Full Disclosure: Beckett's Birth Story, Part II

Well, this has taken me longer to finish than I planned... Beckett is now one month old! So it's definitely time to wrap up the birth story since there are certainly other things to write about by now. PLENTY of other things. :) So, same deal... The text below is from dad, with my additional comments in italics.

Mom was in surgery a short time later and dad was able to join her. As our "Relaxation Soundtrack" played in the background the doctors quickly conducted the C-Section and mom and dad smiled upon hearing the first cries. On the other side of the curtain, exclamations of "look at the size of him" erupted from much of the room and dad was invited to come see his baby for the first time while the doctors began stitching mom up. Dad cut the umbilical cord and got to carry baby over to mom for the first time.

Wow. This is quite the brief summary. This was a far more emotional and scary experience than my husband lets on. There were tears before heading into surgery. Both because I was disappointed and because I was scared. By then we did believe that it was a necessary decision, but that didn't make it less scary. Once we agreed to the surgery, things started happening very quickly. Within 30 minutes I was signing paperwork and being wheeled into the operating room. Chris was asked to wait outside while they prepped me. I think there were about 6 people in the room, including my two doctors. I was given the drugs and went numb from basically my chest down. A blue drape was put up right beneath me chin so I couldn't see anything that was happening at all. Then Chris was allowed to join me.

The anesthesiologist was nice enough to walk me through the process--'they're making the incision now' 'you're going to feel lots of pressure' 'big tug now'. This was so surreal. I felt no pain, but definitely felt tugging and pulling as my baby was removed from my body. Weird. Once the docs started cutting, it only took about ten minutes for us to hear our baby's first cries. Relief. Happy tears.

Beckett Alexander Ludwig was born at 10:23am on his due date of November 27th. He measured 22in long and tipped the scales at a mighty 10lbs. 2oz. The head of the nursery who did the initial measurements indicated that his weight didn't tell the whole story. Apparently his head was among the largest she had seen at 38cm. In the recovery room, mom and Beckett were able to bond skin to skin and initiate breastfeeding immediately. Following the delivery, mom, dad, and Beckett spent three nights in the hospital and were able to come home on the morning of Wednesday, November 30th.

Again, this is a brief summary. After our not so little man emerged, Dad was allowed to come over to see him and cut the umbilical cord. Measurements were taken. Suctioning was done because of the meconium. Apgar scores were taken (9 and 9, with a point taken off for very blue feet). Meanwhile, I waited anxiously to see my son and the doctors stitched and glued me up. Finally, dad carried Beckett over to me and I saw him for the first time. How amazing. I couldn't touch him yet thanks to all the tubes in my arms. I had also stated shaking uncontrollably from the anesthesia. Shortly thereafter, dad and baby went to the nursery for more checks and the docs finished with me. They wheeled me in to recovery and dad and baby joined me shortly. Finally, finally, I was allowed to hold my baby. We got the skin-to-skin contact that I was hoping for. We were also able to initiate breastfeeding. I truly believe that it was this early contact and the fact that we roomed in and allowed on-demand feeding that helped my milk come in faster and be of an adequate supply. H strange to be holding the creature that had lived inside me for so many months. He was beautiful. And ours. How unbelievable. After about 30 minutes or so, the nurse took baby away briefly for his first bath and for all the necessary medical procedures. Vitamin k shot and antibiotic eye ointment, etc. All the things that we requested they wait on so that we could bond for awhile. He wasn't gone long and then we were all moved back into our hospital room.

Now going on two weeks old, Beckett has had two visits to his pediatrician to verify that his weight gain was as desired and that he was getting all that he needed from mom. Having lost about 10% of his weight (1lb.) during our hospital stay, which we're told is not unusual, the doctors wanted to see that he gained at least 3oz. back by this Wednesday. He had gained 10oz. Mom and dad were thrilled to know that the breastfeeding that we were working so hard on was paying off well.

While our birth story didn't exactly go the way we had hoped, it is our firm belief that going through the labor process as we did led to the milk production that Beckett requires and, furthermore, that without our training we would not have been able to even make it as far as we did through labor, let alone know how and when to make the choices that we did.

This is obviously only the story of Beckett's birth. At some point I hope to share more about his early days in the hospital and at home. As I mentioned, Beckett has been with us for one month now. It has both flown and dragged. Been incredibly difficult and rewarding. There have been many tears, but just as many laughs. Parenthood is a crazy ride. And it has only just begun.