Monday, September 26, 2005

Baby Day

(In reverse order - all times approximate)

September 26, 2005
6:00 pm: Find out the baby's name -- Lucas Evan.

6:30 am: Wake up for work. Groan.


2:30 am: Go to bed. Set alarm for 6:30. Grumble.

1:30 am: Get home from hospital. Consume Taco Bell. Get laundry to a stopping point for the day.

1:00 am: Leave hospital. Listen to the rumble in my gut. Decide on Taco Bell for sustenance.

12:30 am: Apparently, two names are on the table: Kyler Grant and Lucas Evan. The name Grant is dismissed as that is the name of the hospital. Nothing is decided. (My attempts to vote for Lucas Evan are shot down when I announced that I would call the child “Lev.” Grandma no like. Gordon finds funny. Sam not serious. All breathe sigh of relief.)

12:00 am: See Stacie. Converse about the day.

September 25, 2005
11:48 pm: Everyone (save Grandma, Grandpa, and Gordon) sees the child for the first time. He’s huge! He has Gordon’s whole head! He does have more hair than Justin!



11:40 pm: Stacie’s parents emerge from the surgery/delivery/whatever-they-call-it area and announce that Stacie’s being moved into a room where we all can visit.

11:00 pm: Gordon comes back and lets us know that two people can come in to see Stacie and the boy. Grandpa and Grandma are the unanimous choices. Leslie and Gretchen call next.

10:54 pm: Stats are given. He’s nine pounds, five ounces and 20 inches long. Did I just type that? Even now, 12-ish hours later, it still amazes me. He’s a big human for his age. I’m not sure, but he may already be taller than Gretchen.

10:25 pm: Gordon finally comes out, beaming from ear to ear.


It’s a boy! No stats yet, but he’s big. Not one to miss out on asking the tough, relevant questions, I start the following exchange (actual dialog possibly altered, but content is not):

Sam: “So, Gordon, does he have more hair than you?” (Gordon’s hair is intentionally short – he is in the military and all.)

Gordon: “No.”

Sam: “So…uh…does he have more hair than Justin?” (Justin’s hair is short. This is only partially intentional…)

Gordon: “Yes, yes he does.”

10:10 pm: A bell rings in the waiting room. The new grandparents rejoice, as that apparently means a baby has been born. I remind everyone that it might not be Stacie’s. The other mother could simply be less popular (we had nine people in the room).

10:06 pm: The spawn of Gordon and Stacie was born at this time. Let it be shouted from the highest mountain that Gordon has reproduced officially now. Congratulations go to them! However, pray for the rest of us…

Notes from time between 6 pm and birth:

  • Stacie and Gordon decided to have the doctors do a cesarean section as opposed to giving birth naturally (maybe) at 4 am. Long story short, a nurse made a mistake in the amount Stacie had dilated, leaving four to six more hours of labor for her. She opted for the c-section.

  • A pair of little girls (average age 10), sisters I presume, are bugging us to play games (we had cards and such). They are quite rowdy, and quite bold. At one point, Leslie asks if they had a relative giving birth. One of the girls says, “I’m just up here playing because my mom…(brief pause)…her brother got shot.” She then proceeds to play some more, not even reflecting on her words. I realize that she’s ten, but it takes me aback how desensitized she was. Very sad…

  • Justin, Leslie, and Shana arrive at about 6:30. No computer, so no live-blogging. Oh, well – now you get to read this!

  • Gretchen disappears at some point – I don’t see her again until Gordon and Stacie officially begin to consider the c-section.

  • Lots of card-playing.



6:00 pm: Arrive at the hospital.

5:00 pm: Gordon calls and tells Gretchen that Stacie is 8-9 cm dilated. We wrap things up at home and head out.

11:30 am – 5:00 pm: Perform various and sundry tasks around the house to prepare for imminent in-law move-in.

11:00 am: Gretchen calls Leslie and hears the current baby news.

10:30 am: Leslie calls both my cell and our home phones and leaves a message.

4:30 am: Leslie calls to tell us that Stacie’s water broke. Gretchen and I were sleeping, as we are bad humans. (Actually, we couldn’t answer – our upstairs phone’s ringer is out.)

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