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Where to begin?
This morning, March 28, 2008, at 11:11 a.m., Jude gave birth to a 7 lb, 13 oz beautiful baby boy. He's perfect in every way. Before you ask, we don't have a name, yet, although we will by tomorrow morning. Actually we have a name, but we're going to sleep on it before we make it official. And no, it's not Hannibal, Myron, Melvin or Phude.
We arrived at Baptist Hospital at 8:15 a.m., this morning, where the first order of business was to get ourselves checked in at the registration desk. About 8:45 a.m., we moved to a waiting room, where we hung out until about 9:30 a.m., when we were moved to a room. There, a melange of hospital personnel shuttled in and out of the room, asking Jude and me a variety of questions, giving her medication, poking and prodding Jude (taking blood, starting an IV, etc.) and generally preparing her for surgery.
Around 10:00 a.m. or so, the nurse anesthetist and a tech came to get Jude. They rolled the bed, or gurney, she was on down the hall, with me trailing close behind. As we made the long walk toward the operating room, I began to feel a little nervous for the first time all morning. It was nothing bad, though, just a few butterflies in my stomach. When we arrived at the double doors that opened to the hall where the operating room was, Jude and I parted ways, as I had to wait while they placed the epidural and prepped her for surgery.
I sat, alone, in a chair, for 20 to 30 minutes. For me, it was much more difficult not being with Jude than it would have been to watch them stick the needle in her spine and place the epidural. I knew she was in good hands, but I felt helpless, not being there with her. Silently, I said a prayer for her and for the baby. I checked my watch several times, but time seemed to stand still. Finally, our ob/gyn, Roseann Maikis, M.D., walked around the corner, on her way to the operating room, and greeted me warmly. She smiled, asked me if I was ready to be a daddy and told me she would send for me in a few minutes. I can't tell you how fortunate we are to have such a fantastic doctor.
Five or ten minutes later, I heard a noise, the double doors swooshed open, and a nurse told me to follow her. I stood up, put on my surgical cap and mask and followed her down the hall to the operating room, not really knowing what to expect. When I walked into the operating room, there was a bustle of activity. There were several people present, all in "scrubs," and all very busy. The nurse escorted me to a chair positioned at Jude's head and I sat down, my camera in my lap. I held Jude's hand, leaned close to her and told her I loved her. Her face was a mask of intensity and concentration, as she prepared herself, mentally, for surgery. She didn't look scared at all, just very, very focused.
There was a cloth draped over Jude about chest level, so neither she nor I could see, directly, what Dr. Maikis was doing. Dr. Maikis was positioned on Jude's left, while another doctor or a nurse was on Jude's right. The nurse anesthetist was at Jude's feet, while the anesthesiologist moved around a good bit, even leaving the room a couple of times. Another nurse was just above Jude's head, with me. Jude was conscious the whole time and able to talk, though she didn't say much. Everyone had a job to do and everyone was doing their job. It was very efficient.
As the beginning of the procedure, I must admit I was startled by the fact that the doctor or nurses assisting Dr. Maikis were engaged in a very spirited conversation about her new puppy. If I had closed my eyes, I would have sworn the conversation was taking place in a restaurant, over a bottle of wine. I felt like I had walked on to the set of "M*A*S*H," as Hawkeye and Trapper John cracked, wise with Frank while all three doctors performed life saving surgeries on wounded soldiers. Part of me was reassured by the matter of fact way in the hospital personnel in the operating room were talking and working, but part of me wanted to shout or yell at them to talk about the surgery, the practice of medicine in general or some other subject of a serious nature. Soon enough, though, I could tell we had arrived at a critical part of the surgery, as the banter between them ceased and conversation was limited to requests by Dr. Maikis for surgical instruments (retractor, suction, etc.) or comments about the procedure itself.
After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Maikis told Jude she had been able to make a nice incision, the same size as the baby's head. The nurse told me to get my camera ready, which I did. I let go of Jude's hand and stood up, just as we heard the sound of a baby crying. Not so much crying, as really, really wailing, like he was mad as hell at the world he had just been forced to enter. I looked across the cloth draped over Jude's chest and, for the first time, got a glimpse of our son. As I snapped a photograph of Dr. Maikis and one of the nurses holding him up, tears filled my eyes. I looked at Jude, who was also crying, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, and told her he was perfect. I hugged her and we cried a little together, overcome with emotion.
The nurse put our son in a warmer, cleaned him up, then placed him on Jude's chest. I snapped a few photographs as Jude took a good, long look at our son. He was crying, loudly, and I told Jude our son was going to be a loudmouth, just like his daddy. She smiled and nodded her head, and continued to stare at him. After a couple of minutes, the nurse put him back in the warmer, swaddled him in a blanket and handed him to me. I followed her down out of the operating room, down several halls and toward the nursery. I was terrified I was going to fall or otherwise drop him on the floor. After arriving at the nursery, I probably took a hundred photographs of our son as yet another nurse weighed him, checked his vital signs, gave him a couple of shots, gave him his first bath and shampooed his hair. Later, when they brought Jude to recovery, the nurse wheeled him in to see his mother - my beautiful, strong and amazing wife.
It's almost midnight, now, and Jude and our son are doing fine. Everyone is healthy. We kept him in the room until about 10 p.m., then I took him back to the nursery for the night. Jude is exhausted and has been napping off and on. In addition to Jude's parents, her brother, James, and my mother, Alice and Dell Walker and my sister, Tracy, stopped by to see us tonight.
The whole experience, especially seeing our son for the first time, was incredibly emotional. I need some time before I can really process what happened today and begin to understand what it all means. I do know, though, that God was with us today and blessed us with this beautiful child. I've never seen a miracle before, on this earth, but I'm pretty sure I saw one today.
This morning, March 28, 2008, at 11:11 a.m., Jude gave birth to a 7 lb, 13 oz beautiful baby boy. He's perfect in every way. Before you ask, we don't have a name, yet, although we will by tomorrow morning. Actually we have a name, but we're going to sleep on it before we make it official. And no, it's not Hannibal, Myron, Melvin or Phude.
We arrived at Baptist Hospital at 8:15 a.m., this morning, where the first order of business was to get ourselves checked in at the registration desk. About 8:45 a.m., we moved to a waiting room, where we hung out until about 9:30 a.m., when we were moved to a room. There, a melange of hospital personnel shuttled in and out of the room, asking Jude and me a variety of questions, giving her medication, poking and prodding Jude (taking blood, starting an IV, etc.) and generally preparing her for surgery.
Around 10:00 a.m. or so, the nurse anesthetist and a tech came to get Jude. They rolled the bed, or gurney, she was on down the hall, with me trailing close behind. As we made the long walk toward the operating room, I began to feel a little nervous for the first time all morning. It was nothing bad, though, just a few butterflies in my stomach. When we arrived at the double doors that opened to the hall where the operating room was, Jude and I parted ways, as I had to wait while they placed the epidural and prepped her for surgery.
I sat, alone, in a chair, for 20 to 30 minutes. For me, it was much more difficult not being with Jude than it would have been to watch them stick the needle in her spine and place the epidural. I knew she was in good hands, but I felt helpless, not being there with her. Silently, I said a prayer for her and for the baby. I checked my watch several times, but time seemed to stand still. Finally, our ob/gyn, Roseann Maikis, M.D., walked around the corner, on her way to the operating room, and greeted me warmly. She smiled, asked me if I was ready to be a daddy and told me she would send for me in a few minutes. I can't tell you how fortunate we are to have such a fantastic doctor.
Five or ten minutes later, I heard a noise, the double doors swooshed open, and a nurse told me to follow her. I stood up, put on my surgical cap and mask and followed her down the hall to the operating room, not really knowing what to expect. When I walked into the operating room, there was a bustle of activity. There were several people present, all in "scrubs," and all very busy. The nurse escorted me to a chair positioned at Jude's head and I sat down, my camera in my lap. I held Jude's hand, leaned close to her and told her I loved her. Her face was a mask of intensity and concentration, as she prepared herself, mentally, for surgery. She didn't look scared at all, just very, very focused.
There was a cloth draped over Jude about chest level, so neither she nor I could see, directly, what Dr. Maikis was doing. Dr. Maikis was positioned on Jude's left, while another doctor or a nurse was on Jude's right. The nurse anesthetist was at Jude's feet, while the anesthesiologist moved around a good bit, even leaving the room a couple of times. Another nurse was just above Jude's head, with me. Jude was conscious the whole time and able to talk, though she didn't say much. Everyone had a job to do and everyone was doing their job. It was very efficient.
As the beginning of the procedure, I must admit I was startled by the fact that the doctor or nurses assisting Dr. Maikis were engaged in a very spirited conversation about her new puppy. If I had closed my eyes, I would have sworn the conversation was taking place in a restaurant, over a bottle of wine. I felt like I had walked on to the set of "M*A*S*H," as Hawkeye and Trapper John cracked, wise with Frank while all three doctors performed life saving surgeries on wounded soldiers. Part of me was reassured by the matter of fact way in the hospital personnel in the operating room were talking and working, but part of me wanted to shout or yell at them to talk about the surgery, the practice of medicine in general or some other subject of a serious nature. Soon enough, though, I could tell we had arrived at a critical part of the surgery, as the banter between them ceased and conversation was limited to requests by Dr. Maikis for surgical instruments (retractor, suction, etc.) or comments about the procedure itself.
After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Maikis told Jude she had been able to make a nice incision, the same size as the baby's head. The nurse told me to get my camera ready, which I did. I let go of Jude's hand and stood up, just as we heard the sound of a baby crying. Not so much crying, as really, really wailing, like he was mad as hell at the world he had just been forced to enter. I looked across the cloth draped over Jude's chest and, for the first time, got a glimpse of our son. As I snapped a photograph of Dr. Maikis and one of the nurses holding him up, tears filled my eyes. I looked at Jude, who was also crying, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, and told her he was perfect. I hugged her and we cried a little together, overcome with emotion.
The nurse put our son in a warmer, cleaned him up, then placed him on Jude's chest. I snapped a few photographs as Jude took a good, long look at our son. He was crying, loudly, and I told Jude our son was going to be a loudmouth, just like his daddy. She smiled and nodded her head, and continued to stare at him. After a couple of minutes, the nurse put him back in the warmer, swaddled him in a blanket and handed him to me. I followed her down out of the operating room, down several halls and toward the nursery. I was terrified I was going to fall or otherwise drop him on the floor. After arriving at the nursery, I probably took a hundred photographs of our son as yet another nurse weighed him, checked his vital signs, gave him a couple of shots, gave him his first bath and shampooed his hair. Later, when they brought Jude to recovery, the nurse wheeled him in to see his mother - my beautiful, strong and amazing wife.
It's almost midnight, now, and Jude and our son are doing fine. Everyone is healthy. We kept him in the room until about 10 p.m., then I took him back to the nursery for the night. Jude is exhausted and has been napping off and on. In addition to Jude's parents, her brother, James, and my mother, Alice and Dell Walker and my sister, Tracy, stopped by to see us tonight.
The whole experience, especially seeing our son for the first time, was incredibly emotional. I need some time before I can really process what happened today and begin to understand what it all means. I do know, though, that God was with us today and blessed us with this beautiful child. I've never seen a miracle before, on this earth, but I'm pretty sure I saw one today.
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