We all knew that our new son, grandson and nephew would be showing up at the end of May or possibly the beginning of June. We also knew that Erika was so done being pregnant and wanted him to come out as soon as possible.
Erika went to her OBGYN appointment on Thursday morning and they found out she was about 2 cm dilated. They weren't concerned right away but if she was experiencing anything unusual to call and come in. She left and went to the store to get a few things like a pineapple and donuts when she got a phone call. They asked her if she wanted to be induced that day (due to her age and circumstance), and she did not hesitate. She had the choice to be induced that day or wait until next week (they do not do inductions on the weekends), and she was so ready to not be pregnant anymore. She took them up on the offer.
She called Zac, Mom and then me to tell us the news. We were excited for her and excited to meet Brian, yes, I found out his name about a month prior by accident. I kept it a secret. She went home, grabbed her things, waited for Zac to come home and she and Zac drove to the hospital, checked in and were immediately put in a room. Everyone except Dad was at work. I decided I was going to stay home unless he was born within a few hours.
They gave her a pill and what she called a "pee pee balloon". Mom arrived around 1 p.m. and waited around all day with her. Erika had asked me earlier that afternoon if I would go over and feed the dogs around 5 and let them out to go potty around bedtime. I told her I would. The "pee pee balloon" fell out around 6 p.m. The next step was being hooked up to and IV and then waited some more.
I went over to their house around 5, fed the dogs and let them go potty. Erika has a security system, so she was able to see me and the dogs and even talked to us through the security system. It's amazing the technology we have now. I went back home and helped Ben fix the dryer, I mowed the lawn and went for a walk around the park. We ate dinner, hung out and then I drove back over there to let them out to go potty before bedtime. Erika said there were no changes, but she was getting severely uncomfortable.
Her water broke just before midnight and started having bad contractions. She was given an epidural and she said her legs were shaking uncontrollably from the contractions. She said once the epidural kicked in, she said it was better.
Mom called me around 1:45 a.m. (I was asleep because I had to work the next day) to let me know that the baby should be coming soon. It was hard to go back to sleep after that, but I managed to do so. The baby was ready to come out before 2 a.m., but she had to stop pushing to wait for the doctor. He was in an emergency C-section. Erika said there was a lot of pressure, but she wasn't in pain. Once the doctor showed up, she said she had to push about five times before he came out. He did not cry when he came out but did much later. Zac was weird about cutting the umbilical cord, so Mom had to do it.
He was born at 2:56 a.m., was 7lbs, 11 oz and 19 inches long. They named him Brian Emmett. Erika, Mom and Zac got to hold him first. Mom and Zac stayed the night.
That morning, Mom went home to get some sleep, Zac went home for a bit to take care of the dogs and Dad came by earlier that day to see his first grandchild. He was smitten. He stayed for a while holding Brian and visiting with Erika.
After I logged off of work, Mom met me at my house, and we headed to the hospital. We stopped at Fred Meyers to get some flowers and a small balloon. We made it to the hospital, had to find a parking spot and let Mom lead the way since she knew where to go. All three of us, were born at St. Peter's Hospital. The last few times I've been there was not a happy moment, so I tried to stay away from the hospital as much as I could. This time, it was nice to go for a happy moment.
We got to her room, LL20 within the birthing center and Grandma Karen was holding baby Brian. Zac was feeding the dogs and Erika was relaxing. Ben arrived and he held Brian for a while. Then I did for about 20 minutes, until I got hot and sweaty. Doug and Sonya arrived, and I let Doug hold him for a while.
We stayed and visited until about 6 p.m. and then went home since visiting hours were pretty short.
It's weird that we have a baby in our family now. It will be a huge change for everyone.
Next Adventure: Erika's Baby Shower and Dick's NW Sausage and Deli
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