The Lucas Lowdown: Birth Day

So I'm painfully (really, painfully is not the right word but keeping it anyway) aware that it's been 12 days since the birth of our son and I've done nothing to announce him from here. I actually went back to Molly's birth date and it seems I never wrote an entry about her birth at all! I think it must be something to do with the aftermath of having a new baby...it's crazy up in here! I finally sat down to weed through pictures and there are so many that I thought I'd break up this major event by sharing about it's parts. So without further ado...

Here we are in the waiting room at 6 a.m. Ryan took my last picture in civilian clothes to share via instagram before we were called back to get ready:

We were the ONLY scheduled section that day which was really lovely. Molly's section was the last one of the day and so we had the place all to ourselves. When Jack was scheduled for the first slot we feared we'd be the first of many in a busy prep and recovery area but we had everything to ourselves once again. Visions of Molly's baby book danced through our heads as we began to restage the same pictures for Jack:

Jack, meet your fearless father:

Almost "go" time:

So, FYI, from prep to discharge Ryan and I were blessed to be served by the sweetest, most competent and caring staff at Kennestone. I know they're not all like that it's just that God really orchestrated the exact line-up we needed.

Last time I had a bad experience with anesthesia--it took the guy forever to get it right and it was painful and scary because they wouldn't tell me what was going on or what was wrong and of course Ryan wasn't allowed in there so I felt very alone and out of control. It then wore off before I was all put back together and no one knew because I couldn't speak and they all thought the tears I cried were those of joy. This time we got the only anesthesiologist that would actually allow Ryan to stay in the OR while I got my spinal. He was spot on and just made me feel confident and comforted.

Everyone in the OR was so friendly and happy and professional and I had a blast. I was super chatty (drugs?) and they chatted back and answered my questions and we even found a few people who knew people that we knew. It was comfortable. And I think they may have thought I was crazy as I hollered out things like "I love you all! Thank you for everything! I'm so grateful and happy!" as they rolled me to recovery.

Under the knife...almost time for baby!:

Ryan was busy, camera in hand, watching every move, every cut. He gave me a play-by-play until we got to the moment we'd been waiting for...8:08 a.m.!:

And there he was! The little man who'd been bumping and rolling and kicking me for the past few months. His cry and his face immediately brought back the same experience with Molly--he looked and sounded like her right off. With the spinal properly working, the wonderfully staffed OR and my Cesarean inferiority complex behind me, this go round I was able to enjoy being in the moment so much more. And the moment was wonderful.

Now, Ryan gets down and dirty with the pictures so if you ever want to see a picture of my uterus or ovaries or even my fallopian tubes (there was a student in the OR so Dr. Huffman gave her a quick anatomy lesson before putting me back together again...fascinating really!)...we've got 'em! I'll spare you for now though.

The cord-cutting:

Here he is! A bit wiped off, mad, and looking like a boy. You can see his light colored hair here:):

And the official weigh in:

10 pounds and 5 ounces! One ounce less than Molly but one week earlier than her too. Funny, now, nearly two weeks later, he looks so much tinier than that! And I guess he is as he hasn't quite gained up to his birth weight just yet. Fresh babies are crazy-swollen (well, ours are).

We didn't get a picture of the actual first time I saw him but here's the first time I saw him wrapped up in a blanket: