365 Days

In my previous post, I wrote about this time last year. It really got me thinking even more. You've seen the movies and television shows where the family goes into a total panic as they head to the hospital, often forgetting the luggage or the soon to be mother... Our experience was nothing like that. So, let's go down memory lane...

It was a normal Wednesday. I was in the office early and Courtney had a doctor's appointment. Courtney called, and she was in tears. She was sure the doctor was going to suggest she be induced. You see, we had already spent a couple hours in the hospital on Monday. 1 minute contractions, 5 minutes apart. We thought we were moving forward with this whole thing. Now it was Wednesday, so we were assuming we were going to hear some news. Courtney was anxious to meet her little boy, but she was more motivated to be done with this thing we call pregnancy. She and I both struggle with patience. Besides, Romey was supposed to be born on the 6th, and he was supposed to come early. Now it's the 7th and the doctor doesn't even hint at inducing. So, this tearful phone call was completely understandable. Even though we knew it wasn't time yet, it was still hard.

So, the day went on like any other Wednesday. My schedule was a little light that day, so I spent a lot of time at my desk. I don't remember sitting and waiting for a phone call, but I'm sure I had some of those thoughts running through my head. I did make one trip home at lunch to bring her a "non-exercise" birthing ball. :-) I'm not sure if those things work, but every room in the hospital has one. Anyway, after work, I decided to take Courtney out for dinner since it had been a stressful day. We went to Archer's Tavern, a local restaurant owned by a member of our church. A friend of ours had told us that this restaurant was getting slow. We had never experienced that any time we had been there, but I thought it would be interesting to time them. I know it's kind of a weird thing to do, but I was intrigued. Sometime during dinner, Courtney started feeling contractions again. We were a little skeptical since we had just gone through this two days before. We noticed her contractions were about 1 minute in length and about 7 minutes apart. This didn't seem like anything to worry about, so we continued with our dinner. By the way, the service was speedy and the dinner was quite good.

After dinner, Courtney wanted to walk around for a little bit and she was planning on going to a birthday party the following day and needed to buy a gift for her friend. So, we went to the Greene. While we were walking around, Courtney asked me to time her contractions again. This time they were 5 minutes apart, but she was feeling fine. We spent about an hour at the Greene and then she started feeling like she needed to sit down. I decided it was best to just go home. It wasn't too hot, but being in the air-conditioned house would probably feel a little better.

Once we got back to the house, Courtney wanted to take a nap. I got her a glass of water and decided to take the dog on a walk. I kept feeling we needed to go to the hospital. But, I wanted her to make that call. While I was outside, I called her parents and told them what was going on. Since they live 6 hours away, I thought it best for them to get on the road and come down. Courtney doesn't want to ever inconvenience anyone, so if she had known what I was doing, it would not have worked out well for me. :-) Upon returning to the house, I could tell Courtney was in a lot of pain. I suggested we go to the hospital, but I understood why she was hesitant. By this time, she was about 3 minutes between contractions, so I was able to convince her. By the time we got to the hospital, around 8:00, we had called/texted family members to let them know what was going on. We had packed our bags two weeks prior, so everything was ready to go. Things were calm, but slightly unnerving as we were anticipating what was to come.

Once at the hospital, Courtney was checked out and then told that nothing had changed since the morning so we should go home... not the words an expectant mother wants to hear. I knew how disappointed she was, so I asked the nurse what her opinion was of the situation. I could tell she was hesitant to send us home, but that's what the doctor had said through a phone call. I was totally afraid of Courtney going into labor while I was driving her home. In my mind, leaving wasn't an option. The nurse agree to keep us for a while, but suggest we go on a walk. So, we spent the next three hours walking the narrow hallways of Kettering Hospital.

Finally, around 11:30, Courtney was checked out again and we were told we were going to be admitted. That was such a relief. At this time, Courtney's parents were about two hours into their trip after they had taken care of their dog and house. My parents only live about an hour away, so travel time wasn't the issue for them. Once settled in the delivery room, it was a nice change of pace and scenery. Being after midnight, Courtney was exhausted. Now it was a waiting game for us. To complicate things a little bit, we had a photographer coming to take pictures. (If you ever need a birthing photographer, Melissa Dorner was awesome for us and we highly recommend her... a little plug). Communicating with everyone was my job while Courtney tried to get some rest.

Rest didn't happen for long because Romey decided he was tired of waiting too. :-)When Courtney's parents and the photographer arrived, Courtney was able to completely relax. I woke my parents up around 4:30 and told them they might want to start driving down to see us. Time was ticking and Romey was on his way!! The nurse, Sue, was busy taking care of many things as well as taking care of another couple down the hall. Night time delivery rooms are a little quiet and have a smaller staff. But, she was wonderful. With Romey on his way, it was time for Courtney to get down to business and me to do whatever I was told. With the doctor running late, I was assigned to way more than I was expecting. In fact, I had every intention of staying north of the equator. Sue had different plans for me. Plus, she kept telling us how beautiful Romey's hair was and she couldn't wait for us to see it. When Sue starting pacing in and out of the room, I began to get a little nervous too. With the doctor not there, things could get complicated. Finally, the doctor arrived, sat down and finalized the prepping. I think he sat down for a total of two minutes before our little bundle of joy had taken his first breath here on earth. In what seems like a total blur, Romey was in our arms by 6:30 Thursday. It was totally unbelievable. In less than 12 hours, we had been to the hospital and had our baby. Wow!!

Exhausted, even Romey wanted to fall asleep right away. It had been a long night. While I don't remember the course of the next couple of hours, I do remember being totally blown away over the fact that I was now a father. I still struggle with that realization at times, but life with him is wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Romey has now been in our lives a mere 365 days. Each day brings new challenges, but it also brings more love. Romey will be 1 year old tomorrow and I'm looking forward to each new day I have with him.

-Just my thoughts...