We arrived at the hospital at 7 am. The morning was so beautiful, we drove just as the sun was rising up and over the mountains. We checked in and a nurse came in and told us how excited she was for us because of the nurse we had been assigned. She told us our nurse not only delivered her (that nurse's) first child but had also helped delivered her :) Her name is Annette and man what a cool lady we instantly loved her (I did not like my nurse with Mr. B so this was a massive improvement starting out).
She took my medical history (pretty squiky clean) and was incredibly impressed but I warned her my low blood pressure had been a problem with Mr. B's delivery and she she started me on fluids immediately. She had an adorable BYU nursing student who we also loved, she along with her instructor did my IV which sadly took about 3 tries (also better than with Mr. B).
After the fluids we opted for an epidural before the contractions got intense. The anesthesiologist was really careful with his placement but it sadly took 6 pokes to get it in place. My back looks like a dart board :) He got it placed right as the contractions got painful. Then we waited, and two hours later my Midwife checked me and since I had made no progress we opted to have her break my water. That certainly got the show on the road and within about 2 hours I was ready to push.
The darling med student had never witnessed a birth so even though she got to go home at 1pm she decided to stay upon hearing I was ready to go :) The little man was in sideways (his head) so my Midwife, and my nurse helped me push gently so the man could make his grand entrance, and less than a half hour later the little man was on my chest all snugly and happily eating. We were instantly in love, little baby Hoden came at 1:25pm weighing 7 lb 15 oz, 20 inch long with a perfect double chin.
He ate for another hour after they did all of his newborn testing, and happily sucked on a binky the rest of the afternoon. We kept trying to feed him after that and every time he refused, got very angry and then was soothed by being held. He is so calm and so easy going. The poor kid started spitting up amniotic fluid and seemed really gassy Sadly he kept refusing to eat. The nurse started me pumping and we tried to feed him by syringe but he could not keep anything down. We grew concerned talked to the pediatrician who told us to be patient and just enjoy holding and loving him. Which we did :) and we are so blessed for that opportunity. Our time with him was so incredibly special, a true slice of heaven.
At 9 pm on Friday night our pediatrician did an x ray and found an intestinal blockage and told us he would need to be immediately transferred to a bigger hospital for surgery asap. I was discharged at midnight, no wheel chair, no send off and worst of all no baby :(
He ended up getting more testing and had surgery the next afternoon where they learned the blockage was a severe atresia (gap in the intestine or bowel). They could not repair it so he was given a colostomy bag that will remain in place until he is about 6 months old and the gap can be repaired. He will remain in the NICU until he recovers from surgery and learns to eat. We love him so much and have witnessed such an outpouring of love and support for family and for which we are incredibly thankful. Thank you so much for caring about us.
