I wrapped up Part I when Honey and Parker met me exiting the triage room on a bed as the nurse announced: we're having a baby! And off we went to the delivery room. Oh and I had just found out there would be no time for an epidural. Right.
I remember very little about the delivery room. There were people scurrying around the room getting everything ready. I knew that Honey had Parker but my contractions were so fast and hard I couldn't focus on anything except why weren't they going faster? I need to have this baby!!
Honey filled me in on some of the details of the moments before Grant's birth:
- As soon as we got to the Labor & Delivery room, Honey smelled an unmistakable dirty diaper. He quickly started changing Parker on the shelf/window sill. As he was busy working, he heard a nurse exclaim - Oh my gosh, we've got a dirty diaper in here and we're about to have a baby! Later we laughed about that!
- He was just pulling Parker's pants up when a nurse offered to help and then finished dressing Parker for him.
- Meanwhile he was handed a stack of papers to sign and before he could even sign the first one the doctor called for him to come and grab my hand, it was finally time!
- The nurse who had Parker took him into the hallway to entertain him. (And also to not scar him for life.)
When the next contraction hit, I pushed, and amazingly, Grant Henry was born! We heard his cries and the doctor put him on my chest where we could see him.
It was 7:56 p.m. We had only been at the hospital for a total of 13 minutes. And we were parents. Our little Grant Henry was here! He weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 18 inches long. He was pure perfection!
They took him to the incubator to get him cleaned up. The nurse who had taken Parker out brought him back into the room. He was confused and scared and crying! He was grateful to be back with his Daddy but since he had heard me yelling he was very concerned about me. While the team finished with me, Honey and Parker took a few minutes to go say hello to little Grant who was just getting swaddled in the incubator. Parker was very interested in his little brother, and for the moment, forgot to be worried about me.The NICU nurse brought Grant over to the bed and we all had a few quick moments together as a family of four and I held him briefly before he was taken to the NICU to be assessed. Since Grant was six to seven weeks early we knew that he would need to be in the NICU for a couple of weeks. We've been down this very same road almost two years ago.
At this point Parker was over it and was reaching for me, still very unsettled with all that was going on, and clearly in need of reassurance, so Honey put him in the bed next to me. He stayed put for the next two hours and fussed at anyone who he thought might take him from me.
Here we are still in the delivery room, me in the top I wore that day.
We had some sweet visitors right away; our friends came down to see if they could help us with Parker. We had talked with them a few weeks back about keeping him when we went to the hospital but since Grant came so quickly, there was no time to get Parker to them! It was so nice to have visitors and we enjoyed visiting and sharing the story with them!
We fed Parker his dinner (Honey had thrown something together while I was packing my bag at home) and the three of us just smiled in disbelief about how our Sunday ended up. We called our families to share the news.
Just as I was getting a little bit sad, thinking about my parents on their trip to Israel and not getting to share this big news with them until the next day, my phone rang. It was 6 a.m. in Israel and my mom was calling to check on me before they left to board their flight home! It was so wonderful to get to share the story of Grant's birth with them! Of course both of our mothers made preparations to get to Kansas just as soon as possible!
Once Grant was settled in the NICU, Honey went to see him while I snugged with Parker Bear. This would be our first night in his 22 months on Earth that we would be apart. I savored those snuggles so much!
It was getting late so Honey and Parker headed home around 10 p.m. There was no point in my husband staying with me that night since Grant would be in the NICU on a different floor anyway. I knew he would be better off reassuring a concerned Parker and getting a good nights sleep at home. After all there would be plenty of time, weeks even, of spending time together in a hospital right? As seasoned NICU parents, we knew that to be true!
Once I saw them off I went to the NICU to spend some time with Baby Grant. And I've been here every day since...
I'll post soon about our time here in the NICU (today is day #11), how Grant is doing, and when we hope to be going home! Thank you for reading our story. We are so thrilled to have Baby Grant join our family!
Once I saw them off I went to the NICU to spend some time with Baby Grant. And I've been here every day since...
I'll post soon about our time here in the NICU (today is day #11), how Grant is doing, and when we hope to be going home! Thank you for reading our story. We are so thrilled to have Baby Grant join our family!
I love your story!!! Congrats on a beautiful baby boy!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your beautiful baby boy. Hope everyone is doing well! -hugs friend!
ReplyDeleteHe's a beautiful baby =) I hope you all get to be together at home soon!
ReplyDeleteWhat. a. rush. I cannot believe in THIRTEEN minutes upon arriving you had little Grant. That is kind of mind blowing.
ReplyDeleteWe've been praying that your family of 4 will all be under one roof soon!
Praises to God that you got to the hospital just in time and that Grant was born healthy for his age!
ReplyDelete