The longest day Part 2

Jill seemed almost relieved at the thought of a C-section after all she'd been through. She had been feeling her labor pains for quite some time, we went to the hospital right before Christmas thinking it was time. She gave the Doctor the ok and I broke down crying. I felt like this was my fault somehow. Here was my beautiful wife broken and beat from the long day and now she was being rushed off to be sawed in half, or at least that's the way it felt to me. I grabbed her hand and said "I'm sorry". I walked into the hallway and called Keven. He kept saying things to keep me positive and was pointing out all the good. But all I could think about was Jill and that she was going to go have major surgery. I was scared. Keven told me he was coming back to the hospital. I jumped off the phone and hugged Pennie. I heard Jill ask someone in the room where I had run off to. I went back in the room and I told her I just couldn't go in the operating room. I would just pass out and be a bigger problem. She was very understanding and Kathy jumped in and took my place.

Keven was there in a matter of minutes. Right as he was walking in we were wheeling Jill down the hall. He walked with us right up to the operating room. I gave Kathy a hug goodbye. She reassured me that everything would be fine. Jill and I told each other "I love you", and then she was gone. I felt so helpless, but then again Keven put a positive spin on it all. We met back up with Ken and Pennie and starting moving all of our stuff from the labor room we had just spent 20 hours in, into our new recovery room. It only took a few minutes and we had everything transferred down the hall. We sat down and I jokingly asked if I was suppose to check on the baby first or my wife. What would a good husband/dad do? And before we decided where I was suppose to go a nurse came in the room and said "I need the Dad and a camera".

Walking down the hall was so weird. They only took Jill away a few minutes ago, but I knew I was finally going to see my baby girl. What would she look like? How big was she? Is Jill ok? My mind was racing. The nurse took me to the nursery and told me to wait here. She said it might take a while and to be patient. I was so nervous. Another nurse made small talk about being a first time father. Finally they brought in this blood covered, cone headed, swollen, little girl. They put her on a scale to weigh her. They stretched her legs to measure her. I remember thinking, "stop being so rough with my girl". Then I saw the scale. 9 lbs 3 oz. Wow, no wonder Jill couldn't get her to come naturally. She's a little tank! Then they said she was 20 1/2 inches. I couldn't believe she was such a big girl. She wasn't fat either. She did have huge cheeks, but she didn't have fat arms, legs, or belly. She was just big.

I can't describe the way I was feeling. I was so happy to see her. I was in love. The connection was instant. It was amazing. The nurse came back and told me that they had to "jump start" her and that she wasn't breathing at first. They told me they had to keep her for a while to monitor her as C-Section babies who were unresponsive can fade away fast after they get going. I was so nervous, but I knew in my heart that she was going to be fine. I stood over her, gazing at my new girl when I noticed Keven, Pennie, and Ken standing behind the glass door snapping pictures. The nurse asked if I'd like to hold Lucille. She told me that I'd probably ruin my white shirt, but I didn't care. I picked up my baby and it was so wonderful. The nurses opened the door to the nursery and the family came in. By this time Kathy was in the room and everyone was taking photos. The nurses joked that they looked like paparazzi. I was so tired, relieved, and happy. I look like I'm drunk in all the photos. The nurse came back and ran some more tests on Lucy's oxygen and blood, and told me she was going to be just fine. I was so happy, but then my mind went back to Jill and how she must be doing. I asked the nurse if I could go to my wife and she lead the way.