My Little Man
I know I've been really remiss, when my wife turns to me and says "You haven't blogged about our son yet". Oops, but it's not like I haven't been writing about him. I have sent numerous emails and posted various things in forums and the like, but yes I should have made the blog, my second port of call, after sending out the news emails. Anyway, rap on the knuckles well and duly noted.
To say this has been a rough pregnancy for Sherri is pretty much an understatement. She's had many problems and complications. Here's the list:
So as you can see, quite a list and that's only the things I can remember. I like to think I am the considerate husband, but even I can't fully appreciate what she had to go through. I don't think any man can, but I can kiss the ground that she walks on, especially when I hold my newborn son in my arms. I was made to be a father. Admittedly I left it a lot later than I though I would, but I think I'm a lot better for it.
Anyway I digress, this is after all about our recent news. For anyone that doesn't know, an irritable uterus means that for the last week of the pregnancy, Sherri was having contractions, every 5 minutes. It was certainly no fun for me and I'm not the one who was having them. We actually went into the hospital the previous week and the doctor basically said it was an irritable uterus and it's likely that she was going to be having the contractions for the rest of the pregnancy. So for a week Sherri had to suffer with the contractions on top of everything else. This meant that she herself became irritable and it really began to take a toll on both her psychical and mental self. On Monday the 2nd April I went to work as usual and it was a pretty uneventful day. I picked the babies up on the way home from work and we went about doing the usual things a family does. I think it was about 9pm when Sherri became concerned that the contractions were down to every couple of minutes. With Sherri's history of rapid labor, we figured it was best to go to the hospital, just to be sure. This time around we were seen pretty quickly. The doctor said that it was highly likely that our son would be born today and they were right. About 10:30, the doctor came back and said we would probably going down to the operating room in about 1 and a half hours. I strolled off to phone Alanna to let her know. I'd been back with Sherri for a couple of minutes when the doctor came back and said we were going down in 20 minutes. This was it.
Once Sherri was prepped, I was then given the usual very dodgy looking garments. The blue slipper things that go over your shoes, the very ugly yellow garment and that bloody awful mask. Yes I felt like a real pillock, but it's a small price to pay. Sherri was taken into the operating room and I had to wait outside until her spinal. was done. This was a different to the last pregnancy as I was there for it all. This time though, Sherri had a very skilled doctor and he managed to administer the spinal at the first attempt. Last time I think Sherri had about 7 or 8 attempts and her back was so bruised. I think I was outside for about 20 minutes and then led in to watch the birth of my son.
It's a very surreal experience, watching someone slice your wife up and seemingly reach in with their arms up to the elbow. They sliced and diced and a couple of times I could see stuff being held and then cast aside. I'm not a squeamish person at all, but it's a whole different ball game, when it's someone you love. Once they'd gained entry, the actual birth lasted what seem like a couple of seconds, and then bing, with barely a pause for breath I was looking at my Son, Adam Dennis John Meeks, born at 11:48PM. For the first time I got to cut the umbilical cord and I have to tell you, I wasn't prepared for the amount of blood that would come shooting out of the chord. It took a while for Sherri to have him in her arms. By the time she wished him happy birthday it was too late. Poor little thing, his first birthday lasted all of 12 minutes.
As he was a good weight, 7 lb 8oz and he was feeding well Sherri and Adam were discharged on Thursday afternoon. So that was just two full days in hospital. We were a bit apprehensive of how he would settle down. As Sarah and Lucy were premature, they were in the baby unit for a while, so the nurses pretty much had them on a schedule by the time we brought them home. With Adam were were wondering if we could get him onto a schedule, but we needn't have worried as he's been absolutely amazing, waking every 3-4 hours. Sarah and Lucy can't get enough of him and neither can Mandi and Alanna. Sherri and I are constantly fending them off, while we indulge ourselves.
Being a Dad again is absolutely wonderful. Yes it's not all going to be a walk in the park, but then life isn't either. I've lost count of the photos I've taken. The birth video is transferred from the video camera to the Mac and I just need to edit it and make it into a DVD. I'll be taking a few weeks off, once the in-laws go home and then it's quality baby snuggle time. I'm a gifted man indeed. An amazing wife and now 5 incredible children. Life is full of surprises and wonder, but it's all the more enjoyable when you are surrounded by the people you love.
To say this has been a rough pregnancy for Sherri is pretty much an understatement. She's had many problems and complications. Here's the list:
- Morning sickness like you wouldn't believe, requiring medication
- A separated pelvis
- Gestational diabetes
- A sinus infection
- A root canal, that was unnecessary, mistakenly diagnosed instead of the sinus infection
- Irritable Uterus
So as you can see, quite a list and that's only the things I can remember. I like to think I am the considerate husband, but even I can't fully appreciate what she had to go through. I don't think any man can, but I can kiss the ground that she walks on, especially when I hold my newborn son in my arms. I was made to be a father. Admittedly I left it a lot later than I though I would, but I think I'm a lot better for it.
Anyway I digress, this is after all about our recent news. For anyone that doesn't know, an irritable uterus means that for the last week of the pregnancy, Sherri was having contractions, every 5 minutes. It was certainly no fun for me and I'm not the one who was having them. We actually went into the hospital the previous week and the doctor basically said it was an irritable uterus and it's likely that she was going to be having the contractions for the rest of the pregnancy. So for a week Sherri had to suffer with the contractions on top of everything else. This meant that she herself became irritable and it really began to take a toll on both her psychical and mental self. On Monday the 2nd April I went to work as usual and it was a pretty uneventful day. I picked the babies up on the way home from work and we went about doing the usual things a family does. I think it was about 9pm when Sherri became concerned that the contractions were down to every couple of minutes. With Sherri's history of rapid labor, we figured it was best to go to the hospital, just to be sure. This time around we were seen pretty quickly. The doctor said that it was highly likely that our son would be born today and they were right. About 10:30, the doctor came back and said we would probably going down to the operating room in about 1 and a half hours. I strolled off to phone Alanna to let her know. I'd been back with Sherri for a couple of minutes when the doctor came back and said we were going down in 20 minutes. This was it.
Once Sherri was prepped, I was then given the usual very dodgy looking garments. The blue slipper things that go over your shoes, the very ugly yellow garment and that bloody awful mask. Yes I felt like a real pillock, but it's a small price to pay. Sherri was taken into the operating room and I had to wait outside until her spinal. was done. This was a different to the last pregnancy as I was there for it all. This time though, Sherri had a very skilled doctor and he managed to administer the spinal at the first attempt. Last time I think Sherri had about 7 or 8 attempts and her back was so bruised. I think I was outside for about 20 minutes and then led in to watch the birth of my son.
It's a very surreal experience, watching someone slice your wife up and seemingly reach in with their arms up to the elbow. They sliced and diced and a couple of times I could see stuff being held and then cast aside. I'm not a squeamish person at all, but it's a whole different ball game, when it's someone you love. Once they'd gained entry, the actual birth lasted what seem like a couple of seconds, and then bing, with barely a pause for breath I was looking at my Son, Adam Dennis John Meeks, born at 11:48PM. For the first time I got to cut the umbilical cord and I have to tell you, I wasn't prepared for the amount of blood that would come shooting out of the chord. It took a while for Sherri to have him in her arms. By the time she wished him happy birthday it was too late. Poor little thing, his first birthday lasted all of 12 minutes.
As he was a good weight, 7 lb 8oz and he was feeding well Sherri and Adam were discharged on Thursday afternoon. So that was just two full days in hospital. We were a bit apprehensive of how he would settle down. As Sarah and Lucy were premature, they were in the baby unit for a while, so the nurses pretty much had them on a schedule by the time we brought them home. With Adam were were wondering if we could get him onto a schedule, but we needn't have worried as he's been absolutely amazing, waking every 3-4 hours. Sarah and Lucy can't get enough of him and neither can Mandi and Alanna. Sherri and I are constantly fending them off, while we indulge ourselves.
Being a Dad again is absolutely wonderful. Yes it's not all going to be a walk in the park, but then life isn't either. I've lost count of the photos I've taken. The birth video is transferred from the video camera to the Mac and I just need to edit it and make it into a DVD. I'll be taking a few weeks off, once the in-laws go home and then it's quality baby snuggle time. I'm a gifted man indeed. An amazing wife and now 5 incredible children. Life is full of surprises and wonder, but it's all the more enjoyable when you are surrounded by the people you love.
posted by Colin at
10:06 PM
|
0 comments
links to this post
