The Advent

Sam was born last Thursday afternoon. We actually had an appointment for his birth. It was very surreal indeed. Josh and I dropped Ben at school and then headed for the hospital. Like any other normal day, but not. We get to the registration desk and I say something like "I am here to give birth" while having no contractions, no broken water, etc and feeling like an idiot. Like I am pretending to be pregnant and about to have a baby.They settle us in with our nurse. Yep, he was all ours until after delivery (nice touch) and he was this amazing guy named John. John was very funny (thank GOD) and an excellent caretaker. Then I met with the anesthesiologist (my newest best friend). He was a doctor right out of soap opera casting—mid-30's, all-American looking guy. As he was injecting the spinal I was staring down at my legs and thinking that I really should have shaved them before coming in. Then they put me on the table, in came Josh looking like Marcus Welby and off we went. Everything went smoothly until they tried to get Sam to come OUT. Saying he was reluctant is an understatement. It took three people, putting all their weight on my belly to push him out. This kid did not want to come into the world. He knew a good deal when he saw it and life in the womb is not a bad way to spend your days. All that pushing was making me need to vomit so I informed soap opera doctor that he should get a basin if he didn't want me depositing last night's dinner on the floor and he gave me a shot of something that stopped the nausea immediately. And I was thinking what a handy guy he would be to have around ALL the time. Finally they got him out and brought him to me and he was Ben's doppelganger. It was almost eerie. As if I was living in the movie "Groundhog Day" and reliving Ben's birth again (except that this time the drugs did not make me shake). So I went to recvoery and Josh went to the nursery with Sam and John the perfect nurse brought me crushed ice and it might as well have been ice cream for how happy I was to have it. Then they settled us in our room and the next twelve hours were pretty blissful. Until I had to have the catheter out and actually get UP to go to the bathroom and once the killer pain drugs wore off. Then reality hit.