It wasn't long before they came and got her, and I was given some scrubs to change into. She was gone some 15 minutes before they finally came and got me. Based on my history of passing out during medical procedures, I had asked the nurse to provide me with a chair to sit in. I figured that if I went down at least I'd be closer to the floor to minimize the damage. They had my wife on the table with a curtain up around her shoulders, so that all I could see was her head.
The doctors did their thing. I don't know what that was, because I was focused on stroking my wife's hair and talking to her to distract her. I'm not exactly sure what she felt, but her face was filled with panic the entire time. The fear of something going wrong and being completely powerless to do anything about it. But nothing went wrong, and at exactly 1:06 p.m., the unhappy screams of a brand new baby reverberated from the OR walls. They lifted him up briefly for us to see, and then quickly whisked him over to the scales and prep area.
I'm not sure what happened at that moment. We had both been relatively calm and collected. But the moment that that baby entered the world, my wife started crying, and then I started crying. And all I could get out was a sniffly, "Thank You" to my wife, before I went to check on the baby.
I'm not sure what happened at that moment. We had both been relatively calm and collected. But the moment that that baby entered the world, my wife started crying, and then I started crying. And all I could get out was a sniffly, "Thank You" to my wife, before I went to check on the baby.
He was 10 lbs 2.3 oz and 22 inches long. The newborn diapers didn't really fit him, and his feet were too big to even fit on the footprinting ink pad. One of the nurses said that we didn't have a baby, we had a toddler already. And the doctor said that my wife was doing really well, despite the fact that she'd had a ginormous baby inside of her. Nobody was expecting him to be that big! The last ultrasound had him at around 8 1/2 lbs, so needless to say this was a huge surprise (pun intended). I guess that's why both my wife and the baby found the process so uncomfortable at the end. There wasn't enough space in there for both of them
Normally, they immediately place the baby skin-to-skin with his mother, but because of the c-section, I was the first one to hold him instead. He was screaming bloody murder, and I told him that he gets that from his mother because that’s a Greek thing. As I held him in my arms, wrapped tightly in a blanket, I got to shush him, and rock him, and speak to him. I told him his name was Troy, that we loved him, and that we’d waited a long time to meet him. I told him that he was our little miracle, and that we were blessed that God entrusted him to us. Apparently, he was hungry and cold and generally unhappy with the entire establishment.
The nurse took him from me to give him his Hepatits B shot and Vitamin K shot. They also put some kind of drops in his eyes. I caught a brief glimpse of them when she pried them apart. They were a sort of dark, stormy gray with just a hint of dark blue. And they were absolutely gorgeous. He was red and pruny, and his fingertips were kind of a bluish purple. He had a full head of dark brown hair, which looked funny on a newborn baby. He had been a breach baby, which meant he was turned the wrong way in the womb, and he was entrenched, which meant he didn't want to come out. So, the doctor had had to reach in and pull him out by his feet. This left a dark red bruise on his little left ankle, which I later commented was like Achilles' heel.
The nurse tried to sooth the baby by putting her finger in his mouth, so he could suck on it. This helped a bit, but he still was giving little moaning sobs in between the sucks. On the other side, my wife was crying frantically and asking me a million questions that all amounted to "Is he okay?" and "Why is he crying?"
The nurse took him over to see her, and gently pressed the baby's cheek to my wife's. It was like a switch went off in both of them. Both instantly stopped crying and visibly relaxed. They simultaneously closed their eyes and just relished that first contact with each other. My wife, so used to having him near for so many months, couldn't stand to be apart from him. My baby, so used to my wife's smell, warmth, sound, and heartbeat was too scared to face this new world without her. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. It was a God thing, and it was totally right.
Normally, they immediately place the baby skin-to-skin with his mother, but because of the c-section, I was the first one to hold him instead. He was screaming bloody murder, and I told him that he gets that from his mother because that’s a Greek thing. As I held him in my arms, wrapped tightly in a blanket, I got to shush him, and rock him, and speak to him. I told him his name was Troy, that we loved him, and that we’d waited a long time to meet him. I told him that he was our little miracle, and that we were blessed that God entrusted him to us. Apparently, he was hungry and cold and generally unhappy with the entire establishment.
The nurse took him from me to give him his Hepatits B shot and Vitamin K shot. They also put some kind of drops in his eyes. I caught a brief glimpse of them when she pried them apart. They were a sort of dark, stormy gray with just a hint of dark blue. And they were absolutely gorgeous. He was red and pruny, and his fingertips were kind of a bluish purple. He had a full head of dark brown hair, which looked funny on a newborn baby. He had been a breach baby, which meant he was turned the wrong way in the womb, and he was entrenched, which meant he didn't want to come out. So, the doctor had had to reach in and pull him out by his feet. This left a dark red bruise on his little left ankle, which I later commented was like Achilles' heel.
The nurse tried to sooth the baby by putting her finger in his mouth, so he could suck on it. This helped a bit, but he still was giving little moaning sobs in between the sucks. On the other side, my wife was crying frantically and asking me a million questions that all amounted to "Is he okay?" and "Why is he crying?"
The nurse took him over to see her, and gently pressed the baby's cheek to my wife's. It was like a switch went off in both of them. Both instantly stopped crying and visibly relaxed. They simultaneously closed their eyes and just relished that first contact with each other. My wife, so used to having him near for so many months, couldn't stand to be apart from him. My baby, so used to my wife's smell, warmth, sound, and heartbeat was too scared to face this new world without her. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. It was a God thing, and it was totally right.
The sewing up process took longer than expected. Apparently, the doctor had to go through a fibroid, which took more time, and my wife ended up losing a lot of blood. They prepped her for a transfusion, while the doctor diligently sewed layer after layer, seven in all. Luckily, there were no major complications, though you couldn't tell it from looking at the OR floor. There were pools of blood everywhere! I don't even know how my wife survived the process. She's an amazing woman.
After she was all back together again, the three of us were wheeled down the hall back to our room (well they were wheeled, I was dumbly stumbling along beside them). My mom and my wife's mom were allowed to come in and see the baby and check on my wife. My wife didn't make it long before she ultimately passed out from exhaustion. It was about this time that the nurses came back to take the baby for an X-Ray on his ankle, which turned out to be negative.
I'm not sure exactly how long the whole process took, because I lost track somewhere in the middle, but I do know that in a moment, my entire life changed forever. I am a father. God has fulfilled His promise to me from so long ago on that night on the couch. I am terrified of what kind of father I'll be, and whether I'll be enough. But I'm excited to find out as well.
And so the adventure begins...
Dear Son, I have always known you would be a great DaD and over the last two years you have proven just how great. No son could be loved more than you love Troy, and I know that you will always be there for him, and teach him the things that will help him fulfill God's plan for his life. As your MoM, I couldn't be more proud of you. I love you, and now that you are a parent, you have an idea of how much. May God continue to bless you and Troy and Anastasia. MoM (Happy 2nd birthday, Troy! Grammy loves you!)
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