I'm Here!!!

Cohen Kingston Bruce
Born April 19, 2008
7 pounds 9.5 ounces
20 inches long

Today I decided to enter Mommy and Daddy's world. Between the earthquake, cold front, and full moon there was no way I was staying inside Mommy's belly anymore. There is so much excitement for me to experience! At 5:30 A.M. on Friday morning the 18th, as the earthquake was just striking, Mommy woke up and felt her first contraction. ( She didn't feel the earthquake striking though, only the quakes I was causing in her tummy; she heard later that day on the news that the earthquake that ran from Illinois to Alabama had struck at that time.) She didn't want to wake Daddy, and so she waited until he awoke for work to tell him that she thought I was on my way. Daddy went on to work that morning, but kept calling Mommy every fifteen minutes to see how she was feeling. Finally, Mommy had to tell him that she'd let him know if anything changed! Mommy hadn't packed her bags for the hospital yet, so she spent her morning getting ready in case this was the real thing! Grandma and Papaw Myers came to visit on their way to visit Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kristen, but Mommy didn't tell them that she was having contractions! She wasn't sure if they were real or not, yet.

Daddy came home at lunch and decided to call the nurse. After telling her that Mommy's contractions were about five minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds, and consistent, the nurse told Daddy that I was on my way!! Daddy still went back to work, but Mommy called him at 2:10 P.M. because she was starting to get nervous. Her contractions were about four minutes apart, and she thought maybe we should get ready to go to the hospital.

When Daddy got home, he called the doctor to see when we should go to the hospital. She told him to head that way when Mommy's contractions were four minutes apart or a minute in duration for at least an hour. The contractions were already four minutes apart so Mommy was ready to go, but Daddy wanted to wait at home as long as possible. He kept asking Mommy if she couldn't wait at home just a little longer... that she'd be more comfortable there, but she was nervous and ready to go! At about 4 P.M, Mommy and Daddy headed to the hospital to see if she could be admitted.

She was sent to triage in the mother and baby section of the hospital and hooked up to all sorts of monitors to see how we were doing; they kept track of her contractions and my heartbeat. Mommy's contractions really started hurting her at about 6:30 P.M, and she was squeezing Daddy's had real hard. Finally, at 7 P.M, they gave her something so that she' wouldn't hurt as bad, and then they put her in her own room to stay in until I came around. The nurse and doctor took real good care of Mommy while she was in her room, so Daddy decided he could leave and get something to eat. Little did he know, I was going to make sure it was a long night for him! At 9 P.M, Mommy got at epidural so that she wouldn't feel much pain for the rest of the time, but it didn't work for her as good as it was supposed to; Mommy couldn't still feel everything going on in her left side. After a while though, Mommy and Daddy were able to get about an hour or so of sleep.

At about 3 A.M, the doctor came in to check on her again. The doctor told her that it wouldn't be long now! She was 8 cm dilated. Mommy was very happy. At 5 A.M, the doctor came back in to check on Mommy, and again told her that it wouldn't be long! She was now between 8 and 9 cm dilated. Mommy was beginning to wonder what they meant when they said it wouldn't be long! At about 6 A.M, her epidural really quit working for her, and she was hurting real bad. The anesthesiologist had already come in twice to give her extra medicine when she was hurting earlier in the night! She was really wishing the medicine worked better now, and she was squeezing Daddy's hand harder than ever.

Finally, at 6:30 A.M, the doctor came in to deliver some news. Mommy still wasn't progressing, and the doctor told her that she needed to have an emergency cesarean section. Her pelvis was too small for me to come through, and her cervix was actually swelling instead of getting thinner so that I could come out! Mommy was really really upset and starting to cry, so the doctor held her hand for a little while to try to make her feel better. Daddy was pretty upset too, but soon they calmed down and were ready to do anything they could to see me soon! (Mommy wanted Daddy to call my grandparents to let them know since she had to have surgery, and my Grandma and Papaw Myers started driving back from being in Alabama one night! Mommy should have told them yesterday that she was in labor before they drove all the way down to visit Uncle Jeremy.) At 7 A.M, the nurses came to take Mommy to the operating room, and the anesthesiologist gave her a big dose of medicine; finally, after thirty minutes, she couldn't feel a thing, and it was time for me to be taken! After she was completely numb, Daddy was allowed to come in the room to be with Mommy during the surgery. After only ten minutes, at 7:50 A.M. on April 19, 2008, I was pulled out crying and grunting! This was a big, bright new place for me, but I was happy to have some room to stretch my arms and legs out finally! I was cleaned up, and I got to meet my Daddy; he held me close while Mommy was getting her stitches put in. Then, as soon as Mommy was put in the recovery room, I got to meet her too! They seem pretty swell so far.

Everyone thought I looked like Mommy, and she was glad since I was so much trouble to get here! I can already tell my Mommy and Daddy love me a lot, and I love them too.

This is me right after I was born... aren't I the cutest thing you've ever seen!?
Daddy stayed with us all four nights we were in the hospital, and he didn't even have a good place to sleep! He must love Mommy and me an awful lot. This is my Mommy and I; I think we are going to have lots of fun together.
Daddy can't stop loving on me either!Well, that's the story of how I got here... and only one day away from Mommy's twenty-third birthday.