They're Home

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DAD'S LOG 5/8/08

It's 2 am and we've just wrapped up a feeding. It's our second night at home after five nights at the hospital. John is insatiable and will eat 24/7 till he spits up if we let him. Luke is more mellow on the eating, but boy he's had some blowouts (other end) tonight. It's a circus and we just want to eat these little biscuits up.

So I thought I'd try to get some thoughts down. This first log will cover the events of May Day.

We had scheduled the C-section to be on Monday 5/5. But on Thursday 5/1, a routine fetal heartbeat test showed some erratic results for Baby A (John), so the OB told Julie she needed to go to the hospital for more tests ASAP, and oh by the way, you might want to pack your bags. So Julie called me away from work and off we went, glad we'd pre-packed the getaway car the prior night.

Upon seeing the test results at the hospital, the doctors informed us the C-section was to happen that very night. Ok then! Not a big problem since Julie had mostly, thankfully gotten over her cold and the kids were considered full-term by then at 38 weeks. Although there were as always more little things we could do to prepare the nest at home, we were pretty much ready to go for it.

So at about 7:30pm Julie was rolled (on a gurney, that is) into the delivery room. The doctors put up a curtain between her abdomen and head and gave me a chair next to her, so I could hold her hand as she endured the nausea and shakes from the anesthesia. She was so incredibly tough and poised. Instead of staying seated (on Julie's side of the curtain) I stood up a few times to watch the procedure - which worried the doctors ("It's fine if you watch, but most husbands sit down...are you okay?") more than it did me. Pretty soon, out came Baby A - a funny looking little man with a scrunched up face. Baby B glided out right after and immediately the doctor held him over the curtain, peek-a-boo style, for an exhausted/relieved Julie to see. I thought it was hilarious.

I kissed Julie and gasped my congratulations-they're-beautiful-you're-beautiful-I-love-you-I'm-going-to-check-on-the boys and jumped over to the baby tables. Baby A was blue and two nurses hovered over him with concerned glances backward - and I must say that was one of the most dramatic moments of my life. I'm not sure of the details but I think I burst in on the trio and grabbed my boy. I was terrified. The nurse put an oxygen mask on his face and I held him close, looking into his open eyes and praying, come on kid/please Heavenly Father let him live...his body was blue but his eyes were alert and seemed to lock onto mine. Finally he began to breathe and his entire body became a healthy rose color.

I know this may well be a common occurrence in the delivery room, but I will never ever forget it. The hugeness of my love for this little soul, the desperation of my pleadings for his life, and the depth of my gratitude to God for this miracle are still overwhelming to me.

And if that weren't enough, I then looked over to see another babe, this one a perfect little cherub, gazing peacefully at the nurse who was swaddling him.

My cup overfloweth.