i found it to be a wierd thing---walking myself into the maternity ward of spring valley hospital with rod and going up to the desk to say "i'm here to have my baby." all the guess work is gone when one has a c-section scheduled. it is sort of like ordering up a cheeseburger at in-n-out. at least it sort of felt that way at the time to me. the hospital was quiet. i was the only c-section scheduled for the next few hours at the hospital. the surgery prep room was calm and relaxing. i got all of my papers signed, IV in and other prep done with the help of a super nurse. she was from scotland and had the most amazing accent. i could have listened to her curse me out and i'd have been in heaven. she was born in scotland and then lived in alberta, canada for 20+ years. so rod and i hit it off with her from the start! she was everything you'd wish from a nurse who is prepping you and taking you into megga surgery. i felt like i was in good hands. i was grateful for the shower i'd had that morning. i felt good going into surgery. i was overly aware of everything going on around me. it was as if my mind were snapping thousands of photos to try and remember every detail.
my mom and dad and jeri christoffersen were out in the waiting room. each of them took a turn coming back to see me just before i went in to surgery. jeri christoffersen has been a long-time family friend. her husband was the ob that delivered my mom's twins and jeri was a nurse before having children. when i had the twins my parents were in serbia. i remember waking up just after the c-section was over and it was jeri i saw standing over me checking me IV. she was right there for me where my mom would have been. it meant so much to me that she would do that. here again she was with us. and this time it was extra special to have my mom there. it is a shame that only rod could come into the operating room. i understand the reasoning but it would have been so incredibly special to have had my mom and dad there. i felt like we had all invested so much into getting this baby to be.
i walked down the hall and into the operating room. again, my senses were on overload. i first heard rock music. the technician apparently likes a little heavy metal music to work to. i felt like i walked onto a movie set like in city of angels or something. the operating room is just where some people work--like a cubicle of sorts. it is a comfortable place for everyone working in there. i was the only one a little on alert. i remember the table seeming incredibly high and very narrow and wondering how on earth i would not fall off of it once i got up on it. the most painful part of the entire operation was the full epidural. it shocked me at how sharp the pain in my back was and i could immediately feel my right leg go numb. i mean it was immediate! again, that just made me tense and then i was helped on my back and my legs were lifted up and layed directly in front of me on the table. the curtain to obstruct my view was raised just below my chin. my doctor and his partner came in and set to work. there was a brief greeting to me by my doctor. he was all business. this again was nothing like my previous delivery of the twins where dr. lewis came and put her hands on my cheeks and told me everything was going to be just fine. no. this was as if the head portion of my body were a separate entity from the middle of my body. as the doctors worked i could smell burning flesh. that was terrible and i kept asking rod to tell me exactly what was happening. it all happened so quickly. i remember the doctors talking shop so to speak. they were chit chatting about something completely unrelated to me and the surgery at hand. and then i heard comments like, " i think we have a 9 pounder here. oh wait, maybe a 10 pounder!" and the other doctor or tech made the comment, "i think he is bigger than 10! and he is very blessed in the plumbing department!" my little boy made a big enterance. he shocked the doctors at his size. the nurse weighed him and announced that he was a whopping 10 pounds 9 ounces! i also distinctly remember the doctor announcing his time of birth: 13:03 pm. (1:03 pm). it was official we had our boy. when he was just out of me and everyone was amazed at his size, my anesetheologist told my OB to hold up the baby so i could see. he lowered the curtain in front of me just a little and i saw my boy. he was huge! i could hardly believe he had just been inside me. i had no idea how i carried that big of a baby! no wonder when he moved and kicked i was in pain and discomfort! "it is good to have him be big," i thought.
we had chosen the name for the baby the night before. he would be named samuel hudson streets. samuel means "god has heard" in hebrew. this seemed more than appropriate for the case of this baby. it had been a long time we had been praying to have another child. his arrival was the answer to so many prayers not just of our own but of our family members as well. it was the right name for him. hudson is the surname of rod's best friend and the family that he always wanted to be part of when growing up. to be a hudson means you are taught and value hard work. you embrace the gospel of jesus christ and you create a strong family. there is so much good meaning that rod and i attach to the name hudson. in part because of the hudson's father and sons examples, rod is the husband, father and man he is today.
rod went to sam to the nursery and my mom was able to go in there and see sam right away and be with him. i was still on the operating table taking comfort in the fact that my doctor told me i had "good guts" as he shoved all of my innards back inside of me. i suppose that was meant as a compliment. odd compliment if you ask me but i was stuck there and couldn't do anything but listen to the chatter while they put me back together. once i was closed up my doctor congratulated me and then he was off. everyone left hoisted my limp body to a regular bed and i was wheeled back into the post op bay. i had the oddest sensation that my legs were turned outward with my feet pointing out to the sides. but when i looked down at my feet they were directly in front of me pointing up to the ceiling. being numb from the waist down is a little disconcerting! my mind would think i was moving my legs but nothing was happening. i could not get them to move no matter how much i willed it in my mind. such an odd thing! my mom came in and talked to me the entire time i was in there. i was itching already from the anesethia. but i had no desire to take any benadryl which would put me to sleep. i wanted to be awake the entire time. the time passed fairly quickly and i was wheeled in that bed down to my hospital room.
i waited there for a short time before rod came in and brought sam in from the nursery. my mom and my dad came with jack and morgan. everyone was there to welcome sam! it was a special hour there first meeting sam. jack and morgan were amazed by him. they held him and touched his hands and feet and face. my mom held him. it was the first of my babies she has ever held! he seemed so big! he was so big. he was swollen--seemingly full of fluid like a chicken that had been roasting for a long time. he was plump! everything had a sense of newness to it. he was new to us and we were new to him. he was new for the boys. he was new to eating and he was new to seeing lights. what a wild thing it must be for a new born to come to this world! i knew we would all be able to adjust to having him now in our family. i just needed to heal and get home soon.
welcome samuel hudson streets! we love you---all 10 pounds 9 ounces of you!
walking to the o.r. with my nurse.
congratulations!! sounds like we had the same nurse :)
Posted by: Jamie | December 02, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Wow! What a blessing! He is just precious and we are all so happy for you guys. Congratulations. Thanks for sharing your good news. Such a gift.
Posted by: Kathy Edds | December 02, 2011 at 07:54 AM
Lesli,
I have just wept with joy for you as a family as I read these two posts about Samuel's birth. I'm really so, so happy for you. Congratulations! It is a wonderful thing to welcome a new little person and I am excessively pleased for you.
Posted by: Katherine Barrus | December 01, 2011 at 11:54 AM