Now that I have a little downtime, here’s a little bit more on how this whole thing went down …
… Luckily, we got a good night’s sleep Thursday night, which had been a little rare in the days leading up, given some of our last-minute preparations and the fury of the Kansas game. But on Thursday night, we could barely stay awake long enough to watch our favorite shows (By the way, both "30 Rock" and "The Office" were classic ...). And by 9:30, I was zonked out on the couch and Kates was rustling me to go to bed with her …
On Friday, we both went to work, knowing it would be our last days before the baby was born. Both of us were set to begin our leave time on Monday, even though we really didn't expect the baby to come for another couple days…
We figured we’d be waiting through another weekend, and maybe she’d come Monday. If not then, we were set to go to the hospital at 6 a.m. Tuesday for an induction, which neither of us were thrilled about. Not only did we want to avoid our child being labeled a “tax baby” for the rest of her life, we desperately wanted to have the baby naturally …
But at about 4:15 Friday afternoon -- as I was trying to wrap up some of my last assignments and leave the office with a clean slate -- Kates called. She had just gotten home from school, and her water broke … After I hung up the phone, I shared some sweet moments with some of my office cohorts. And then I was off to become a father ...
At the house, Kates was waiting. With all the bags packed, all I had to do was gather them and load them into the car. Then, at 4:45, we were making the five minute-drive to the hospital …
We quickly got settled into a delivery room and at around 6, Kates was being hooked up to an IV. That, however, was when things went a little awry …
Kates normally has really low blood pressure, but it skyrocketed soon after she got the IV. She also started having severe pains at the base of her skull -- pains that were worse than the contractions, she said … As the nurses and doctor began to understand what was happening, we were hearing a lot of dreaded words like seizures, preeclampsia and c-section. The nurses would tell us later how nervous they and the doctor were; they said Kates was a “ticking time bomb.”
At about 8 p.m., the nurses began feeding her magnesium to ease the headaches. The nurses also had convinced her to lay on her side, which she had resisted initially. And we darkened the room … At about 8:20, she was still just 4 cm dilated, but the positive effects of the magnesium were starting to kick in. By 9 p.m., Kates’s contractions were starting to pick up, becoming stronger and more consistent.
At around 10:15, Kates got the epidural administered -- by a good-humored anesthesiologist, who compared its effects to driving with the cruise control on a highway. Pretty cool.
At 10:45 p.m., another check showed Kates was 6 cm dilated. And by 11, both of us were taking the nurses’ advice and trying to get some sleep. I did get a little, but every time I was about to get into a deep vibe, a nurse came to check Kates …
I also was getting the feeling the next hours were going to go fast, and they did. Once she got past those first difficult hours, Kates mental state and focus seemed to only get better as time passed. I was absolutely amazed, impressed and proud of how well she handled all of it … Even when the nurses were willing to give her a break, she refused and kept pushing with each contraction …
Then, at 3:44 a.m., Phoebe was born … As they say, it’s hard to explain the experience until you’ve been through it. That’s true. After nine months of planning and anticipation, those moments of finally hearing that first cry and seeing her … Amazing to say the least.
Kates and I were so sure we were having a boy. So sure … So when doctor laid her on Kates belly and announced we had a daughter, it made our decision to keep her gender a surprise so much sweeter ... Sure, a boy would have been great, too, but we really wanted the experience of having a daughter, and we badly wanted to use the name Phoebe ...
Of course, now a lot of people are asking how we came up with the name … Phoebe actually was the name of one of Kates’s great aunts, and Joanne comes from Kates’s mother. We adored the name from the first moments we started talking about it, and never looked back … For those of you interested in the bible reference, she can be found in the New Testament in Romans 16:1. … That Kates and I are huge fans of the show "Friends" is just a bonus ... And already a few people have referred to her as P.J., which Kates and I had discussed as a nickname we would welcome …
We've only just begun ...
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