The Hospital

So you want to know more about this guy?! Hee hee. Isn't he cute? Well, I'm FINALLY writing about our hospital experience. It's taken me so long because a) Blogger was being difficult about uploading pictures, b)I'm finding that everything takes five times longer in Mommy time, but mostly c) I don't quite know how to put it into words.

Because I'm still at a loss for words about how to describe the most intense, surreal, amazing, and wonderful four days of my life, I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking. But first, a timeline of how the actual birth went down.

Tuesday, July 20
8:10 am: Call from counselor. Lexie (Isaac's birth mom) is in labor! They are going to break her water! Get to the hospital NOW!
8:12 am: Walk around house in a daze, talking to myself. "Okay. Okay. Don't forget the camera. Okay. Okay. Snacks. Okay."
9:30 am: Got to hospital. Visited with Lexie and her parents in the delivery room. Turns out they aren't going to break her water until the doctor's lunch break from his clinic work... 12:00.
12:45 pm: Still waiting for doctor... getting a bit impatient!
1:00 pm: Doctor breaks her water.
1:00-5:00 pm: We are waiting in the waiting room now with Lexie's dad and grandparents. Lexie is in the delivery room with her mom; dilating, contracting, and waiting to be told to push. Lexie calls us in to visit every now and then.
6:30 pm: Doctor decides to get the show on the road by administering pitocin.
6:45 pm: Lexie starts contracting but is not dilated enough. Baby's heart rate begins to concern doctors.
7:00 pm: Decision to do emergency c-section
7:40 pm: Operating team has gathered, finally ready to do c-section
8:26 pm: Isaac Alexander is born after what the surgeon called "the most difficult c-section I've ever done." (Long story short: Lexie's epidural was no longer working. They didn't know this until they sliced into her skin. Baby's heart rate plummeted so they continued with the surgery anyway. When they cut the uterus open, baby's face showed and was being squeezed by a continual contraction of the uterus muscles. They couldn't get him out. After much pulling, squeezing, and yanking, they got him out and cut the cord that was wrapped twice around his neck. They immediately gave Lexie medicine through a mask to knock her out.)
9:10 pm: We got to visit our baby in the neo-natal intensive care unit. Fell head over heels in love.
10:00 pm: FINALLY got to hold our son for the first time after they spent 45 minutes (!!) trying to find a vein through which to administer extra fluids.
10:00-12:30 am: Snuggled and cuddled Isaac until we had to tear ourselves away to go home and sleep for a few hours.
6:00 am: Back to see our baby

*Isaac's vitals were strong right away and stayed that way through the night. He was kicked out of the NICU in the morning and joined us for the rest of his blessedly uneventful hospital stay*

Now- the fun part!


My little purple baby =) This was taken in the NICU before they poked him for 45 minutes, trying to find a vein.


Morning cuddles. It was SO hard to leave the hospital that first night, but we knew Isaac was in good hands. We figured we'd better get a few hours of sleep since we are in it for the long haul!


Isaac seeing his birth mom for the first time. Because it was such a chaotic delivery and they needed to heavily sedate Lexie as soon as he was out of her, she didn't get to see him until the next morning,


Baby and his two mommies. Lexie gave him the birth name of Jacob Michael. She wanted him to have further proof that she loves and cares about him- she put the time and energy into choosing the perfect name for him.


Love him.


Four generation picture! Isaac with his birth mom, grandma, and great-grandma.


Lexie and her parents


Isaac meets his Grandma Patty for the first time. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a smile quite that big before... =)


Our little guy


The night before discharge, the hospital gave us a room to spend the night with Isaac. So we could practice full-time parenting with several wonderful nurses available at the touch of a button! Isn't that fantastic? The hospital offered this to us... I never would have thought to ask.
This picture was taken after our first night as a family =)



Cuddling with his birth mama during our last day at the hospital.


What is going on?!


Okay, I'll sleep some more.

Since this post is already verging on epic-length proportions, I won't go into Isaac's amazing birth mother, her family, or anything else that made those days at the hospital so wonderful. Another time. =)