going to have my baby soon, be able to see him and hold him. Jessica calls Angela to let her know what is going on, but Ang is stuck in traffic and is trying to get to the hospital as fast as she can.

12:10 pm: We are ready to go, doc is in place, nurse is ready, Jaaron is ready and Jess is a go. Wait for a contraction and GO!!! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,...STOP. He is out. I can see him. The cord is wrapped around his neck, the doctor gets her fingers in there immediately and has Jaaron cut the cord. She then pulls him the rest of the way out and puts him up for me to see. He is perfect. So perfect.

Grant Robert Thomas was born at 12:15 pm on Tuesday January 26, 2010. He weighed 5 lbs., 12 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. At this moment I feel in love with a boy so deeply and more than I ever thought I could. He has me mesmerized by every move he makes. My heart sings with happiness just looking at him.

8:00 pm: Mindi arrives at the hospital with Havely. My son and my daughter get to meet each other for the first time. This is priceless, this is my moment. I watch her watch him and hold him and I see a change in her face. She is a big sister now and she will be one of the best. She is in love with a boy also and I know that my kids will share a bond so great and I can't wait to watch them interact in life. Yup this is all mushy gushy love stuff, but when you are a mom and have wonderful kids you will understand the mushy gushy stuff is the best. As a mom life little moments are just as important as the big ones, and I plan to cherish every bit of them.

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.