Spencer's Birth Day Story

As many of you know, Spencer joined us via C-section on March 3rd, 2010! I know it's been almost three weeks since his birth but I hope to catch up on our blog and my goal in the post is to document everything from Spencer's "Birth Day" so I never forget the most amazing day of my life thus far! This story actually begins the day before Spencer's scheduled arrival.

On March 2nd, 2010, Atlanta was getting hit with another winter weather "mix" as they like to call it. Oh Joy!

Now, Bill and I are both from up North so the weather to us, is no big deal but to everyone in Atlanta, well, lets just say it causes a complete mess. All I needed was more stress! We watched the weather reports closely and from we thought, we were just due to get some rain and nothing more. WRONG! We woke up that morning to our yard slowly getting covered by snow and hour by hour the snow accumulated more and more. I was on edge for many reasons that day but mostly because my mom was due to come in from Maryland and I was fearful her flight would get cancelled due to weather. If her flight was cancelled, I new it was unlikely that she would get here in time for Spencer's delivery the next day and I certainly did not want that to be the case.

Luckily, it all worked out. My moms flight was the last flight to leave BWI on time that day and many flights were cancelled after hers left. Bill and I made it to the airport and back safely with Mom in tow allowing me to breathe a little bit easier.

That night we all went out to dinner for my last meal pregnant with Spencer! We went to this little little place called Zen Fuji. It is right down the street from our house and the have the best Chinese and Thai food! Boy did we have a feast! We did however make sure to finish up early and get a good nights sleep because we all had to get up at 4am the next morning to start the big day!

Lets just say 4am on March 3rd, 2010 came way too early. To be honest, I think I woke up every hour on the hour worrying about something or another. I swear, it was almost a relief when the alarm sounded because I knew there was no turning back now. Trying to keep my emotions in check I got up, took a nice, long, hot shower and even put on make-up and did my hair! Why not, right?

Our only obstacle now was again, the weather. Our driveway was pretty icy but Bill got out a shoveled first thing so we would have no issues and the roads seemed pretty clear for the most part until about 6:00am when we heard all lanes of GA 400 southbound were shut down to to a accident caused by black ice! We all got ourselves together even faster then we needed to trying to prepare for alternate routes to the hospital or the possibility of sitting in traffic. I was not about to miss my scheduled C-section :-)

Luckily, the accident was all cleared by the time we hit the road and we got to Northside with plenty of time to spare. I think we were there at 7:00am for a 7:45am arrival! Can we say anxious? Of course :-)

Once we got to Northside everything moved very quickly. By 8:15am Bill and I were back in pre-op! I was filling out consents, getting IV's and getting hooked up to all kinds of monitors! Before long, Dr. Gumer came in to speak with us one last time before the procedure! He explained again how fast things would be and what the order of events would be once I got the epidural. Oh and then he told us we were starting a little earlier! That's when I started to panic. Was I ready? Of course I was but that did not calm the nerves or fears or excitement that was racing through me.

Mom joined Bill and I in pre-op and Dad and Cheryl made it to the hospital just in time. Then, it was time for the epidural so I gave quick hugs and kisses to everyone before they had to leave the pre-op area. Then, I did what everyone who knows me knew I would do. I CRIED! I balled actually. My emotions were no longer in check and I let everything out. I think the anesthesia team thought I was a nut case to be honest because all it took was them coming into the room to start the epidural for me to start this emotional release.

I am pretty sure I cried through most of the epidural procedure. I think I squeezed Bill's hand as hard as I would have if I was delivering naturally! Bill, the nurses, and the anesthesia team were wonderful. They walked me through everything and made me feel like my tears were completely normal. Even though I know they all would be talking about the crazy girl later that day :-) At that point, what did I care? I was having a baby!

Before long, it was time for Bill to suit up in the sterile clothes they gave him and they wheeled me off. I was relieved to know he would join me in the OR a few moments later. I wish I could tell you all the emotions I was feeling as they wheeled me down the hallway and into the OR but I cannot. I just know at that point I was praying for a healthy baby boy and a safe and speedy recovery for me.

To any other women out there having C-sections, I must say my experience was not that bad, I really did not feel too much discomfort at all. Pressure yes, but pain, not so much! Little Spencer did not want to come out (go figure) so my procedure took a little bit longer then expected but at 10:00am on the dot we welcomed Spencer Joshua Gordon into this world! Weighing in at 7lb 7oz and 18.5 inches long! They held him up quickly so I could see him and then got him all cleaned up. Bill and I got to take our first photo as a family with Spencer right in the OR! All I remember saying over and over again is, "he is perfect"

Bill and Baby Spencer left the OR while they finished my procedure. Bill never left Spencer's side. He watched him get his first bath and get all swaddled up and then got some cuddle time with him before they wheeled me back to recovery. I was so relieved to join them in recovery and when I did, I just felt complete! We were finally together, our new family!

Bill and I admired our baby boy for some time before we decided on his name and shared it with the world (to this day, I still cannot imagine his name to be anything other then Spencer). With our family anxiously awaiting Bill went to share the news with them as I stayed and cuddled with my little guy! Luckily, within an hour, Bill, Spencer and I were moved upstairs to my room where we would spend the next 3 days! Room 165 at Northside Hospital!

Our stay at Northside lived up to the expectations! Everyone was wonderful! But, as with any hospital stay you get no sleep! It never failed, just as I would start to fall asleep, I would get awakened by a nurse or tech needing to take my vitals, or food service coming to drop off or pick up my meals. Then there was the hospital baby photographer, the florist, the customer service representative from the hospital, housekeeping, lactation, and the pediatrician. I am sure I am forgetting the many others too. Bottom line, I got very little sleep while I was there even though I tried desperately.With that said, I have to say everyone took great care of us! Our first and favorite nurse was Faye! Faye took great care of Spencer and I from the start! I do not know what we would have done without her. She walked us through everything we needed to know and do as new parents. For the next few days, our nurses rotated. We had Margie, Tawnya and Pam (all to which were great). And to our surprise, on Saturday, when we left, Faye was our discharge nurse and we got to thank her again for all her wonderful help!

I must not forget to write about my wonderful husband too! Bill was a trooper through my whole pregnancy and it did not stop after Spencer was born. Not only did he stay with me most all of the time both day and night, he also managed to go back and forth to the house to get mom and take care of Mia too. I do not think he was ever gone for more then 4 hours and when he was gone, he made sure someone was there with Spencer and I in case we needed anything! I know the back and forth drained him but he would have had it no other way. Thanks Bill for being the best husband ad new daddy ever!

Our first visitors were family of course. Mom, Dad and Cheryl came up from the waiting area as as soon as we got to the room. They all loved on little Spencer right away and I don't think any wanted to put him down. I must say everyone shared him nicely :-) Laura Beth was our next visitor! She brought the prettiest baby balloons! Sam and Dara came to visit soon after and then, before long, it was dinner time! Our first day was flying by! With all of our special visitors and other "things" going on, we decided it best to put Spencer in the nursery overnight so we could at least "try" and get some sleep. We ended up doing this for all three nights but we always made sure that we kept him for a late night feeding and always got him back for an early 6am feeding. Instead of resting, I think I spent most of the time worrying about him or wanting to watch him sleep.

Our second and third days went just as fast and we had more visitors. Katy and Trey came by to meet little Spencer and spend some time with Bill and I. Mom, Dad and Cheryl all spent more time at the hospital with us as well. We also met and Spencer got a clean bill of health from Dr. Josephson one of the pediatricians from our pediatric group.

Before we knew it Saturday was here and we were going home! Although we did not get to leave until late in the day it was exciting nonetheless to know we were bring our baby home for the very first time! Before we left though, Baba and Daddy had to go to Babies r Us to get newborn clothes for Spencer. None of the 0-3 month clothes fit him! We really did not get many newborn things because we were told most times the baby does not fit into them but in this case, the newborn outfits were even too big! So, needless to say our going home outfit we had planned did not work out as expected but the new one was super cute too!

I know I will never forget Spencer's "Birth Day" but, as fast as the past three weeks have gone, I know time will continue to fly and I hope to be able to look back on this post year after year and remember it as fondly as I do today!

Spencer Joshua, we love you so much and so are so blessed to have you in our world!

All ready to go in Pre-op!

Parent shot before getting my epidural!

Welcome Spencer Joshua Gordon @ 10:00am - 7lb 7oz and 18.5 inches

First Family Photo!

Spencer's First Bath

In recovery, holding Spencer for the first time!

Our Visitors: Dara, Sam, Katy, Nana and Papa , Baba & LB (missing pictures to be loaded soon)

Ready to go HOME!!!!

Proud Parents!

Safe and Sound in the carseat!