Aaron Izaak

Life is full.

Her Story:
Prior to Aaron's arrival, the week was marked by quite a lot going on. We had a friend of mine and her 2 1/2 year old son staying with us as she was relocating to the area for a job. We were also still dealing with repercussions of Bill being in a nursing home and how to handle his care. Thursday night was pretty restless as I was trying to figure it all out. I rolled over and it was pretty painful and by 5 am I was wide awake. Steven was up and getting ready for work when I felt my water break (7:23 am). I scrambled out of bed as Steven gathered up towels for me - a remarkable amount of fluid. I called the doctor and waited for the on-call doctor to call me back. The CNM said to come right in.

Now in preparation for this day, I started to pack a bag. Did it actually help? Not really since most of the items I would need couldn't be packed until that day. So we rushed to call my father-in-law and my friend Kristi, who graciously volunteered to take Zofia off our hands while I was in the hospital. As I got Zofia up and dressed, Steven emailed work to let them know as well as took out a car seat to give to Kristi for the duration. My friend Susan and my father-in-law Frank got Zofia fed and helped pack her bag for Kristi's house. Very little time and contractions were starting.... oh man, I wonder how quick this will be... Steven we have to go NOW.

We get in the car at approximately 8:10 (it took us an hour to get it together?!) and my contractions were 4 minutes apart and less than 1 minute in length (was that good or bad, wish I read the Bradley book more!). Now, anyone not familiar with the DC-Metro area will not quite appreciate the time of day and traffic in the area. Our hospital is off I-395 at Seminary. 395 CRAWLS during rush hour. Steven navigated some shoulders, spied a cop and TRIED to get a ticket, and we made it to the hospital around 8:30.

Now try to imagine walking through the hospital with contractions and a HUGE wad of towels between your legs - not a pretty sight but hilarious just the same. We checked in at the Labor & Delivery desk and there was another woman whose water had broken. The nurse said "water broken, breech, multiparous - you win!". So off we go to a room to confirm the breech and dilation. The sono confirmed the head was up and now it was time to check my dilation. The nurse said "I bet 6-7" while the midwife from my doctor's office checked - fully dilated and she could feel the feet. We were now prepping for a C-section. The anesthesiologist came in and said we'd start with an epidural and if that didn't work we'd go under general. Steven was handed his OR clothes and I was whisked away with no idea where he was.

His Story:
I expected to follow, so I quickly hopped into my overalls(bunny suit as the staff later called it) and grabbed everything in the room not wanting to let Anne get to far ahead. Hurrying down the hall to catch up, I am diverted to a waiting room. Huh? This is moving quick, I want to be with my wife, you have to wait 10-15 minutes while we get her prepped(basically start the epidural). First time, oh, be more like 20 minutes. Great, Good Morning DC for my experience. Stay calm, update dad to make the time go. Okay, the time is still going(Good Morning DC runs a live clock). Well over 15 minutes, over 20? seems like it.

Her Story:
I was prepped for the epidural (relax your shoulders, pinch, pinch, pinch - 3 needles? man. Can she wait until AFTER this contraction). Feel anything yet? tingling? nope. Catheter? what? I wonder when I can see Steven and try not to panic - reminds me of the ridiculous movies. The nurse goes to put in the catheter and the epidural is still not working (ouch), a coughing spell and "oh I see feet". crap. They prick my belly - feel that? yes ouch. "No time to wait for it to kick in, you're going under" "put your arms here" (strapped down)....nighty night.

His Story:
Was that a baby crying. A sense it is mine, no, can't be, lots of rooms on this hall. There were chairs, I did laps. Okay, 20 minutes has definitely passed. Here come nurses. Congratulations, you have a healthy baby. Things were going too quickly, sorry we couldn't bring you back, had to go with general anesthesia. The baby is healthy, gave a good loud cry. Mom is doing well. "What do I have? Boy or Girl?" Oh, I think a girl, let me think. As they lifted the baby it passed in front of me. Yes, a girl, but don't hold me to it. "Really?"(Anne was so sure it was a boy runs through my head) The attending baby nurse is walking up at that very moment and hears us - "You have a boy, he looks great..." and I am given the details of the cough. You have to wait for the anesthesia to wear off before you can see your wife and baby. Usually takes about a half hour, maybe 40 minutes. You probably only have 20 minutes left. "I guess I can take this suit off?" Yes, you can get out of your bunny suit. More Good Morning DC, laps, and now I am watching that clock and the door. Did you know Paul Stanley paints more than his face? Now I know he paints and why he painted his face. This is my birthing experience? Everything is fine, we have a boy and I do laps. Its been a half hour.

Her Story:
"Anne? Anne?" wow I slept great! "you have a boy" A moment of lucidity. APGARS? "9's, he came out crying". Thank God.

His Story:
The baby nurse comes over and tells me it won't be long. Finally Anne is coming down the hall. As she goes by, I see a little baby swaddled between her legs. As she went by I was able to go with them and they gave me the statistics: weight, length, APGAR. We are put into a labor and delivery room until a room was available in maternity/ob-gyn. The surgeon gave me the run-down and how things had to move quickly and couldn't let me come back. Oh and you may not notice it but we knicked his butt. The anesthesiologist and the nurse were telling me how impressed they were with how calm Anne stayed through the whole experience, most women get hysterical and are screaming and crying (their words). Great patient, great baby, great delivery - he popped right out.