And so the name Andrew Thomas was chosen! I loved the name Andrew from the beginning but Paul kept telling me the only way we could name him Andrew was if his middle name was Bernard. For those of you not familar with the office, there is a character on the show with that name. I seriously considered Bernard just so I could get my little Andrew! He'll thank me later for not giving in! We decided on Thomas for the middle name because it represented both sides of our families. Ray's middle name is Thomas and I have an Uncle Tom.
We spent the rest of the weekend finishing up last minute things and unpacking my hospital pack which had so many things to help me through labor but were unnecessary since we were having a c-section. Sunday felt strange because it was the last day Paul and I would ever spend as a family of two. As we finished up everything I realized that I had not given Paul a hair cut and he badly needed one! I told him that we had to cut his hair that night because he couldn't meet his new son with shaggy hair. So at 11:30pm, we cut his hair and then headed to bed with great anticipation for the morning.
Our alarm went off at 4:30am, but neither of us had really slept the night before. I think we were both so nervous and excited to sleep. We got ready and headed to the hospital for our 6:00am check in. I had always expected it to be chaotic getting to the hospital to have the baby but since we were having a c-section it was very calm. We got to the hospital and checked in at the birth center where we were greeted by our nurse that would be with us throughout the entire process. She was amazing! I think she definitely calmed both of our nerves down about what we were about to expect. Surgery was scheduled for 8:00am but before we could get to that I had to be hooked up to IVs and given 2 bags of fluid. After getting me settled, Paul took all of our things to our room. While he was gone our nurse came in and said that the other c-section that had been before us was cancelled so we would be going in early. A moment of panic set in, I was supposed to still have over an hour to prepare and now she is telling me we are headed in 45 minutes early!
I'm so ready to meet this little man!
Paul came back to the room and we quickly called our parents who wanted to be there during the surgery. We had agreed that no one was going to be allowed into our room until after 12pm so that we could spend time just the 3 of us. Both parents said that even though they couldn't see us right away they really wanted to be there. Dr. K came in to go over what was going to happen and sign off on the paperwork. We were all ready to go but then they realized that there wasn't a 2nd doctor there yet so we had to wait for one to show up before we could get this show on the road. Finally Dr. C (who happened to be the dr. that sent us for the growth ultrasound) got there and we were ready to go. We headed to the operating room just before 8am. I had learned from several friends that once you get to the OR, they would only take me into the room and Paul would have to stay in the hall until after I had my spinal. I warned him of this so that he wouldn't freak out if it was taking too long.
I kissed Paul and headed in the OR and at this point I got more nervous. The anethesiologist arrived and explained the process. Our nurse was great and held my hand while I was getting the spinal and talked me through it. As soon as it was in my legs started to tingle and they swung them up on the table. Finally Paul was able to come in and that made me feel so much better. He sat at my head with the anesthesiologist and held my hand and we just talked.
At 8:06am, Dr. K and Dr. C offiicially began the surgery. As they "worked" they were chatting away like they were having coffee which made both Paul and I feel better because they seemed so relaxed. I couldn't feel anything until they started to push on the top of my belly to get Andy out. As they were taking him out, Dr. K said "Oh my gosh Rachel! He is huge!!" I remember hearing his first crys and being so relieved. They held him up so that we coul see him and then took him to the table. I heard someone say 8:12 and I said 'Oh well thats not that big'. I was then told that was the time he was born and that they hadn't weighed him yet. Once they got him on the scale the nurse said "He's 11lbs and 22in long!' - Ok that is a big baby! Paul got to go see Andy while they cleaned him up and were putting me back together. Finally Paul got to bring Andy over to me and I was completely inlove! He was perfect!
Happy Birthday Andrew Thomas!
And now we are three!
We were done with surgery at 8:28pm and headed to our room. As nervous as I was going into the surgery I could not have asked for a better experience. All of the Drs and nurses we had were awesome and made sure both Paul and I were doing ok throughout the process. Our delivery nurse even came by our room the next day before she went home just to check on us. Once we were brought down to our room Paul headed up to tell the parents that everything was good and show off the first few pictures we had of Andy.
After we got settled into our room it was finally my turn to hold my sweet boy. There were so many emotions and things going on that I cannot remember the moment I got to hold Andy. I told Paul that to this day it still bothers me that I can't remember it. All I remember is having him in my arms and never wanting to give him up. He was my little boy. We spent the next several hours just starring at Andy and sending out text messages that Andrew had arrived and that everyone was doing great. Andy got his first bath and his footprints taken. You know how pictures are so important to me and Paul did a wonderful job capturing everything he could since I was stuck in bed.
Even though I may not remember every detail from that day, I will never forget the moment Dr. K held Andrew up over the blue curtain and the amount of love that I felt for not only my little boy but for my amazing husband and the family that we had created.
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