Jonah’s Birth Day

Last week, I mentioned my high blood pressure may cause Jonah to be “evicted” from the womb a little early.  Thursday I went to the doctor, driving in a raging snowstorm, and I knew the chance of my blood pressure having gone down was ZERO.  And I was right!  It was high, and as soon as my doctor came into the room she said “I’m gonna do you before I leave.”  It was Thursday, December 16th, and I knew she was leaving for Disney World December 18th.  So…she said, “How’s tomorrow morning at 6:30?”  I had been scheduled for a C-section on December 26th, and she said that 9 extra days with a blood pressure that high was not going to benefit me or the baby.

So!  I excitedly agreed that the next morning would be the right time to meet my baby son!

I called or texted everyone who needed to know. (Yes, husband first, then my mother, then Emily!)  Then I had to go to the hospital to get some bloodwork done, then home in the snowstorm to finish packing and getting my house ready and my kids prepared!  Fortunately my mom was there to help me out.

We had to be at the hospital at 4:30 (yikes!)  so Bobby and I got up at THREE to get ready!  Oy!  Then we headed in to check in, fill out paperwork, answer a million questions and get prepped for surgery.  As soon as they got me back into the pre-op room, they started talking about the c-section being at 6 a.m., but we had been told 6:30 previously!  So I started sweating that Emily wouldn’t make it in time!  I had Bobby text her to get her rear over to the hospital posty-hasty and fortunately she got there in plenty of time to have an awkward conversation with Bobby outside the curtain while they put in my catheter. 🙂  I am sure it was one of the best memories of the day for both of them!

Then Emily and Bobby donned their super-hot surgical suits and they whisked me off to the operating room.  They had to wait outside while they did my spinal anesthesia, which is the most nerve-wracking part for me.  But it went really well, the team did an awesome job!

Then it was GO time.  My wonderful doctor came in with the resident assisting her and they sliced and diced and pushed and pulled until finally it was time for Baby Jonah to come on out and play.  I heard him cry and asked “Does he have hair?”  and Bobby was like, “Oh yeah, he’s got lots of hair!”  They held him up so I could see him and then whisked him over to a table to get checked out. I couldn’t see him from where I was so Bobby and Emily took pictures for me and gave me verbal updates.

I listened to the nurses call out his stats, and say he got an APGAR score of 9.9 and I was very relieved! Then finally they brought him over to me so I could nuzzle him a little bit before they took him off to the nursery. I had to hang out a little while to get my TUBES TIED (sadly, Emily was NOT allowed to perform the procedure, which is a bummer, I am sure she would have done a STELLAR job! I mean, really, she is good at everything!)

After a short while in recovery, and after our pediatrician checked him out, Bobby brought Jonah to me and I got to nurse him for the first time. He did an AMAZING job! I think I was too loopy from anesthesia to remember nursing Joshua and Sophie for the first time (sad, I know) but I was pretty lucid at that point and I totally remember it. He did so well and I was so relieved and excited.

The rest of the day was kind of a blur of visitors, feedings, and my vitals being taken.  It was really special when my big kids met Jonah.  Sophie wasn’t so sure what to think and was mostly concerned with wanting Mommy and Daddy to come home with her. 🙁 So that made me really sad and was a hard part of the day for me.  But Joshua was enthralled with his brother from the first moment and it was so sweet to see!!

All in all, despite the pain (really, I would have babies the old-fashioned way if I could!) of surgery, Jonah’s birth day was a wonderful day for us.  I love my baby boy so much, and we already can’t imagine what we ever did without him.  My big kids adore him and of course so does his daddy.  We are so thankful to God for bringing Jonah to us safe and sound!