HE'S HERE!!!! He's finally here! After nine months of eternity we finally have a baby boy with us. And believe me it was 9 months of eternity with the last month being just as long as the previous 8. At 7:02 in the morning K delivered a 7 lb 14 oz, 20" long ball of joy with the longest black hair I've ever seen on a newborn (the longest hairs are around 2" long!). He is the biggest kid yet with nearly a full pound over his other two siblings at birth.
The night before the delivery K and I dropped the kids off at G & G's and then had our last little date for a while at Tepenyaki (Sushi and Hibachi place). Then we came home to find a message on our answering machine telling us that the delivery had been bumped up, and we had to be at the hospital at 4:45 am. We spent until 11 or so cleaning the house and then went to bed. Well, I went to bed. K fell asleep for about 30 minutes and then was back up for the rest of the night.
The delivery went off without a hitch. They let me go with K to the OR to get her spinal, and then they began the operation. The Nurse Anethesthitist (heaven forbid you should call him an Anesthesiologist.... apparently the difference is anesthesiologists "don't care about people") happened to be from K's old home ward, and we actually had met him when we were living in California during K's first pregnancy. We also had a very chatty nurse in training who told K all about her personal life and why she didn't have kids yet and then she went on to speculate about what she would crave if she were pregnant. I guess it's easy to talk to people who are strapped to a table with their gut split open.
When they first opened K up there was a sudden ball of hair that popped up out of nowhere. He got stuck there for a little bit because the doctors underestimated how big his head was (cabezon!). He came out swinging and pretty darn angry. He sounded good and had was screaming pretty hard at people. Finally one of the nurses got close enough for him to land a kick on her stomach. He's a pretty strong little guy and he certainly got her attention. She didn't give him another chance.
Anyway, I got to carry him back to the nursery. After about 30 seconds he was still taking very shallow, very rapid breaths so he got moved back to the "Special Care Nursery". I didn't really like that until the nurse explained to me that it wasn't "special" in the same sense as some kids getting to ride the "short bus". He needed an oxygen hood because he couldn't keep the oxygen levels in his blood high enough and he was taking about 150 breaths a minute (about 3 times more than you like to see a newborn taking). His blood sugar was getting low (54 with 60 being normal) which was indicating that he was using a lot of energy just trying to breath.
Finally, a full blood test and x-ray was done. His lungs were completely lit up with infection in the images. He was born with congenital pnemonia, most likely due to either the high fevers his sister had a couple of weeks ago or an ear infection that his brother had about the same time. The good thing (really) was that he already had the infection and was in the healing stage when he was born. He just needs a little help. Uncle T and I were able to give him a blessing and then he was carted off to the NICU.
K was a basket case after coming back from the OR and finding out that her son wasn't coming back to the room also. We kept her updated on A's condition as much as possible, but it was a very difficult moment. Finally, her nurse took her down to the NICU 5 hours before she was supposed to be moved at all. Seeing him and knowing he was okay finally put her soul at rest and she was able to calm down a little.
We are very grateful and appreciative of all the concern from family and friends yesterday. It was a very emotional and hectic day so we didn't get to talk to many people and we kept conversations short with the ones we did talk to. We hope nobody felt shutout or putdown, but please understand we had other things on our minds besides entertaining visitors and people would not have been able to see the baby anyway if they had come. Apparently the rumors flew fast though as we got reports that K's ribs had been broken during the delivery and that I was barring people from entering the hospital. For the record, K's ribs are completely intact and the Utah National Guard was able to talk some sense into me. (Apparently we weren't the only people who had a baby here yesterday. Who knew!?)
Both Baby and Mom are doing just fine now. A will be in the NICU until next Thursday or Friday and K will be in the hospital until Monday morning at least. The doctor claims that A should have spent the last month working on developing his lungs instead of worrying about his looks and growing hair (his lungs were fully developed... that was a joke for those of you who haven't picked up the "subtle" running sarcasm).
Both B and Little K have been very excited and cute and have come to visit several times. They both want to thank A for the gifts he brought and hold him. They sang a little song for the video camera that we played for him in the NICU and he definitely responded to it.
As a last note, if any of you want to come visit K while she is still in the hospital, you are more than welcome to if you do not have a sick family member who you live with or have been sick yourself within the last week or so. Since K and I are constantly entering the NICU we really can't even have contact with people who have had contact with sick people. Please understand that you won't be able to see the baby until he comes home, but we appreciate your love and support, and can't wait to show him off to all of you (not through pictures!)!
The night before the delivery K and I dropped the kids off at G & G's and then had our last little date for a while at Tepenyaki (Sushi and Hibachi place). Then we came home to find a message on our answering machine telling us that the delivery had been bumped up, and we had to be at the hospital at 4:45 am. We spent until 11 or so cleaning the house and then went to bed. Well, I went to bed. K fell asleep for about 30 minutes and then was back up for the rest of the night.
The delivery went off without a hitch. They let me go with K to the OR to get her spinal, and then they began the operation. The Nurse Anethesthitist (heaven forbid you should call him an Anesthesiologist.... apparently the difference is anesthesiologists "don't care about people") happened to be from K's old home ward, and we actually had met him when we were living in California during K's first pregnancy. We also had a very chatty nurse in training who told K all about her personal life and why she didn't have kids yet and then she went on to speculate about what she would crave if she were pregnant. I guess it's easy to talk to people who are strapped to a table with their gut split open.
When they first opened K up there was a sudden ball of hair that popped up out of nowhere. He got stuck there for a little bit because the doctors underestimated how big his head was (cabezon!). He came out swinging and pretty darn angry. He sounded good and had was screaming pretty hard at people. Finally one of the nurses got close enough for him to land a kick on her stomach. He's a pretty strong little guy and he certainly got her attention. She didn't give him another chance.
Anyway, I got to carry him back to the nursery. After about 30 seconds he was still taking very shallow, very rapid breaths so he got moved back to the "Special Care Nursery". I didn't really like that until the nurse explained to me that it wasn't "special" in the same sense as some kids getting to ride the "short bus". He needed an oxygen hood because he couldn't keep the oxygen levels in his blood high enough and he was taking about 150 breaths a minute (about 3 times more than you like to see a newborn taking). His blood sugar was getting low (54 with 60 being normal) which was indicating that he was using a lot of energy just trying to breath.
Finally, a full blood test and x-ray was done. His lungs were completely lit up with infection in the images. He was born with congenital pnemonia, most likely due to either the high fevers his sister had a couple of weeks ago or an ear infection that his brother had about the same time. The good thing (really) was that he already had the infection and was in the healing stage when he was born. He just needs a little help. Uncle T and I were able to give him a blessing and then he was carted off to the NICU.
At the NICU A was fitted with a nasal CPAP (continous positive airway pressure) which helps to keep his lungs constantly inflated. He also has an intraveinous umbilical line, an IV in his left hand, and a multitude of electrodes stuck to his body. Being the fighter that he is, the nurse was left with no option but to put socks on his hands, and then to swaddle his arms across his body. Well, he wasn't going to let her forget that he wasn't happy with that, so he would move around as much as he could to dislodge the CPAP. She was finally forced to give him a little sedative. That's my boy!!
K was a basket case after coming back from the OR and finding out that her son wasn't coming back to the room also. We kept her updated on A's condition as much as possible, but it was a very difficult moment. Finally, her nurse took her down to the NICU 5 hours before she was supposed to be moved at all. Seeing him and knowing he was okay finally put her soul at rest and she was able to calm down a little.
We are very grateful and appreciative of all the concern from family and friends yesterday. It was a very emotional and hectic day so we didn't get to talk to many people and we kept conversations short with the ones we did talk to. We hope nobody felt shutout or putdown, but please understand we had other things on our minds besides entertaining visitors and people would not have been able to see the baby anyway if they had come. Apparently the rumors flew fast though as we got reports that K's ribs had been broken during the delivery and that I was barring people from entering the hospital. For the record, K's ribs are completely intact and the Utah National Guard was able to talk some sense into me. (Apparently we weren't the only people who had a baby here yesterday. Who knew!?)
Both Baby and Mom are doing just fine now. A will be in the NICU until next Thursday or Friday and K will be in the hospital until Monday morning at least. The doctor claims that A should have spent the last month working on developing his lungs instead of worrying about his looks and growing hair (his lungs were fully developed... that was a joke for those of you who haven't picked up the "subtle" running sarcasm).
Both B and Little K have been very excited and cute and have come to visit several times. They both want to thank A for the gifts he brought and hold him. They sang a little song for the video camera that we played for him in the NICU and he definitely responded to it.
As a last note, if any of you want to come visit K while she is still in the hospital, you are more than welcome to if you do not have a sick family member who you live with or have been sick yourself within the last week or so. Since K and I are constantly entering the NICU we really can't even have contact with people who have had contact with sick people. Please understand that you won't be able to see the baby until he comes home, but we appreciate your love and support, and can't wait to show him off to all of you (not through pictures!)!
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