Saturday, February 28, 2009
The day Hudson was born
I don’t want to forget a moment of the day Hudson was born, so here’s my best shot at documenting it.
Hudson Wescott Wright was born on the original day we thought he was due, February 8 (an obedient little boy already!).
At Home
I was scheduled (very secretly) to go into the hospital at 7 that night to be induced, so my beloved Dr. Abikhaled could deliver him. The night before, I had a couple of contractions, and at 11:30 am on the 8th, they started again. But they were very irregular, sometimes an hour between, sometimes 15 minutes.
But still, I didn’t feel that great, and I had to decline going shopping on South Congress with Mom in the afternoon. Karen came from Little Rock at 4:30, and we had planned to go have our “last supper” before he was born. Again, I just didn’t feel good and was still having contractions, so we ordered a couple of pizzas to have with Karen. It was Grammy night, and I was looking forward to watching them while they got me ready to be induced on Monday morning.
By 6 pm, Karen and I were lying in my bed talking, and I would hold her hand (she says TIGHTLY) when I was having a contraction. I was pretty uncomfortable and ready to go to the hospital. We ended up leaving about 15 minutes early to drive the 5ish blocks to the hospital. I sat in the ER waiting room wondering, is this labor? Luckily, I didn’t have to wonder long, because a nice woman named Penny came and got me and took me up.
At the Hospital
True to my plan, when I met Suzanna, I said “nice to meet you; I’d like my epidural.” When they checked me, I was already having contractions at 4.5 minutes apart and dilated to 5 cm. This was obviously quite a shock, and by then, I was READY for my epidural. We had to wait for the doctor to check me, but he was slow in coming, and eventually, when I was dilated to 7 cm, they skipped the doctor check, and Dr. Corbett, the anesthesiologist, came in.
He got me all prepped, and then he got a phone call. Suzanna was relaying information to him, and I asked very nicely that they not do my epidural while he was on the phone. Then it became clear he was needed for an emergency and might leave without giving it to me. My whole attitude changed, and suddenly I was cheering, “Go, go go!!” He did it, and I felt better within just a very few minutes.
Everything happened so fast. Just about every time they checked me, I was further along. I had planned on watching Meet the Parents and/or Moulin Rouge while in labor, but it was far too action packed for activities. Mom, Dad, Karen and Melinda were there, but I honestly don’t remember much.
What I will never forget is when they brought in the cart and other supplies and a nurse for the baby (or as I called it, the “alleged baby”). That is the moment it all became real. Soon after, the doctor came in, all Greys Anatomy style, in his scrubs and mask. I remember looking at Kirk, like “seriously? Is this really happening?”
Luckily I only had to push for maybe 30-45 minutes. Penny came back in and cheered me on like I was God’s gift to pushing. They kept telling me to push when I felt pressure, and I would say, “I don’t want to tell you.” But it wasn’t that bad, other than the industrial strength stirrups (nobody had told me they were different than at the gyno) and that feeling of being 100% exposed. At the end, they said his heart rate was dropping, which provided the perfect inspiration for me to complete the job.
The Arrival
The thing I will remember above all is when I finally pushed him out and heard this little “wah,” followed by Kirk saying “It’s a boy!” I had told him to be very careful not to make a mistake in the announcement, but still, when he said it, I was in shock.
I truly didn’t anticipate him being so beautiful right after he was born. In the movies, newborns are all gooky, but I swear I didn’t see the gook. To me, he looked like he could be a world leader right from the start, as I told everyone in the room.
Mom, Dad, Karen and Melinda were all outside pressed against the door, and my mom overheard the news. I didn’t see her reaction, but I heard she was in as much shock as I was (having made a pink paper doll blanket and all).
A few other things I will never forget…. The whole time I was pregnant, it never hit me that I could have a son. Sure, I’d thought boy or girl, but the realization of having a son was so powerful when it hit me after he was born. It all seemed so immediately perfect. I don’t know much about girl things, but Kirk knows everything about boy things like Spiderman, Star Wars, etc.
Another memory is being wheeled from the delivery room to my recovery room, and we passed by the nursery where Kirk was with the baby getting cleaned up. Kirk looked so happy and proud, Mom said if he’d had buttons on his shirt, they would have popped off. They held the baby up for me to see, and again, he was so miraculously beautiful to me.
How Hudson got his Name
When Kirk got back from the nursery, he told me that he was really feeling like Hudson was the name we should choose. (Our top three boy names were Otis, Hudson and Porter. We obviously wouldn’t need our girl names – Macy Blu, Lucca Alexandra and Vivian Grace). I had been thinking the same thing. We didn’t make it official until Tracy and Scott came the next day, but in our hearts, from that moment, he was Hudson. About two weeks before he was born, we had decided that if it was a boy, his middle name would be Wescott. And so he became Hudson Wescott Wright.
The Rest of Our Stay
I was so excited that I didn’t sleep a wink that night. In fact, of the three nights in the hospital, I slept about 5 hours. I have never had that much adrenaline – I felt completely tingly. So I spent the nights in the hospital staring in awe at our baby, answering emails and Facebook messages and looking at and ordering photos.
He had just a few issues entering the world. He had swallowed lots of amniotic fluid, and so he had to have a tube put down into his tummy to pump it out. Then he got too cold, so they had to put him on a warming table (my first lesson in mother guilt, because I’d kept the room so cold). And because of his feeding issues, he was borderline jaundiced. But as our pediatrician Dr. Dawson told us when we were two days out of the hospital, those problems were soon “historical,” and we had a healthy baby boy.
Hudson Wescott Wright was born at 11:13 pm on February 8, weighed 8 lbs and 1 ounce and was 20.9" long. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story. It was the most surreal day of my life and gave us a new definition of miracle. And needless to say, I missed the Grammies this year.
Hudson Wescott Wright was born on the original day we thought he was due, February 8 (an obedient little boy already!).
At Home
I was scheduled (very secretly) to go into the hospital at 7 that night to be induced, so my beloved Dr. Abikhaled could deliver him. The night before, I had a couple of contractions, and at 11:30 am on the 8th, they started again. But they were very irregular, sometimes an hour between, sometimes 15 minutes.
But still, I didn’t feel that great, and I had to decline going shopping on South Congress with Mom in the afternoon. Karen came from Little Rock at 4:30, and we had planned to go have our “last supper” before he was born. Again, I just didn’t feel good and was still having contractions, so we ordered a couple of pizzas to have with Karen. It was Grammy night, and I was looking forward to watching them while they got me ready to be induced on Monday morning.
By 6 pm, Karen and I were lying in my bed talking, and I would hold her hand (she says TIGHTLY) when I was having a contraction. I was pretty uncomfortable and ready to go to the hospital. We ended up leaving about 15 minutes early to drive the 5ish blocks to the hospital. I sat in the ER waiting room wondering, is this labor? Luckily, I didn’t have to wonder long, because a nice woman named Penny came and got me and took me up.
At the Hospital
True to my plan, when I met Suzanna, I said “nice to meet you; I’d like my epidural.” When they checked me, I was already having contractions at 4.5 minutes apart and dilated to 5 cm. This was obviously quite a shock, and by then, I was READY for my epidural. We had to wait for the doctor to check me, but he was slow in coming, and eventually, when I was dilated to 7 cm, they skipped the doctor check, and Dr. Corbett, the anesthesiologist, came in.
He got me all prepped, and then he got a phone call. Suzanna was relaying information to him, and I asked very nicely that they not do my epidural while he was on the phone. Then it became clear he was needed for an emergency and might leave without giving it to me. My whole attitude changed, and suddenly I was cheering, “Go, go go!!” He did it, and I felt better within just a very few minutes.
Everything happened so fast. Just about every time they checked me, I was further along. I had planned on watching Meet the Parents and/or Moulin Rouge while in labor, but it was far too action packed for activities. Mom, Dad, Karen and Melinda were there, but I honestly don’t remember much.
What I will never forget is when they brought in the cart and other supplies and a nurse for the baby (or as I called it, the “alleged baby”). That is the moment it all became real. Soon after, the doctor came in, all Greys Anatomy style, in his scrubs and mask. I remember looking at Kirk, like “seriously? Is this really happening?”
Luckily I only had to push for maybe 30-45 minutes. Penny came back in and cheered me on like I was God’s gift to pushing. They kept telling me to push when I felt pressure, and I would say, “I don’t want to tell you.” But it wasn’t that bad, other than the industrial strength stirrups (nobody had told me they were different than at the gyno) and that feeling of being 100% exposed. At the end, they said his heart rate was dropping, which provided the perfect inspiration for me to complete the job.
The Arrival
The thing I will remember above all is when I finally pushed him out and heard this little “wah,” followed by Kirk saying “It’s a boy!” I had told him to be very careful not to make a mistake in the announcement, but still, when he said it, I was in shock.
I truly didn’t anticipate him being so beautiful right after he was born. In the movies, newborns are all gooky, but I swear I didn’t see the gook. To me, he looked like he could be a world leader right from the start, as I told everyone in the room.
Mom, Dad, Karen and Melinda were all outside pressed against the door, and my mom overheard the news. I didn’t see her reaction, but I heard she was in as much shock as I was (having made a pink paper doll blanket and all).
A few other things I will never forget…. The whole time I was pregnant, it never hit me that I could have a son. Sure, I’d thought boy or girl, but the realization of having a son was so powerful when it hit me after he was born. It all seemed so immediately perfect. I don’t know much about girl things, but Kirk knows everything about boy things like Spiderman, Star Wars, etc.
Another memory is being wheeled from the delivery room to my recovery room, and we passed by the nursery where Kirk was with the baby getting cleaned up. Kirk looked so happy and proud, Mom said if he’d had buttons on his shirt, they would have popped off. They held the baby up for me to see, and again, he was so miraculously beautiful to me.
How Hudson got his Name
When Kirk got back from the nursery, he told me that he was really feeling like Hudson was the name we should choose. (Our top three boy names were Otis, Hudson and Porter. We obviously wouldn’t need our girl names – Macy Blu, Lucca Alexandra and Vivian Grace). I had been thinking the same thing. We didn’t make it official until Tracy and Scott came the next day, but in our hearts, from that moment, he was Hudson. About two weeks before he was born, we had decided that if it was a boy, his middle name would be Wescott. And so he became Hudson Wescott Wright.
The Rest of Our Stay
I was so excited that I didn’t sleep a wink that night. In fact, of the three nights in the hospital, I slept about 5 hours. I have never had that much adrenaline – I felt completely tingly. So I spent the nights in the hospital staring in awe at our baby, answering emails and Facebook messages and looking at and ordering photos.
He had just a few issues entering the world. He had swallowed lots of amniotic fluid, and so he had to have a tube put down into his tummy to pump it out. Then he got too cold, so they had to put him on a warming table (my first lesson in mother guilt, because I’d kept the room so cold). And because of his feeding issues, he was borderline jaundiced. But as our pediatrician Dr. Dawson told us when we were two days out of the hospital, those problems were soon “historical,” and we had a healthy baby boy.
Hudson Wescott Wright was born at 11:13 pm on February 8, weighed 8 lbs and 1 ounce and was 20.9" long. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story. It was the most surreal day of my life and gave us a new definition of miracle. And needless to say, I missed the Grammies this year.
Monday, February 16, 2009
What I saw when I woke up this morning
I laughed for 10 minutes. What a great way to start the day! :)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)