Yeppers.......Justine woke me up at 2:45 am on Monday with a gentle tap on the shoulder followed by the line: "Honey......I think my water just broke."
There are many things you hear during the course of your life that stick with you for the rest of it---those words will rank in the top five.
I hop up out of bed realizing that it was showtime. I grab the hospital bag, get the carseat strapped in, a change of clothes, make a call or two to arrange for someone to pick up the dog, get my shift at work covered, and out the door we went.
We arrived at the hospital at 3:30 am and settled in. For the next 12 hours, it was mild contractions and easy sailing. Around 3:30 pm, the contractions got really strong---but she said she was fine and needed no epidural pain meds. She and I stayed locked into focus with each other as the contractions came and went for the next 45 minutes. The baby's heart rate dropped quite suddenly--the suspected culprit was the umbillical cord that was pretending to be a necktie. The doctors acted quickly and with 2 good pushes, out he came.
My wife was absolutely amazing throughout the whole process. During even the worst of contractions, she never even made a peep. I was beginning to think we were at a Scientology birth or something. I almost half-expected to turn around and see Tom Cruise jumping up and down on the couch cheering us on!! Much to the amazement of many of the nurses, Justine got up and walked down the hall on her own to the recovery room about 30 minutes after the birth. That's one tough gal.
As many of you who have children already know, there's no getting any rest in a hospital. Seemed like ever 20 minutes or so for the next two days, someone was poking or prodding at the little fella. We would just get him settled down, and then "Hello, I'm nurse so-and-so....I'll be completely ruining any sleep you may have started for some inane procedure. Have a nice night."
Anyways........after being awake for over 56 straight hours, we finally got our guy home for some chill-time and to begin our whole routine of raising the little fella. Things are going great--he's really calm and beginning to open his eyes a little. So cute.
So.....here's a quick shot I took yesterday with the camera phone---I'll have better shots to add to the "Little Monkey's" thread later on this weekend when I can get the time.
Colin Anderson Belangia
There are many things you hear during the course of your life that stick with you for the rest of it---those words will rank in the top five.
I hop up out of bed realizing that it was showtime. I grab the hospital bag, get the carseat strapped in, a change of clothes, make a call or two to arrange for someone to pick up the dog, get my shift at work covered, and out the door we went.
We arrived at the hospital at 3:30 am and settled in. For the next 12 hours, it was mild contractions and easy sailing. Around 3:30 pm, the contractions got really strong---but she said she was fine and needed no epidural pain meds. She and I stayed locked into focus with each other as the contractions came and went for the next 45 minutes. The baby's heart rate dropped quite suddenly--the suspected culprit was the umbillical cord that was pretending to be a necktie. The doctors acted quickly and with 2 good pushes, out he came.
My wife was absolutely amazing throughout the whole process. During even the worst of contractions, she never even made a peep. I was beginning to think we were at a Scientology birth or something. I almost half-expected to turn around and see Tom Cruise jumping up and down on the couch cheering us on!! Much to the amazement of many of the nurses, Justine got up and walked down the hall on her own to the recovery room about 30 minutes after the birth. That's one tough gal.
As many of you who have children already know, there's no getting any rest in a hospital. Seemed like ever 20 minutes or so for the next two days, someone was poking or prodding at the little fella. We would just get him settled down, and then "Hello, I'm nurse so-and-so....I'll be completely ruining any sleep you may have started for some inane procedure. Have a nice night."
Anyways........after being awake for over 56 straight hours, we finally got our guy home for some chill-time and to begin our whole routine of raising the little fella. Things are going great--he's really calm and beginning to open his eyes a little. So cute.
So.....here's a quick shot I took yesterday with the camera phone---I'll have better shots to add to the "Little Monkey's" thread later on this weekend when I can get the time.
Colin Anderson Belangia
