We got to the hospital at about five a.m. on Monday. I was nervous and ready to get it all over with. After the initial prep, they gave me my epidural. I was really nervous about it. I don’t like needles. The anisthesioligist had trouble getting the epidural in. He got it in, but couldn’t thread the catheter through the end of the needle. This resulted in sharp, shooting pains down my left leg. Let me tell you, that hurt! He ended up having to take it out, and move up a space in my back. He got it in that space much easier. They said it could have been due to scar tissue from two previous epidurals with the other kids. It wasn’t too bad, but it made me really nervous.
Once they got the epidural in, it was nearly seven. They let Pastor Pallotta come in to pray with me, and, pretty much as soon as he said “amen”, they had me headed to the operating room. I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t get to see the kids before we headed back. My terribly sensitive husband, when I mentioned I wanted to see them before they took me back, said, “Why? In case you pass away?”. We thought that was pretty funny, but that just shows how warped we are. Anyway, they took me back, and things preceded very quickly. I was scared that they were going to cut me before I was numb, because I could still wiggle my toes. I thought that I had been more numb with the others. It was, of course, a silly fear, but I was shaking all over from a combination of nerves, fear, and the epidural. Everything went smoothly until they got to the part of actually pulling Owen out. He is his father’s child. He was being very stubborn, and did not want to come out. The anisthesioligst nurse, who was sitting by my head, making sure I was okay throughout the surgery, had to stand up and push down on the top of my belly. This felt like they were trying to break all my bones. I was hollering and making a lot of crazy yelps and gasps, and Chris’ face looked kind of freaked out. I felt what they called “referred” pain in my right shoulder. It hurt pretty bad, but it really didn’t last all that long. With the nurse pushing down from the top, and Dr. Schwarz pulling from the bottom with the help of a vacuum…they finally got the little guy out, kicking and screaming. He was not happy about being “evicted”. As they took him past the curtain and I got my first look at him, I thought, “He looks just like Chris!”. The rest of the surgery was uneventful. They put me all together again, and Owen was out and healthy. He weighed seven pounds even, was nineteen inches long, and had a little bit of dark hair. Everyone thinks he looks like Chris, and a few have also said that he looks like Elijah, too. Ms Tammy thinks he looks like Kyra. My initial reaction hasn’t changed. Everytime I look at him, I see Chris.
After all of that excitement, everything else has been smooth sailing. He’s a good, content baby so far. He nurses well. I am doing just as well as I possibly could. Neither of us has had any problems. Owen is a little bit jaundiced. I have him in the window right now. I’m hoping that sunlight might start bringing down his billirubin, and it won’t get so high that he needs to be under the lights, like Elijah did.
We are happy to be home. We got home this afternoon. I was so glad to see Kyra and Elijah again. I missed them. They were happy to see us, too, I think.
So, Owen is here, and things couldn’t be better. Just one more chapter in a year in the life, and I finally get to kiss all of my three little Harmons. Life is great!