For a while now I have been wanting to write down my thoughts and memories about when each child was born. So, today is as good of a day as any to write down the story of Owen being born. Yes I know this is almost 2 and a half years later but I have never written it down and should do it before I forget all the details. This is a post more for me, so if you don't have to read I won't judge you for skipping.
Most of you know I am Type 1 diabetic. Because of that, for both of my pregnancies I was considered high risk. One of the problems with being diabetic and pregnant is that I can have big babies from increased blood sugar levels. From 30 weeks on 2x a week I go in for a Non Stress Test, in addition to that I would visit my Dr at the clinic and I would visit my endocrinologist. Needless to say by the end I was sick of appointments. Even though I had good control of my diabetes they expected me to have a big baby. Every time I went in they informed me how big my baby was. I had an ultrasound at 30 weeks and they predicted that at that point Owen weighed about 6lbs. Not only did I have a big baby but I had a lot of amniotic fluid. So add those two things together and I was huge. I was hoping that I could do a vaginal birth but my Dr felt that Owen was too big and it would be best to schedule a C-Section when I was 38 and a half weeks. I was sad but had full confidence in my Dr. Here is a picture to see how big I was 2 days before Owen was born.
My C-Section was scheduled for Monday Oct 25, 2010 at 7:30am and we needed to be there 2 hours early. Since this was considered a surgery I could not eat or drink anything after midnight. I had a really bad cold with an awful cough. When I got to the hospital, I felt very dehydrated. Even though I was not in labor, I felt like I was having contractions every minute or less. They told me that dehydration can make it feel like you are going into labor. I was really nervous and in a lot of pain from the fake contrations. While waiting to go to the OR I remember I would lay on the bed, then sit up and then stand and then do that over and over. I could not sit still because I was in pain and also because I was a nervous wreck. They were running a little late so they didn't take me back to the OR until about 7:45. The moment I walked into the OR it was FREEZING. It was so cold I started shaking uncontrolably. The moment they put the spinal in me I turned goofy....and warm! The pain was instantly gone, I said some weird things to the nurses (that I won't repeat) and I just talked a lot. They brought Joe in and had him sit next to me on my left hand side. The drape was up so I couldn't see anything. I could just feel them tugging and pulling. Someone told Joe to stand up because they were pulling Owen out. When they pulled him out all I heard was a nurse proclaiming "Look at those cheeks!" I couldn't hear him crying and I was so concerned so all I said to Joe was "He's not crying, is he ok?" a moment later he started to cry. The best sound I could have heard. They cleaned him up and then let Joe bring him to me. He looked so precious wrapped up like a burrito and all I could see were his huge cheeks. Everyone was saying how big he looked but all I could think was that he didn't look that big to me. Joe and Owen went to the nursery and they stitched me up. I vividly remember hearing them do a count making sure that they didn't leave any tools or sponges inside me before they sewed me up. They took me in the recovery room (the big thing I remember about this was throwing up and shaking a LOT when coming off the anesthesia) and I think it was one of the pediatric residents or interns coming into the room and asking me to guess how much Owen weighed. At this point I still hadn't held him and all I had seen was a little bit of his face. I said "I don't know, 10 something", the nurse guessed something in the 10lb range and the guy excitedly proclaimed, "No, he was 11lbs 11oz!" I was floored. No wonder I was so uncomfortable! Owen had to be on oxygen so I didn't get to see him or hold him until about 6 hours after he was born. I kept pestering the nurses and aides to see when I could see him. I couldn't leave my bed because at that point I was bedrest and he couldn't leave the nursery because he was on oxygen. They brought him in to me and he had to be accompanied by a nurse. I was able to hold him and do skin to skin. After about a half hour I was getting really tired and so they took him back to the nursery. About 45 minutes later the nurses called my room and said that Owen was doing better and could stay with me. I really feel that the skin to skin really helped him to get better. We weren't sure what we were going to name Owen. It was between Owen and Cooper. Joe really like Cooper and I liked Owen, more for the fact that we were planning his middle name to be Christopher and Cooper Christopher Keyes was quite a mouthful. Joe had spent a lot of time with Owen while I was recovering. After I was able to hold Owen, Joe and I were able to have a moment alone. I asked Joe what he was thinking for the name. He told me that his name should be Owen. I was so excited becuase after I had held him I still felt like his name should be Owen and I was glad Joe felt the same way. Also we felt Owen was a good name for a strong boy. Owen was the hit of the hospital! Most of the staff had heard of the big baby boy that was born and they all told me how handsome he was. I felt that he was so handsome but it is always nice hearing others tell you that about your child. I never thought I would like such huge cheeks, but how can you not love those huge things?! Here are some pictures from the day he was born. Owen Christopher Keyes 10/25/10 11lbs 11oz 21.5 inches
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