May 12, 2014.
Thomas. You are here. In fact, you’ve been here for a
week. You were born on May 6, 2014 at 5:07 p.m. You weighed six pounds and 14
ounces, were 20 inches long, and came out crying. Because I am sure you want to know, here’s
how you came into the world:
I woke up early on the 6th to use the
bathroom. I know, you really want to hear this part. I didn’t check the time. I
did notice that I was soaking wet. Like, all of me. I blamed it on my hormones
and thought that I had just sweated a lot. I changed my clothes and went back
to bed. About 5:15 a.m., I woke up again to use the bathroom and noticed that
my clothes were wet again. I tested my blood sugar because I was up for the day
and then waited until 5:30 for your daddy’s alarm clock to go off. I woke him
up and told him that I was pretty certain that my water had broken. He agreed
with me and then jumped in the shower. I called our doctor’s answering service
and waited for the on call OB to call me back. When she did, she told me to go
ahead and head to the hospital but that I could freshen up first. I showered,
dried, and straightened my hair. Your daddy got dressed for work, asked me if
he could go to work, and then sent out some emails after I told him that he
could not drive the three-hour round trip to go to work when I was pretty
certain that we were about to have a baby. Your daddy did lots of little chores
while I was getting ready and by about 6:40, we were on the way to the
hospital. We got there at 7:00 a.m. and were in the labor and delivery room by
9:00 a.m. The doctor on call for our OB
(our OB was in Disney World) came in and gave the orders to start Pitocin and
the okay for me to walk around while we waited. The nurse, Kristen, hooked me
up to fancy telemetry monitors and let me walk and use a medicine ball. The
Pitocin was increased every thirty minutes until about 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. Once I was half-way to you, I asked for an
epidural. About thirty minutes later, they gave me the injection. I couldn’t
feel much sensation from the top of my stomach down. I certainly couldn’t feel
contractions. Your grandparents, Nana and Poppa, arrived about that time and
gave for a visit. While they were visiting, your heart rate dropped a bit low
and I was started on oxygen to help bring it back up. After about 5 minutes on
the O2, you were back to normal and the mask came off. Soon after, your other
grandparents, Yaya and Pap, arrived. We visited for a little while until the
doctor came by to check on you. All the grandparents stepped out but Nana and
Poppa left the hospital to come back to our house and check on the dogs. The
doctor found that I had progressed a good bit farther than expected and called
in the delivery team. After just a few minutes and about two minutes of
pushing, you were here. I couldn’t feel myself pushing, but I could hear the
staff telling me about your progression. The doctor told me you were here. I cried,
naturally, but I had a huge smile on my face. Your daddy cut your cord, the
staff cleaned you up, and then I held your little body in my arms until I had
to give you back.
Shortly after that, our family got to come see you before
we went to our recovery room. The first person through the door was your
Aunt Marla!! I didn’t think she was coming because she had to work and had been
sending her updates and pictures of the room during the day. She drove down
four hours to see you during your first few hours and woke up incredibly early
the next day to drive back. She’ll be the one who will give you anything you
want. Just wait and see. Your grandparents also came back in and later, once we
were in recovery, your Uncle Drew and Aunt Whitney came to see you.
You were perfect.
Still are perfect. The most beautiful baby that I have ever seen. And
I’m not just saying that because you are ours. Now, if we could skip right to
the sleeping through the night phase, I’d be down for that in a heartbeat.
Thomas, we are so glad that you are here. We are
exhausted, but eternally glad. You were prayed for until we knew you were
coming and then you were prayed for even more. We won’t stop praying for you. Give
your daddy and I time to get this whole parenting thing figured out. I’m sure
we’ll make a dent in it around the time you have kids. In the meantime, we’ll
take it one three-hour block at a time.
We love you, Hutson Thomas. Always will.
