Our little baby boy was born May 3, 2010 via scheduled c-section. This is what happened:
On April 29 I had an appointment with the prenatal specialist. They determined that the baby weighed ~8 lbs 15 oz. Due to his size, the doctor suggested that, if my body was ready for it, I get induced soon. The doctor didn't want the baby to get much bigger.
On April 30 I met with my OB. She said that the prenatal doctor RARELY suggests getting the baby out, so she took it really seriously. And, since I've been fighting gestational diabetes, my OB was worried that the baby would have big shoulders (a common result). The problem with that is that the baby can get stuck in the birth canal, dislocate a shoulder, and lose the use of that arm for the rest of his life. Well, we didn't want that to happen. On top of all that, I hadn't dilated at all, so induction wasn't a great option. So we decided that a c-section was the best and safest choice.
So, on Monday morning I went to the hospital and got checked in and prepped for the surgery. I don't have very good veins, so it took 4 tries to get an IV in (not fun!). We were delayed a little bit while the drs debated between my c-section and someone else, but they finally decided I could go first.
I have to say that a spinal block feels really weird - especially when they started cutting me open. I could feel where the scalpel was cutting, because of the pressure, but it didn't hurt. Jason was able to sit by my head during the operation. He got some pictures when the baby first came out, and while they were cleaning him up. And he let me be the first to announce his name: Emmet Ray.
Jason suggested Emmet because he really liked the name. We had also been thinking about family names, so I said, "Actually, that's my great-grandfather's middle name, so I'm good with it". And then we chose Ray, which is Jason's grandpa's middle name.
So Emmet cried the whole time they were cleaning him up.
Once they got him swaddled and back over next to me, he stopped crying. Jason held him right next to my head so I could see him. And when Emmet finally started to open his eyes, Jason turned him so that the first person he saw was me. =)
Emmet was 8 lbs 14 oz, 21 inches long.
His shoulders were 16 3/4 inches around - the doctor said that 13-14 inches is normal. And he was lying inside me with his face down, instead of the top of his head. So it ended up being a very good decision to have the c-section.
And that's the story of Emmet's birth.
In the evening, Jason's family came by - his parents, brother Nathan and sister-in-law Amber, and their two kids.
Tuesday morning Kristy was able to pop in with her son, Josh, and that evening Steve and April came over. We're all having kids at approximately the same time, and it's fun to share our experiences.
On Wednesday, Jenn and Adam got to meet Emmet.
On Friday, Ken, Kristy and Josh stopped by so Ken could meet Emmet, and to bring us dinner!
We also got a visit and dinner from Larry and Lois from our Sunday School class.
Our friend Kristina stopped by, but I forgot to get a picture of her with Emmet.
