Jack's Birth Day

I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 

Psalm 92:4

Lofton and I wondered frequently in the weeks and days leading up to Jack's birth about the difference between knowing the day your baby is going to be born and just going into labor.  Neither of our children's birth dates were surprises, which is both a good and bad thing.  Obviously the benefit is having time to plan, but the negative side is the agony of the waiting.  It gives an anxious person like myself lots of time to get worked up.

 When I was pregnant with Reese I cried A LOT toward the end.  I was tired, teaching full time at the beginning of a school year, and it was hot.  There was also so much uncertainty with a having a baby.  How would our life be?  What would change?  What if we failed totally as parents?  With Jack there wasn't as much of that.  We felt pretty confident in our ability to parent.  The only uncertainty was adjusting to being a family of four, not three.  In the days leading up to Thursday, June 26th, I cried anytime Reese and I went somewhere.  The doughnut place, Target, Chick Fil A.... Lofton thought I was a nut.  But I knew at every place it would be the last time we'd go as the three of us.  Monday was particularly bad.  I was so thankful Reese had VBS that week so I could get myself together before he came home each day.

My parents got here on Wednesday around lunch and Lofton came home early from work.  We packed {or in my case repacked} our bags and Jack's bag, I went over the three pages worth of notes I had typed for my mom regarding Reese's schedule, and Lofton zipped around finishing up last minute house projects.  That afternoon the hospital called.  The plan had been to get to the hospital at six on Thursday morning.  My parents would come a little later, once Haley got to our house to keep Reese. Sally was going to meet my parents at the hospital. The nurse on the phone asked if we would mind coming earlier.  "How early," I asked? Five.  No problem for early risers like us and who were we kidding-- sleep was going to be minimal anyway.  We began texting and calling people to let them know the schedule had been moved up.

Sleep was elusive Wednesday night.  Even Lofton-- who sleeps through anything-- was restless.  At 3:00 I got up and got in the shower.  We went in to say goodbye to Reese around 4:30 and he was awake.  A little disoriented and weepy, too.  Of course I got teary telling him we'd see him in a few hours.  We arrived at the hospital shortly before five and they took me, alone, to a room.  I HATE being by myself in hospitals and had reminded my doctor that when my tonsils were removed a few years ago I had a massive panic attack when they wouldn't let Lofton be with me.  True to his word, Dr. Alverson had noted that in my file and Lofton came back to be with me quickly.

We then waited and waited.  The nurses hooked up my IV {busting two veins in my right hand} and all the other necessary tubes and such.  At 6:45 they told us it was time.  I walked to the OR and was greeted by what seemed like fifty people.  In actuality it was probably ten.  Dr. Alverson gave me a hug and I sat down on the table to have my spinal put in.  They got me situated and I remember someone asking why we were operating so early.  Dr Alverson laughed and said that Lofton had made him promise we'd be in a room by the time USA played soccer that morning.  Apparently it's out of the norm to have a scheduled cesarean so early in the morning.

Lofton was brought in and surgery started.  I don't remember much from my surgery with Reese, but I was very alert this time.  The spinal was strange and at times it felt like the numbness was rising in my chest and keeping me from being able to breathe.  Lofton said he could see my blood pressure start to rise every time I thought I was starting to suffocate.  They put an alcohol pad on my nose to keep me from getting sick.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Alverson told me I was going to feel a lot of pressure and with that our sweet boy entered the world.  He started screaming immediately and Dr. Alverson held him up for us to see.  He said then that he thought Jack was going to be bigger than Reese, and by just three ounces he was.

The rest is a blur.  Lofton went to be with the baby and then brought him over to see me.  They let me touch him {which did not happen with Reese} and after surgery wrapped up Lofton carried him to recovery so we could all be together.  The nurses let me hold him, which would have been great if I didn't have the worst chills and shakes from the anesthesia. After an hour we were taken to a room.

The remainder of the day zoomed by with family in and out, nurses in and out, and us trying to rest and catch our breath.  The hospital has mandatory quiet hours from 2:00-4:00pm so that was really the first time Lofton and I got to be alone with our new addition.  We looked him over and said probably fifteen times how amazing and perfect and wonderful it was to be parents again.  We agreed our hearts felt like they could burst.  All the worry of would we love him as much as Reese, or how was it going to feel to have two babies instead of one, went out the window.

At 7:08AM, on June 26th, our family became complete.