The Day of Delivery

So because of paperwork, bloodwork, prep time, etc- we had to arrive at the hospital by 4am Friday morning. Add stress and travel time, and that left us with about 3 hours of sleep. After participating in certain procedures at school, I swore I'd never have a million things done- however, I suffered through the general C-section, having an epidural ( I HATE the feeling of losing control), having blood work attempted to be drawn while dehydrated (since I was NPO for at least 10 hours prior)- so several blown veins before we found a good spot, and then the infamous catheter. I couldn't contain my nerves, and if it weren't for Dave being there, I don't know what I would've done. Time flew and before I knew it they were wheeling me into the OR. Dave was able to be there by my side and I experienced the outer body experience of feeling someone pulling, tugging, and removing something from me- but without the pain or actual sensations... It was horribly terrifying. However, when I heard his first cry, I lost it. Dave was able to capture some on video, which we posted one of the clips before. He was small (4 lbs, 2oz) but was active, alert, and overall looking healthy. Aside from my own stress and trauma of having to wait in post-op while allowing the epidural to wear off, Dave was able to go down with Chase to be set up in the NICU, cleaned and kept for observation. I was a mess, but determined to see my baby was in a chair by 6pm that night. By the next morning I was walking the chair back and forth between my floor and his, doing everything I could to be there. The nurses think I'm nuts. But seeing him and holding him was (and is) better than any pain medication I could have. I was fairly out of it that day, and don't recall exactly all the details of conversations, but I do know how it felt to hold him... what a surreal day to survive!