Our Newest Spiegelhoff

We arrived at the hospital by 10:30 this morning and were escorted to our room. We dropped our bags and Carrie got prepped to have her surgery. By 12 noon we were in the OR. I, decked out in a sweet surgery jumpsuit (totally kept it for a souvenir) complete with mask and scrub cap (hair net), and then unceremoniously left in the hallway for a solid 15 minutes totally alone while Carrie was getting her anesthesia. By that time I was totally panicked. I mean these jumpsuits don't have pockets (no cell phone) so you only have the kind of solitude one needs to think all sorts of crazy thoughts while your spouse and unborn child sit in an OR not 20 yards away. Finally, I was summoned to enter the OR, slipped my mask on and began the long walk into life changing fatherhood part two.

Upon entering the OR I was careful to not sneak a peak at what the doctors were working on. I did however, practice by watching some YouTube videos on C-sections hoping to condition myself to what was about to occur. I realized I don't have an issue with seeing someone else go through a surgery but I think the personal nature of my wife being the patient is what gets me upset. Carrie thought I looked awful upon entering and seeing her. She can only see my eyes as the rest of my face is covered in surgery gear so one can only imagine what I really looked like. I had a nurse standing next to me holding me in place so even if I wanted to look I wouldn't have been able to. It was an insanely surreal moment that I imagine most people don't have in their lives. The surgical team, and it seemed like there were 10 of them (7 in reality), are working on Carrie and we are carrying on the oddest conversation like we were sitting in the park discussing the weather. What does one talk about when three quarters of you is under a 3 foot tall sheet having surgery while the rest of you is hanging out with your husband attempting what is appropriate conversation? In retrospect if we have another one of these I'll prepare suitable topics to discuss in advance.

On YouTube the procedure lasted less than a minute. In real life it felt like 45 minutes. Some of that could've possibly been due to the lack of predetermined topics of conversation. In the end we kicked around some last minute name choices, asked what sex we thought the baby would be and mostly babbled small talk hoping the three of us would survive. The whole thing was crazy. First, we realized we were walking the dog three hours earlier in the day discussing what challenges lie ahead after having the baby. Now, three hours later, we are parents for the second time. How does that happen? On top of that while in the hallway contemplating the various probabilities of outcomes I came to the sudden realization that I am truly an adult now. One can possibly have a wife and still be chalked full of immaturity. Sure, buying and taking care of a dog takes a bit of the juvenile edge off but you can still act like a moron daily if one so chose. Once baby number one shows up you absolutely need to grow up. A real life human is now totally dependent on your daily, no hourly actions. But still your spouse can throw you a bone now and then and take care of your child so you can hang out with the boys on an all night poker binge. Now, well now, we are a family of four. With a dog! I'm officially old, mature and responsible. Wow. Three hours ago we were a family of three walking the dog and now we have boys, plural.

Being newly responsible I am happy to report that the procedure lasted a total of two hours and mom and baby came through fine. We have named our newest son Gavin Robert. Robert is Carrie's father's middle name, her uncle's given name and her late grandfather's name. Gavin weighed in at 6 pounds and 15 ounces. He was born at 12:25 pm and measured 19 3/4 inches in length. They had a little trouble getting him out due to his breached position. He's having a tougher time breathing, which we were warned about. Since he didn't improve over time they called a doctor in who ordered some blood work and some chest X-rays. The blood work came back fine but there are more tests they are going to do. The X-rays show a shadow on his right lung and diagnosed him with pneumothorax, a collapsed lung. There are various degrees and they tell us this is a light case. Air is trapped between the lung and the outer wall due to a bulla rupture. It causes him to labor when breathing, specifically exhaling. He has to use his abdominal muscles to push the air out. They will continue to monitor the situation. They may just keep him as is and it should resolve itself.

Based upon by own medical education I would say he's improving over time and I don't think they will do anything. It should take care of itself over the next 24-48 hours. Other than that he's healthy. We are very happy to have another boy and a healthy one. We are glad that Carrie pulled through and handled her first major medical issue with poise, courage and success. I am happy that I stayed on my feet and didn't cause a scene so the attention was focused on the right people; mom and baby. We will be in the hospital until Saturday recovering and the next 24 hours will be a little tough for mom and baby as she transitions out of recovery and gets back on her feet. We will keep everyone posted with the latest developments over the next couple of days. We will introduce Q and Gavin tomorrow afternoon so we are excited about that. Here is a pic after his first bath.