Still at the hospital...

Well, it's been another long day in the hospital. Christine was supposed to go home this morning, but she spiked a fever of 101 degrees right before lunch. After this happened the docs were a little worried, and said they probably would want to keep her. They really want to make sure her belly does not get infected from the surgery.

Right after lunch her temp went down to 100, and then an hour later down to 97. Now it has been normal ever since, but they still wanted her to stay.

My parents and Christine's dad spent most of the afternoon and evening with us. It was very nice to have them here. It really helped pass the time in this room. It's very nice, but it's also definitely time to go home.

Later, Christine's mom and sister, Cherie, came by to visit and we got some more pictures.

So, tomorrow we finally get to go home. We get to introduce Carter to the dogs and cats. It definitely will be interesting. If I am worried about anything, it will be the dogs barking every once in awhile.

The cats will also have to learn that they are no longer a priority and their spot has been taken on the bed, ha!

This photo here is of my dad, Gary. He started to wonder if we were ever going to have a baby and even started to lose hope when Christine got her real estate license. We proved him wrong and overjoyed him!

Christine's mom was thrilled over Carter too. It's been a real joy having her with us as well.

Extended family

It was great having Christine's whole family nearby. They were able to arrive promptly. My own was flying in later in the day. My parents were planning on arriving about a week after we had the baby, but we were so over due that they ended up coming out on the day we had Carter. This is all of Christine's family-sister Lynda, dad Armand, sister Cherie and mom Linda.

More pics...

Mom gets to hold baby for the first time.

I had to wear scrubs to go in to to surgery with my family. I got to keep the funny little hat too!

Carter Graham Parker - first pic

Carter Graham Parker - Born on September 28, 2005

It's still a boy! (And I am now a father!)

Everything went off with success! It was a genuine blessing that we did the "C"-section. Carter ended up having his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck once, and then again around his body. It was really tight too. There was nothing more my strong wife could do to push him out. He was being held and "tied" in.
Christine was amazing. She stayed strong the whole time. I got to go in to the surgery with them. The anesthesiologist asks me "How are you with the site of blood?". "I'm ok", I tell him. The next thing I know, I am watching my son come out of Christine's belly. He was big! I never thought such a baby could fit into her stomach! They pull his head out and immediately he opens his eyes and cries, while the rest of him is still inside! It was amazing! God has done so much for us, and we are truly blessed.
Carter is quickly taken to a warmer table in the room and cleaned up. He is very vocal, but not crying too much. The techs clean him a bit while my wife and I look on. Wow. He's gorgeous, and still a boy! We joked frequently about the "what-ifs" of having a girl instead, despite the ultrasounds that told otherwise.
I get to go over and cut his cord, which was awesome! Christine did great. She watched the whole time. After that, I was handed my son. I was holding something and someone that is changing my life and everything around it. I hold him up for Christine. I am so happy, but so sad. My eyes are full of tears. She can't hold him right now, only myself. I wanted so much for her to be able to hold him first. It was a long road to this point, and she deserved it.
After this the tech and I take him out and place him into the hospital's bassinet. I get to wheel him down the hall and past the nurse's station back into our room. That was a feeling of change. Here I was pushing my new son down the hall. Who am I? What am I? Somehow in the last 10 minutes I was titled with "Dad" and this squirming little man became my son. He is taken into our room where they start to do all their tests and vitals and stuff. Everything is great. I left for a few to minutes to go sit with Christine while they finished her up. I was excited, but it still felt wrong for Christine to have to be stuck in surgery without our baby.
They were stitching up her uterus when I came back. I got to take a peek. That is something I never thought I would see. I was like a big balloon, that was deflating.
Carter was born at 817 am via "C"-section, weighing 6 lbs. 14.5 ounces and 20.5 inches. No, he really was not that big of a baby, but I was expecting something a lot smaller. His mom was small, and it really seemed amazing that his whole body fit inside her.

Scared.

I am scared. After a long night of everything going great, we are at a standstill. Christine did wonderful. She labored admirably and did exactly what all the doctors told her to. Our doc even told her he was impressed with her pushing.

Now Carter is halfway down the birth canal, but has stopped. Every time Christine pushes, he makes progress, but afterwards he retracts back up. I am scared because the doc has said that he thinks we should go to a “C”-section. He told this to us, and I wanted to cry. I was immediately scared for Christine and the baby. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Christine was supposed to deliver normally, and immediately bring the baby to her chest. Now she is supposed to go through surgery to have our son brought into the world. This will be the first time she has had surgery. This also is the first time she has even had to stay in the hospital, for that matter.

I immediately made phone calls, updating family and friends of the situation. I had a hard time talking without breaking down. I don’t think I’m ready for this. Christine is doing better than myself.

First Visitors

Charmaine just got here. I am very glad. She has been an absolute blessing for Christine. God has placed some great people in our lives, and we have been extremely fortunate. Charmaine’s husband, Derrick, and I have also really bonded. He has got me into road biking, which I extremely enjoy. We also bonded quite well with computers. I am more of a geek than him, but we both enjoy the benefits of technology.

Hospital Arrival

Well we got here at 8pm, and Christine started her I.V. Surprisingly, once she was being monitored, we found out that she has been having small contractions all along. I am not surprised, as her stomach has been quite tight, quite often lately. Our doc came in and measured her at 2 cm. Wow. Carter really does not want to come out!

He recommended starting her on some Pertosin, so that’s where we are at. It’s supposed to increase contractions and the frequency of them. It’s also supposed to act quickly, so hopefully something happens soon. Otherwise we are just watching tv. The new birthing centers here at the hospital are great! They even call the room “suites”, and that is exactly what they are! I even have a sofa that turns into my own bed! Cool!

Waiting

Tomorrow night is the big day. The weekend was quite uneventful. We tried almost every technique recommended by friends, to no avail. Carter is just too comfy in there, and does not want to come out!

Tomorrow at this time we will be in the hospital, one way or the other. My parents fly in on Wednesday as well. Luckily a close friend and brother, Daryl, is going to pick them up for me. That's one less thing to worry about while we are at the hospital.

We have been all set to go to the hospital for weeks now. The car seat is in the car, our bags are ready and in the car as well. Maybe something will happen tomorrow, and we can go in on our own, prior to the induction. That would be nice. :-)

Induction scheduled...

Our doc, Dr. Lundblad, called us back with a real appointment now. If nothing happens this coming weekend, the baby will be induced at 5 pm Tuesday evening (9/27). He told us to call first at about 4 pm to make sure the Labor and Delivery Ward will not be too overbooked. It's amazing how many people are having babies this month! Our birthing class we took last month actually had about 5 other couples who were all due in the same week as us. I guess everyone was quite busy around Christmas, as we were! Ha!

< 2cm - slow progression

Well, the good new is that the doctor told Christine she was dialated almost 2 cm today. Not quite enough to do anything about, or worry for that matter. He suggested many techniques to move things along, but we'll see.

The bad news is that we now have a potential date next week to induce labor. The hospital does not want to go past 42 weeks, and we will be 41 on this Friday. So, we will keep praying, and ask God to deliver this baby before then.

Induction is not bad, but they say once you start, labor comes on real fast. That also does not say the baby is to be born real quick either.

It's final, Carter Graham Parker

After much debating and throwing names back and forth, we have decided to go with Carter Graham. It's been tough, but we always came back to Carter, and I guess using my name as a middle name has a bit of a ring to it.

We are 1 day overdue, and he seems to have no plans to leave the comfort of Christine's belly anytime soon. She goes in again on Wednesday to be checked again. Maybe she won't have to.

Due date approaching fast...

Well, the baby is due in 2 days. Christine has had no contractions or nothing. She went to the doctor today, and found out that she was not dialated at all. The doctor did one final ultrasound, confirming everything is well. This particular one is of Carter's face: