Let's start from the very beginning...somebody once said that was a very good place to start!

Last Tuesday, May 27th, my wife and I went in for her doctor's appointment. They had us scheduled to do an ultra sound so that the doctor could get a better grip on the baby's size and living conditions. Upon viewing the ultra sound results, the doctors said that the amniotic fluid levels were low. Basically, this meant that the padding around Jude was getting smaller and smaller making every movement or strain even more stressful on him. The doctor said it would be normal in this case to schedule a C-section and get the kid out knowing that labor would probably be even more stressful on him now that the fluid levels were low. But, not wanting to do a surgery in vain, he scheduled Jayme to be induced two days later to see if she would be able to have him naturally......skip two days forward....


Jayme and I arrived at the hospital at 6am for our scheduled inducement. Very shortly after arriving we were taken to our birthing room and Jayme was plugged into an ivy, baby heart monitor, and a contraction monitor. They began inducing and right away the contractions began to occur...although still very light. The doctors continued to increase the level of inducing and continued to monitor her progress and the baby's heart beat. I think it was around noon when Jayme had her epidural because the contractions were beginning to heighten, but she wasn't dialating. Mid afternoon came and the doctors were seeing that Jayme was having big contractions almost once per minute and yet she was still not dialated. Not wanting to cause any more stress on Jayme and Jude, our doctor recommended we have a C-section because it was obvious that her body wasn't paving the way for Jude to come out naturally. Through some tears we decided that we agreed and Jayme would have the C....skip forward about 45 minutes....



They wheel Jayme into the OR and leave me in the hallway while they get her prepped. Every thought in the world was raising through my head at this time, and none of them were slowing down long enough for me to even catch my breath. Finally after what seemed like 30 minutes, they told me that they were ready for me to come join. I walk into this white, frozen OR where I see my wife strapped down with her arms both laying straight out strapped down. She's awake and is doing great, so I wheel up next to her head and quickly grab her hand. Very quickly the doctor looked over this make-shift curtain that is keeping Jayme from seeing any farther down her body then just past her noise and tells her that he just pinched her with his tweezers and asks if she felt it. She didn't, so they began with the incision. Jayme and I continued talking just to past the time and also to keep her mind off what is happening! We couldn't believe that in a matter of about 20 minutes, we were going to be holding our first child!!!!.... skip forward about 10 minutes...

The doctors are nearing the end and we hear Jude's first cry!!! The doctor standing behind me taps me on the shoulder and tells me that I can stand up and watch the rest if I would like to. Not hesitating a second I stand up fully expecting to see the doctor holding my son....what I saw was Jude's tiny head sticking out of Jayme's lower stomach!!!!! Within the next 20 seconds I watch the doctors wiggle little Jude's body out and quickly take him to the side under a heat lamp. WE HAVE A BOY!!! I look back at my wife and smile. She smiles back and is anxious to see and hold him. The doctors tell me that I can go over and see him, and so I do. Below is what I saw.



The nurse cleans him off just a bit and wraps him very tightly with at least two blankets and then hands him over to me! I take him to Jayme and we were able to be together as a family for the first time. This only lasted about 2 minutes, but it was an amazing two minutes.



The nurse then escorts me out of the OR and down this back hallway where our family is waiting to see him. We take some quick pictures and then we all ride the elevator to the 7th floor where the nursery is located. Our family stays outside the nursery where they continue to snap photos and capture video moments. I'm going crazy on the inside of the nursery listening to my sons first song....a song of brand new life!! I put my finger down by his hand and he grasped it like he was looking for reassurance that everything was going to be alright! The nurses continue to clean him and warm him while the doctors in the OR are putting Jayme back together. She said that she was so out of it because of the medicine that she actually fell asleep as they sewed her up. Shortly, I was able to go back to our room and meet up with Jayme, and about 5 minutes later, the nurses wheeled Jude down to see us!!!



Hopefully I will have the time like today to continue telling stories about Jude and his life. Hope you enjoyed the first one!! Hope and peace....