After my water broke like in a movie, we ran around the house for a minute or two, getting our bearings. I had to change my pants and grab a towel, Zach had to toss the bags back into the car. On our way to the hospital (a five minute drive at best) we called his mom and my mom to let them know what was up - squealing was heard around the world, I’m sure!
Upon arriving at the hospital we were checked in and shown our room. Still leaking amniotic fluid like it was going out of style, they did two quick tests - one to be sure Owen was still breech (yup!) and one to be sure what was coming out of me was actually amniotic fluid (double yup!) - positive on both tests, I was put in line for my c-section. And with only one person in to wait on (she was in the operating room as I was getting checked in) we were told by 10:30 at the latest we’d be in the operating room.
Zach was given this fresh white suit to wear - the kind painters wear sometimes. Apparently they used to give scrubs to the birth partners to wear, but some lady started wandering around the birthing ward impersonating a nurse, so they had to stop that practice. While he was getting stylish, I filled out a few quick forms, and before we knew it we were off to have our babe!
Everything in the operating room happened very quickly. The most painful part of the whole thing was the shot they gave me in my back to numb it up before the spinal. I clung to Zach who whispered encouraging words to me, and then my legs began to go numb. By the time they had me laying down on the impossibly small operating table, I couldn’t feel much of anything from the chest down - I was sure my legs were bent and that I was wiggling my toes still while they’d already started to open me up!
Zach to my left, the clock to my right, I looked at the time and it was just before 11pm when they laid me down. I looked at Zach and asked if they’d started yet, he told me no without even looking (note to self: he was lying!) and then they said, “you’ll feel a slight tug” and then there was a baby being held in the air, looking around like WAIT, WHAT?!?!
Our anesthesiologist snapped photos of Owen being born, so we’ve got some cool (and not all that gross, actually) shots of it, and once he was out, Zach grabbed the camera and followed Owen over to the warming tray where he was cleaned off while I was stitched up.
Everyone kept remarking on how pink he was, how much he looked like me, and how adorably small he was. At just 5 pounds, 15 ounces, we had ourselves a little peanut of a kid! They held him up for me to see him several times while they cleaned him up, let Zach hold him, and ran the Apgar tests (8 and 9 … booyah!). Then with a quick kiss from mom - and Owen opening his eyes for the first time when he was near me and I said his name! - he was off to the nursery for all the rest of his tests.
Zach went with Owen, and less than five minutes later I was on my way to the recovery room. Still numbed up, I lay there in amazement while a nurse checked my vitals periodically - I had just had a baby!
After Owen’s tests were all good, he had to sit in the warming tray until I came upstairs, so Zach came back down by me. They moved my bed upstairs and then brought in Owen, who opened his eyes again to my voice!
Although it was after 1am at this point, I held him and fed him (which he took to like a champ!), and then we let grandma Mary come in to meet him. My mom was in the car, on her way from Chicago to come meet the bug, so she got to hold him the next day, but Zach’s parents are in town, so Mary was at the hospital waiting to sneak in a little snuggle.
By 3am we were all settled in for the night, little Owen in his bassinet next to me asleep, Zach on the super uncomfortable recliner on the other side of me, also snoring away, and me … I just sat there in my bed, amazed that this had even happened.
{part three coming soon}
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