“JESS!!!”
it was 4:15am
saturday morning
01/31/15
i just assumed i was snoring
nope
“SW (social worker) texted
they are at the hospital”
i was UP
and OUT
of that bed faster than dick van dyke
when ritchie was born
running around our little baby bungalow
like a crazy person
then i hear HK talking to someone
she had texted SW back
and SW called us back
i stop moving
dead in my tracks
not sure how because
i was ready to RUN to the hospital
i could tell from HK’s part of the conversation
that it wasn’t time for us to go
so i calmed down
well
i tried to calm down
“FM is 5 centimeters”
“water hasn’t broken”
“checking her again in a little bit”
“SW will call back around 8”
“said we should try to get some sleep”
PSSSHT
yeah right
so i made some coffee
and we made a plan
we were going to shower
pack bags
for us and shane
go to the good egg for a nice breakfast
stop by target to get HK some sleepy time pants
and by then we should get the call
to head to the hospital
5:06am
HK’s phone rings again
“taking FM in for a c-section”
“don’t know why yet”
“there are some breathing problems with the baby”
“be here within the next two hours”
ok
ok
ok
new plan
HK showers
i shower
bags packed
we’ll just get mcdonald’s or something on the way
and get something to hold us over
i had to tell HK not to take the offramp at 70mph
so she slowed it down to 50
hazards on
running red lights
we are at the hospital within the hour
skidding into the parking garage
on two wheels
going in the out driveway
the garage ticket said
6:17am
HK and i grab bags
and RUN
well
as fast as we can
across the hospital campus
asking strangers
“where’s labor and delivery?”
i bet we were quite the sight to see
i felt like we were on amazing race
finally make it into the building
waiting for the elevator
come on
come on
come on
telling more random strangers
“we’re adopting”
trying to catch our breath
make it to labor and delivery
“can we go back?”
“how’s FM?”
“what is going on?”
doctor and SW come out
“shane is transverse” (trying to come out sideways)
“we tried to flip him ‘manually”
“that didn’t work”
“his heart tone was dropping”
“took FM back for c-section”
“his heart tone came back up”
“we were able to flip him manually this time”
“broke her water”
“only one of you can be back there when it’s time”
(HK and i had already decided that she would go back.
that she would be better for FM)
“waiting for labor”
“probably be a vaginal birth after all”
nurse lady takes us into a waiting room
they still won’t let us back to see FM
so HK, our SW and FM’s SW (you follow all that)
pile up in the corner of a waiting room
thinking we might be here a while
that’s at least the way the dr made us feel
6:40(ish)am
nurse comes flying into the waiting room
“HEATHER”
“come on”
“you’re gonna miss it”
HK and nurse are gone
we grab the rest of the stuff
and run out into the hallway
trying to stare through the little windows
down the long hallway
somewhere down there is
FM
HK
and my son
they made me go back into the waiting room
something about stupid patient privacy
hippa mumbo jumbo
6:45(ish)am
i gotta move
i gotta sneak a peak
so i tell the SWs
“i’m going to the restroom”
“i better go now since they just took HK back”
i step out of the waiting room
look to the right
through the doors
down the long hallway
and what do i see?
HK dressed in her surgical garb
nurse lady wheeling a bassinet
that’s my son
that’s my shaner in there
it takes them FOREVER to walk that
long hallway to me
but then
all of a sudden
the doors open
and i see my son for the first time
and i hear him scream for the first time
(definitely not the last)
10 toes
10 fingers
1 teeny weeny little penis
they ended up doing a c-section
shane’s heart tone had dropped again
by the time they got HK into her surgical garb
and into the operating room
they had already taken him out
and were cleaning him off
so at 6:44am
on saturday january 31st
2015
this magical 7lb 10oz
21 ½ inch
poop machine came into this world
he’s here
he’s perfect
and if coleson jay taught me love at first sight
shane patrick just reinforced that
