Baby Chase

Baby Chase is finally here! He arrived on July 24th at 7:59 am weighing 8 lb 2 oz and was 20" long. Here are some pics of our little Chase...

Even though we had a c-section with Braedyn, we weren't expecting it... so it all happened rather quickly. But this time around, we were very aware of everything going on, perhaps too aware. I instructed Ben in advance to take lots of pictures right after Chase was born, as we were lacking these with Braedyn.

So things get going in the operating room... after receiving the spinal, I became pretty nauseous because my blood pressure was dropping due to not being pumped with enough fluids before surgery. The anesthesiologist gave me a shot of something, and the nausea subsided. (sidenote: the anesthesiologist, who we'll call John, stays up near my head the whole time, basically giving me a play-by-play of what's going on if things seem out of the ordinary in an effort to keep me calm.) At this point, Ben comes in with his scrubs and sits behind the curtain next to me. As the doctors go to get Baby Chase out, they had a tough time as he was jammed up under my ribs. I felt a ton of pressure from the nurse who was using my body like a trampoline, as she pushed and pushed trying to get Chase down and out. Obviously, all this pushing was not pleasant and Ben was watching me endure all of this through my facial expressions, which I think kinda sent him over the top, because he told me once or twice that he was starting to feel really nauseous.

Thankfully Chase finally came out, and as they were cleaning him up, the doctor told Ben he could take pictures now. Ben stands up to take some pictures and after taking two pictures, I hear him say "Is it okay if I step out for a minute, I'm feeling kinda whoozy." Now at this point, I can no longer see Ben, I can only hear what's going on. Ben starts to walk towards the door, and I hear John saying "someone sit him down now, get him a stool". Apparently the nurse froze and didn't move, and John says again "he's really white, get him down, get him down". Okay... at this point, my first thought is "oh my gosh, whatever you do, please don't fall down on my doctor, who's standing over me with sharp tools". Next thing I know, John says to me "your husband is out, flat out on the ground, but he'll be okay". (Apparently another male doctor rushed over there and caught Ben as he was falling.) I hear them trying to tend to Ben - who was only passed out for a few seconds - but at the same time trying to tend to Baby Chase and myself. And as Ben was laying on the ground, he says "ummm, I think I need a spinal now too". ::shaking head from side-to-side::

So they finally get Ben out of the OR, but then I realize there are more issues as I hear my OB say to John "it's not looking right, is it?" and John looks over the curtain to see what my OB is pointing to, and says "no, it's not". Okay, call me crazy, but this is the last thing a patient wants to hear as she's laying wide open on the operating table. I think John saw the panic in my face because then he starts to quickly explain to me that my uterus isn't contracting back down, which is prolonging them putting me back together. So he tells me he's going to give me a shot in my arm which will take care of the situation. And within seconds of getting the shot, things get back on track. The nurse brings Baby Chase by me so I can see him, and says to me before she leaves the room "don't worry, we're going to take good care of Chase... and your husband".

So the good news is that Mom, Dad and Baby made it through this ordeal. Ben says all he remembers is walking towards the door and next thing he knew he was staring up at the ceiling tiles. We all finally came home on Saturday, but unfortunately, me and Baby Chase come home to Ben - who now has strep throat, and Braedyn - who is starting to get sick himself. Aaaaahhhh, these are good times....