Corbin's Birth Story

 -- the week of Corbin's birth --

On Monday my friend Haley called to check in and sweetly offered to help me with last minute tasks I wanted to complete.  She even offered to watch G so I could go get a manicure.  So for an hour I got to sit still and have my nails polished all the while thinking that in a couple of days we'd meet our baby boy!

Later Monday evening I finished a set of flannel burp cloths I wanted to make for our little guy.  It was the one baby craft project I planned and you could say I procrastinated a bit ; ) Fortunately the project flew by and I was super happy to have them ready and waiting.

 

Most of Tuesday I spent preparing meals for our freezer… again, you could say I procrastinated.  Considering it was one of the most important things I did to prepare for post baby life, I am surprised in hindsight I waited so long to do it.  (I will plan to post about freezer meals in the future.)

After finishing cooking - our fun began.  Tuesday evening David’s parents and sister, Anna, arrived in Austin.  We spent the evening together thinking about the excitement to come.  Gavin was stoked to have his aunt Anna in town and get to show her his toys. 

Wednesday morning David and I woke early to finish packing and head to the hospital.  Our delivery was scheduled for 9:30, so we arrived at the hospital at 7 in the morning.  Our drive to the hospital was one of life's rare moments of moving out of one stage of life and into another.  It was surreal and gave us a lot to be grateful for.

Check-in and pre-op went smoothly.  My only problem was waiting for the IV to be placed; it took a handful of people at least ten attempts and was quite painful (they finally placed it in the fold of my arm – talk about uncomfortable positioning considering I’d be cradling a baby within a few hours).  After the IV we were waiting to be taken back to the OR but a few emergency surgeries delayed our scheduled time.  In the meantime the staff suggested I stay in bed and wait...  but I’d been having regular rounds of painful contractions so I booted that idea and walked around the pre-op area to manage the pain. 

Around noon I was given clearance to head to the OR.  Plainly stated, walking into the operating room and sitting on the table was the most disconcerting part of the whole process.  I prayed my way through remaining calm.  With Gavin the decision to have a c-section happened very fast and I didn’t have time to think about possible complications.  However, this time around I was faced with it months ahead of time and had a challenging time wrapping my mind around it and choosing to be at peace.  I knew it was the best decision for us but being awake for a surgery, as well as knowing about the possible complications and long recovery were all things I had to find peace about.

Fortunately in the weeks ahead of time I slowly came to better terms with the surgery and had time to pray about it and give up my fears and control issues.   God worked in so many ways to bring peace and blessings to the whole event.  For one thing, the temperature of the room was offset by a warm gown I got to wear.  During my previous c-section, my entire body was shaking I was so cold. 

Second, during this surgery, the nurses and doctor sang tunes from Grease.  Their ease and camaraderie was reassuring to me that everything was going well. 

Then the moment came when C was born.  The doctor held him up over the partition and we got to see him with all the goo still on him - it was awesome!  Surprising to me was how quickly I started crying (with joy) after seeing him.  It was such a relief that he was here and the pregnancy was over and the delivery was going well.  Dude looked like a carbon copy of his brother at birth… what a surprise! 

Our plan was for Corbin to be given to me immediately after birth and to delay his bath and such.  But little dude was having some challenges breathing so he headed off to the nursery to get some help and be monitored.  (Another blessing was that he avoided the NICU – a visit to the nursery for 1 hour is cake compared to not seeing Gavin for 19 hours). 

After a delivery that the doctor pronounced as ‘boring and perfect’ (hooray), I was wheeled into post op and waited there for little man to join David and I.  My nurse checked in with the nursery often over the hour knowing I was anxious to get little dude into my arms.  Getting him in post op was one of the happiest moments of my life.  I actually got to hold him without any wires and keep him with us!

All in all, recovery went very well on my end.  I’d expected a long, slow road but everything came along in good time and without excessive discomfort.  I’d say the craziest part of my experience was the spinal anesthesiology I had… what a trip it was to have it slowly wear off. 

Meanwhile, Gavin was having fun with his Gran, Grandad and Anna.  The four of them had a day of fun at the zoo, a trip to the toy store and lunch at McDonald's.  Talk about an awesome day for a 2 year old!

On Wednesday evening David’s parents brought Gav to meet Corbin.  My first thought seeing G for the first time as a big brother was how gigantic my ‘baby Gavin’ was!  He did not look like the little toddler I left that morning.  G brought a yellow potted tulip for me and a stuffed puppy dog for his brother – and he had the proudest look to his face and bounce in his step as he carried them into the room to present to us.  One of G’s first questions was to see Corbin’s body; to this day he is not a fan of C being swaddled in a blanket. 

My sister and her kiddos also made a day trip to Austin and visited us Wednesday evening.  I love that she came and got to meet her little nephew.  Josh and Jenni had the sweetest reactions to Corbin too!

On Thursday a couple friends visited us in the hospital but we kept things very low key for C.   A silly thing to note – with G - I loved the brownies that the hospital had.  This time my notable treat was a chocolate muffin from the hospital’s Starbucks – it was delicious (or "licious" as Gavin would say)!

Corbin was a sweetheart from the start and taking to nursing well.  He slept on my chest almost around the clock and I loved every second of it!  Dude was quite the little furnace so our hospital room was warm in my mind, but a freezer in David's.  A nurse quickly settled the debate - the room was cold to everyone but me! 

One of the things I did to prepare for Corbin was to take a nursing class while pregnant.  (It was the one thing I decided I should have done after Gavin had been born).  Anyhow - the class was great and from it I knew a few things to look for if nursing starts as a challenge - one of the things being a tongue tie.  Sure enough, C needed a frenulectomy, but we caught it in the hospital and had it taken care of :) 

By Thursday evening I was antsy to get home so Friday morning we put in our request and were discharged later that day. 

Returning home was wonderful.  We literally got out of the car and could hear G squealing in the backyard with excitement… Grandad was pushing him around in his car and Gav was loving it.  Getting to see G, be in our own home, and spend time with David’s family was much nicer than staying at the hospital – even though my nurses were wonderful!

After a couple days back at home my parents arrived in Austin and spent the following week with our family of 4.  It was a great help to have them in our home.  My mom did a lot to help me and my dad worked on some house projects as well as provide loads of entertainment for Gavin.

All in all, Corbin’s birth went so much better than I expected and I could truly feel and see God working every day for our good.  I had anxiety going into this delivery and recovery time and none of my fears came to pass.  Praise the Lord.  For me it was another lesson and testimony in learning to let go of fears and trust God with my life – health – security – choices...