The night before Landen arrived, Chad and I did not sleep that well. For me, it was a mixture of pure excitement and scared shipless that was keeping me up. Are we prepared for baby? How do I change a diaper? Breast feeding makes me nervous, will I be able to do it? Will I even survive the c-section? Will the hospital stay be a good thing or will it be horrible? Around 3:30 am, I couldn't lay in bed any longer so I got up and showered, made sure I had packed everything I needed for my hospital stay and then just looked around the nursery to make sure it was all ready for our little man to come home. We had to be at the hospital at 6 am, so we left the house around 5:59 am (the hospital is about 8 blocks away from our house). I am notorious for always having to get to places super early and nagging Chad to hurry the heck up so we can get out of the house, but that morning I was super calm and in no hurry to get to the hospital early. When we were loading up the car, we noticed a movement on the sidewalk across the street. I thought it was just my imagination or someone was just out walking their dog. After a closer look by both Chad and I, we noticed it was a pretty good sized deer just taking an early morning stroll down the sidewalk. This had to be a good sign, right?
We got checked into the hospital and found our way to the room that would be our home for the next 4 days. I signed all of the scary consent forms- don't tell any of my law professors this, but I quit reading the consent forms after the first form- oops. In my defense though, they were getting me all worked up and I knew I had to sign them to have the operation, so really what choice does one have in this situation? After taking care of all of the paperwork, the nurse inserted my IV and began to run the fluids. The anesthetist, who is also conveniently my neighbor, came in to go over the spinal procedure he would be giving me prior to surgery. He is a great guy and really relaxed Chad and I about the whole procedure. My doctor then came in to talk to Chad and I and her calm, caring manner really made me realize that everything was going to be a-ok.
They rolled me in to the operating room (where it was freeeezing) and prepped me for surgery. I won't go into the details, but let's just say there were some awkward moments when I was on the prep table and they were introducing me to the operating team and the folks who would be spectating the surgery. The only articles of clothing I had on were my glasses, a funny, silver hat to help keep body heat in and my hospital gown that was up around my neck. Completely exposed for the room to see. "Beckie, this is so and so and he does this. And this is so and so, and they do this. Oh and this is one of the hospital big wigs and he is sitting in on the surgery today. And you know this guy, he is your neighbor." I just try to hide my embarrassment and I just squeak "Hello... nice to meet you."
The surgery went great. Chad and our neighbor were sitting by head and walking me through the surgery. We even got in some talk about fly fishing and OU football (our neighbors are Texas fans, so we were talking about the OU/Texas game- funny that we moved all the way up to Montana and moved in next door to Texas fans, it's a small world or maybe Texas is just a really big school). Just a few short minutes after the surgery began Landen officially made his appearance at 8:14 am. It was quiet at first, then the whole operating team broke out in applause or cheering and the doctor popped Landen over the curtain so I could see my baby boy. Hello! Nice to meet you!! He was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen and it was one of the most precious moments when I first laid eyes on him. The OB team then takes Landen to the warmer and performs some of the initial tests to make sure he was thriving in his new environment. Chad looked over at was giving me an update on what was going on. "He has 5 fingers," Chad says. "Only five fingers!?!?!" I reply. Chad laughs, gives me a look and says, "Well, five fingers on the one hand I can see, Beckie." Phew! And just to confirm, Landen has 10 fingers and 10 toes.
After performing the initial tests on Landen in the operating room, Chad followed the OB team down to the nursery where they would dress Landen, continue to monitor him and keep warming him up. Our neighbor stayed and continued to walk me through the remaining part of the surgery. He even mentioned that him and his wife would babysit if Chad and I needed a night out, I sure hope he remembers making that offer because I sure do and we might take him up on that offer in a couple months. The remaining part of the surgery took about 35 minutes to complete. I survived! And Chad and I have a baby!!
I was wheeled back to my room and we passed the nursery along the way where the doctor was taking a look at Landen. She held him up so I could see him and I just wished that I could move my legs so I could hop out of bed to go hold my son. Chad was smiling ear to ear and you could just see the love in his eyes when he was looking at his son and when he looked over at me when I wheeled by. It was a great sight. I was safely moved back to my bed and situated and then Chad brought Landen in so I could hold him for the first time. It is amazing how instantly you can fall in love with someone. But again, when he looks as good as this guy, it is kind of easy.
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