Cleared to Land

This morning, Jude and I had our final Monday NST (non-stress test) at Baptist Hospital before tomorrow's c-section.  We had arranged for Jude's parents to stay with J.P. and give him breakfast, since he was out of school for President's Day.  Afterwards, Jude was to go home and spend the day with J.P., while I went into the office to wrap up a few things before taking some time off.  That was our plan, anyway.

Well, life had a little plan for us, as it turns out.

When they hooked the fetal heart monitor up, I didn't pay too much attention to the readout, because the whole experience has become second nature for us.  I did not that our baby's heart rate was steady in the low 130's.  Good, I thought, forgetting it's better if the heart rate bounces around a bit, as that show the baby is active and moving.

After a few minutes, the nurse came back into our room and turned Jude over.  Almost immediately our baby's heart rate started jumping all over the place.  A few more minutes passed and a different nurse walked in and simultaneously the telephone in our room starting ringing.  "It's Dr. Maikis," she said.  "She wants to talk to you."

I answered and, all business, Roseann said, "I'm not liking some of the things I'm seeing.  Let's do the surgery this afternoon."  My heart skipped a beat even though she assured me it wasn't an emergency.  I handed the telephone to Jude and she spoke quietly to Roseann, then hung up.

"It's go time," I said.  Jude nodded and I could see her putting on her game face.  "Are you ready?" I asked.  "I will be," she replied.  Game on.

I drove home and game J.P. and Jude's parents the news.  It's funny, but J.P. was ecstatic, since it meant he wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow to be a big brother.  Jude's dad helped me pack my truck, then I drove them all to the hospital to see Jude.  J.P. was fine until we began walking down the hall of the 3rd floor at Baptist Hospital to Jude's room.

"Daddy.  I don't know about this," he said.  I just smiled and told him everything would be all right.  He held my hand a little tighter.

Inside Jude's hospital room, J.P. was a fountain of questions.  He got upset when it was time to leave, though.  I walked Jude's parents and J.P. to Jude's car, which they were driving home for us.

Jude and I sat and talked as we waited for 3 p.m. to arrive.  I began to get more and more nervous, the closer it got to 3 p.m.  Jude seemed to get calmer.  Finally, our nurse and the anesthesiologist came to get us.  I donned hospital scrubs and followed the gurney down to surgery.  Just like last time, they left me sitting in a chair by myself, in the hall, while they gave Jude and epidural and prepped her for surgery.  Waiting for Roseann to come get me was the longest half hour of my life.  That much I remembered from last time.

I walked into the operating room with Roseann, which was bustling with activity.  I walked over to Jude and spoke a few words to her.  Her face was a picture of concentration.  I remembered that from last time, as well.  There was a lot of chatter amongst the surgical staff and, occasionally, Roseann asked Jude or me a question, just to break the tension.  At different times, things got quiet.  I'm not sure what made me more nervous - the constant chatter or the silence.

After what seemed to be eternity, Roseann told me to get my camera ready.  Suddenly, I heard a whimper, then a cry and there he was, our second son.  7 pounds, 7 ounces and 19 inches long, born at 3:50 a.m.  I looked at Jude and told her I loved her, my eyes filled with tears of joy and relief.  She was crying a bit, too.

Unlike last time around, a nurse cleaned our son up right there in the operating room, as opposed to the nursery.  After what seemed like a second eternity, the three of us went to a recovery room.  A nurse kept a close eye on our son, as he was grunting quite a bit.  Evidently, that can be a sign of fluid in the lungs, which isn't uncommon for c-section babies.  Soon, that cleared up for the most part and we were moved to a room on the 7th floor around 8 p.m.

Memories of J.P. as a newborn flooded back throughout the night, as our nurse (Angela) came in and out to bring our son to Jude when he appeared to be hungry.  We were pleasantly surprised that he was able to latch on and breastfeed twice, once of almost 30 minutes.  With J.P., it didn't happen quite as easily.

So, here we are again.  Blessed by God beyond belief with another perfect son.  Jude's recovering, slowly but surely.  And our second son just spent his first full day on this earth, loved by his parents and his big brother.

Now, about the name . . .