Nate Update and Photos
Sorry for the delays on the photos…it’s been a busy few days. Steph and Nate came home yesterday after less than 48 hours in the hospital. While Steph liked most of the people at the hospital and how things were done, she was done with the constant interruptions. I mean, why do they need to weight Nate at 2:15am?
You can see all photos here - BEWARE - these include gore shots. Otherwise you can see the best ones below.
Weighing in right after delivery.
In the room after delivery.
Waiting to go home!
Now for the story…It was a normal 4th of July…we got up and I mowed the lawn and we continued to get our house ready for hosting a PEPS BBQ later that afternoon. We went to the West Seattle Children’s Parade - basically thousands of people walk a few blocks with their kids all decked out in their strollers and trikes. The Mayor of Seattle was there since he lives in WS - so we stopped by and Zach got to shake his hand.
We spent the early afternoon relaxing and prepping for the BBQ. I started having Margaritas at around 3pm. Our friends started showing up around 4pm. We hung out in the yard while the kids played in the kids’ pool. I started the BBQ around 5pm - we were grilling up chicken and hot dogs. This is when the excitement started.
At around 6pm Steph corners me upstairs and tells me she thinks her water broke. I asked if it was her water or urine. She was 99% certain this was her water breaking. OK, so at this point I have no idea what that means (remember Zach was a planned c-section - so we haven’t gone through the normal labor procedures). So Steph is working on calling her doctor and checking with the other women that were over for the BBQ.
Being the guy that I am, I went back to BBQing and drinking my beer. Hey, I had dogs on the grill and 4 very hungry toddlers. After a few minutes I checked on Steph and once again asked if she was certain this was her water. She was certain. So hunted down Shelly (PEPS mom who is a nurse) and asked what this meant (yeah, ignorant dad)…she looked at me and said ‘you are having a baby!’ Pretty simple message for most…but not me. I then asked that really dumb question: ‘When?’. And of course, her response was ‘Tonight!’.
Now it’s sinking in. I dumped out my beer realizing I need to be sober for this event. I handed the tongs to Mark so he could work the grill. We sent Heidi home to get her car - since I couldn’t drive. And Steph and I packed. Yes, we were planning on July 17th - the planned c-section date so we hadn’t done some of those other tasks - like pack. I gave Sasha the lowdown on cat/dog food and where to lock them up at night. And that was it…Steph and I hopped in Heidi’s car (Steph rode shotgun if you were curious - I did try to get the front seat but she wouldn’t have any of that) and off we went…uh, oh, the gas light came on in Heidi’s car. A quick stop at the pump and we were off again.
The rest of the story is pretty typical…get to the hospital (around 7pm) and wait…but not too long…they got the IV started, drew some blood, got us dressed in scrubs. We entered the OR at around 9:15pm, Nate was born at 9:46pm, and Steph was in recovery by 10:15pm.
What an exciting 4th of July - one we’ll never forget. BTW, having a baby is a very sobering experience - I know this for a fact.