Aiden Daniel Smith was born at 6:23 pm on Christmas Eve. He was 9 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. That makes him and inch or two shorter than his sister was at birth, but over a pound and a half heavier.
Aiden started on his journey at about 2:30 am on December 24th, when Danielle's water broke. She wasn't having contractions then, so we took our time getting ready and headed to the hospital at around 3:30. Danielle starting having contractions every 3-4 minutes along the way.
When we arrived, Danielle seemed to be in active labor, having strong contractions every two to three minutes. She continued to have them for several hours, but after 11 am, she stopped making progress. Her doctor convinced us to try Pitocin at around 1 pm. But Danielle, being exhausted and worn down from almost nine and a half hours of labor, decided that she would not be able to bear the pain of Pitocin-induced contractions without an epidural.
The epidural turned out to a great decision. Danielle got a little sleep while she had her strongest and most frequent (and painless!) contractions. Unfortunately, after a few more hours of hard contractions, she still hadn't made any more progress. Danielle's doctor recommended a c-section around 5:30 pm. Although it was the last thing she wanted, Danielle agreed that it was probably best for Aiden.
The surgery started about ten minutes after six. Around 6:23, we heard the doctor and her 3 assistants all gasp simultaneously and cry out "Oh, my GOD!"
That, of course, threw Danielle into a panic. But we quickly realized that it was not an aortic hemmorage that has caused them to cry out, but rather shock at Aiden's size. The rest of the dialog among the surgical staff went something like this:
"Wow! That's a big baby!"
"That's 11 pounds, at least."
"I'll bet 11."
"Get that baby on the scale; I can't wait to see what he weighs."
"Ow! He bit me." (the surgeon)
"That's future linebacker there."
"Oh, he's peeing on me."
"He's breathing well. Nice and pink, that's what I like to see."
"I'll help you clean him off."
"Oh, he's peeing again."
"He got me that time."
A few minutes later it was all, "congratulations," and "here's your baby." It turns out that he was not even quite 10 pounds. But he was more than big enough. A mark on his head showed that no matter how long Danielle had pushed, he would not have come into the world any other way. So the delivery was not what we had intended, but we feel like we make all the right decisions.
Danielle says that surgery was painless, and that she did not even experience discomfort while the surgeons pushed and pulled on her belly. In fact, the only discomfort she experienced was from her IV, which was rather poorly placed in a small vein in her hand.
Danielle is now experiencing the pain and discomfort of recovering from major surgery, but Aiden is by every indication, happy and healthy. We expect to come home on Thursday.
Aiden managed to pee on the nursing staff a third time before we left the operating room. We're going to have to be careful about keeping him covered.
Aiden started on his journey at about 2:30 am on December 24th, when Danielle's water broke. She wasn't having contractions then, so we took our time getting ready and headed to the hospital at around 3:30. Danielle starting having contractions every 3-4 minutes along the way.
When we arrived, Danielle seemed to be in active labor, having strong contractions every two to three minutes. She continued to have them for several hours, but after 11 am, she stopped making progress. Her doctor convinced us to try Pitocin at around 1 pm. But Danielle, being exhausted and worn down from almost nine and a half hours of labor, decided that she would not be able to bear the pain of Pitocin-induced contractions without an epidural.
The epidural turned out to a great decision. Danielle got a little sleep while she had her strongest and most frequent (and painless!) contractions. Unfortunately, after a few more hours of hard contractions, she still hadn't made any more progress. Danielle's doctor recommended a c-section around 5:30 pm. Although it was the last thing she wanted, Danielle agreed that it was probably best for Aiden.
The surgery started about ten minutes after six. Around 6:23, we heard the doctor and her 3 assistants all gasp simultaneously and cry out "Oh, my GOD!"
That, of course, threw Danielle into a panic. But we quickly realized that it was not an aortic hemmorage that has caused them to cry out, but rather shock at Aiden's size. The rest of the dialog among the surgical staff went something like this:
"Wow! That's a big baby!"
"That's 11 pounds, at least."
"I'll bet 11."
"Get that baby on the scale; I can't wait to see what he weighs."
"Ow! He bit me." (the surgeon)
"That's future linebacker there."
"Oh, he's peeing on me."
"He's breathing well. Nice and pink, that's what I like to see."
"I'll help you clean him off."
"Oh, he's peeing again."
"He got me that time."
A few minutes later it was all, "congratulations," and "here's your baby." It turns out that he was not even quite 10 pounds. But he was more than big enough. A mark on his head showed that no matter how long Danielle had pushed, he would not have come into the world any other way. So the delivery was not what we had intended, but we feel like we make all the right decisions.
Danielle says that surgery was painless, and that she did not even experience discomfort while the surgeons pushed and pulled on her belly. In fact, the only discomfort she experienced was from her IV, which was rather poorly placed in a small vein in her hand.
Danielle is now experiencing the pain and discomfort of recovering from major surgery, but Aiden is by every indication, happy and healthy. We expect to come home on Thursday.
Aiden managed to pee on the nursing staff a third time before we left the operating room. We're going to have to be careful about keeping him covered.
5 comments:
Happy Birthday Aiden!!! Glad to hear that Danielle is doing well and that Aiden is healthy. I loved the picture of Natalie meeting her new baby brother. Let us know if we can help,
Welcome to the world, Baby Aiden!
I am very happy to hear that everything went well. Congratulations to everyone!
Yeah!!!! Congratulations. Glad to hear that all are well. Can't wait to meet the little one!
We're so happy for you! Congratulations, and happy birthday, Alden. Call if you need just anything at all.
The Newby's
Dan, this one is just for you, don't let the wife in on this one...it's guy stuff you know?
Two wipes, every time, all the time. One to shield, one to clean up. Wipes are cheap, and little boy pee is harder to dodge than a...well something that is really hard to dodge.
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