Wow. It’s been a crazy ride with an amazing end. I’ll start with day one, Monday the 16th. We had our (hopefully) last doctors visit at around 9:45am. Tamara still had not dilated at all. The doctor asked us about inducing to which we quickly replied ASAP. So, we ended up at the hospital around 6ish that night to start the induction process. We started off the process with a light but anxious mood. The delivery room was nice, very hotel like. We fell asleep with hopes and dreams of a St. Patty’s Day baby.
4am I awake on a pull out chair bed, little did I know it pulled out even further than I had thought. The nurse tells us we will start the oxytocin induction at 4:30. Oxytocin causes contractions. I have some coffee, Tamara starts having mild contractions and is dilated to .5cm. She starts having pretty good contractions. When I say good, I mean they hurt. The nurse gave her some pain meds and Tamara got a little loopy. “I feel like I’m riding down an elevator”. Out of nowhere Aton’s heartbeat drops, the nurses run in and takes Tamara off of the oxytocin and put her on oxygen. I’m sure you can imagine that that was pretty scary. Everything went back to normal and the oxytocin was started again. 4pm it’s pretty apparent that we are not having a baby that day, although she had dilated to about a 3. Around 6pm she is taken off of the oxytocin. We are told we will start the whole process again at 4:30 the next morning. Good thing I discovered that the pull out chair extended another 3 feet or so. This night would be better.
4am, March 18th. The nurse comes in and check Tamara’s vitals. She tells us that we will start again at 4:30. The day is eager. The night was long. Here we go. Tamara starts hurting. The kind of hurting that you don’t like to see anyone going through. 6:30am I have to leave the room. The anesthesiologist had to drive up from home to administer the epidural. Tamara’s face when I came back in was full of relief. Epidurals are awesome. She had begun to dilate slowly. My grandparents came into town. 11:30 am, I walked with my grandpa to Sevi’s Burritos. Mmmm Sevi’s. We both enjoyed sausage and egg burritos. Paid, tipped, and leaving my phone rings. My mom was ecstatic. “She is at an 8, you better hurry!”. So I ran back to the hospital. She was now dilating fast. With everyone out of the room but Tamara’s mom and I, the room started to transform. The table got smaller. Stirrups arose from below. Lights dropped down from the ceiling, and there was blue papery cloth placed on about everything within several feet. The doctor, who had been sick and called into work, had one job to do that day. Deliver our baby son. “You’re doing good babe, push!”. After pushing and pushing the doctor used forceps and pulled our little animal out of his mom. I didn’t get to cut the cord. It was wrapped around his little neck. Being washed and checked out, I stood in awe of this tiny little creature. Half me and half the woman I love. His eyes a lovely smokey dark blue hue and wide open. He is amazing. 3:12pm, 7 pounds and 5oz. 20 inches long. God damn right, it was a beautiful day. The day of March the 18th 2009. The day I became a father.
That night and the next two days we were in the hospital. Learning the ins and outs of nursing and changing. The nurses were all very nice and helpful. What a crazy job. We got to go home on Friday the 20th. We’ve been getting into our little routines and are working on getting as much sleep as possible. Aton is so beautiful. We are very proud, much like all of his grandparents. Thanks for all the love everyone. Thanks for EVERYTHING.
