After we (read, my mom and your dad) coddled you for a bit, the nurse took under the McD's heating lamp. I was told that your body temperature had to raise up but they would bring you to me when you were ready. That was fine with me because I was in no state to take care of a baby. I was shaking, I was cold, I was beat down tired and exhausted too. The doctor had had enough, so after sewing me up, he left. Your grandma and aunt Martha left too. Your daddy was the last one to go. I knew he was starving and tired and he was trying so hard to stay for me. I took one look at him and knew that he wouldn't last more than ten more minutes so I sent him home. (This is all still happening in the delivery room...) The nurse sent me into the bathroom but I forget why. Probably to put on some special grandma underwear and mega pads. Then she wheeled me upstairs. We hadn't decided to pay extra for a private room so I didn't know what I getting in to, but after having you I could face anything. Fortunately, the room was dark and as it turned out, the second bed was not occupied. I was given the far bed; read, furthest from the bathroom. The trek to the bathroom was a long one. Whenever I had to use it I was so glad I had the room to myself. I was anxious to see you see you again, I didn't know if I could wait until whenever they brought you. Anyway, I lay down and tried to get comfortable. I lay there and looked at my belly where you used to be not even two hours earlier. How best can I describe what it looked like? Like weathered leather, maybe? Sort of. It was all flabby and very unattractive. It didn't take me long to fall asleep. I don't know when I woke up again, but I do know it was pretty late. Did I eat? I must have had a true midnight snack cause I was starved. But I was still alone. No roommate and no you. Grateful for the opportunity to rest some more and at the same time worried about why you were gone so long, I went back to sleep. If I woke up more times in the night I don't remember now (keep in mind all this happened two years ago from the writing of this entry). In the morning I felt so much better but I was more worried than ever. Where were you? After a few more hours they finally brought you and put in my waiting arms. Along with you came a hospital version of a bassinette for you to sleep in if necessary. The nurse said your body temperature wasn't rising as it should so they had to keep you in a warmer and watch you and try to get you drink some water. Eventually you did but it almost broke my heart knowing you were going through all that while I was resting. You were all bundled up and had the cutest hat on your head. You were born on President's Day so the hat had a US flag theme.
So much happened that day. Some lady came by with some birth registration forms to fill out.
We hadn't even picked a name for you yet! I called your father. He didn't know either. 'Sidney' popped into my head and I liked it immediately. Your father already has a K Jr. I wanted you to be named after me. Yes, Sidney is not a derivate of Shelly, but both our names start with an 's' and end with a 'y'. That was good enough for me. Originally I wanted to call you 'Shai' but your father was not having it...not at all. He ok'd 'Sidney', completely forgetting that he has a niece by that name. It's a good thing he forgot because I would have been stuck. Your middle name wasn't much easier. It was almost 'Evan', then your father came to his egotistical senses and came up with 'Kristof' (since his name starts with a 'k' he wanted one of yours to also). We had already decided to name you after some one who meant a great deal us - our youth pastor who married us but who died too young a few months afterwards - and whose middle name was Lascelles. So that was you, Sidney Kristof Lascelles P.
Breakfast was good. All I had to do was call down to the cafeteria and they would bring it up and the insurance covered it. The lady who brought it turned out to be another blessing because we've been acquainted for years. Needless to say, she took care of us foodwise throughout the day.
Another lady came by to tell me about the breastfeeding class. I figured, I've never done this before, and there's nothing to be embarassed about, so I went. I was the only one there. We had the instructor all to ourselves which was great. Yet another blessing. Later in the day she came by to check on us and informally test me on what I had learned. I showed her and she was impressed, I think more with the fact that I wasn't shy about it around her. Hey, the way I looked at it, if I missed out on an opportunity to learn the right way, you and I would both be suffering later. Better to put up with some discomfort up front and it would be smooth sailing thereafter. That's just how it worked too.
We started getting visitors and gifts and flowers. I appreciated everyone and everything so much. The visitors were amazed at how well I had recuperated. I was surprised too. So many more blessings.
Late in the afternoon we got a roommate. She was really nice. She had a c-section but she had her baby in the bassinette next to her. I felt bad for her and would try to help her when I could because she was in such pain. She couldn't hold her baby like I know she wanted to. She could barely sit up to reach her water. The kwinkydink here is that she had the same ob as I did
and she lived in the building next to us. We talked on a off throughout the day. A day or so later she left. I think she had to leave but we stayed because my insurance was better. (I thank God every day for my job and the awesome benefits.) So we were alone again but not for long. A young couple came in soon afterwards. They must have been in high school, that's what it seemed like. That wasn't so bad but they turned out to be the roommates from hell. So much for privacy. I think their whole family showed up - aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, siblings, parents, church brothers and sisters - I mean
everybody came. AND they brought food, from Popeyes I think. So there they were one curtain away from us, making all kinds of noise, visiting hours were over, they were eating fried chicken, they took our chair, they complained about our light being on (the one right over my head), there was almost no room to pass them to get to the bathroom, they were absolutely horrible and inconsiderate. Fortunately, we only had to endure them a few hours because it was our turn to leave. Believe you me, we just about ran out of that place.
So there you have it! I'll tell you about the next three months that felt like an eternity another time.
