Birth Stories
Wednesday, October 8, 2008: Last day of work
This was my last day of work before beginning maternity leave. My boss had called the day before and suggested that we start it on Wednesday, since I had laid out in my leave plan to him that I planned on working up until the due date. Well, my original plans were that I would work up until baby was born-- my thinking was that would be the "due date". But he knew that my "official due date" was October 9th, so that was the deadline in his eyes. SO, I needed to have all ends wrapped up by noon on the 8th. I think I ended up working until 1pm. After that, I ran a bazillion errands-- paid some bills, went to the meat market to stock up on enough meat to last through maternity leave, hit the grocery store, etc. I was a busy girl! That night, we had Evan, and Greg decided to take Evan over to the Old County Home and take pictures. I tagged along and took pictures. Can I just say that its a bad idea to go somewhere that doesn't have bathrooms accessable at night when you're due to have a baby at any moment? Opps. But anyway, it was fun, and it was a good way for Greg and Evan to spend some time together. I got some great pictures of the two of them.
After they left, we hit Grounds for Thought, figuring it could be our last chance to go together alone. We got some coffee and did our usual book loop there. We headed to bed not long after the debate was over.
Thursday, October 9th: Kaleb's birthday!
4am-7:45am
Around 4am, I woke up with some horrific diarrhea. (If this is too crunchy for you, stop reading now-- it'll get worse). I had about 3 episodes of this. After the second episode, I moved out to the living room and sat in the lazyboy. I knew I wasn't going back to sleep for a while and I didn't want to disturb Greg, since he had to go to work in a few hours. I started one of the shows I had recorded on the DVR. Contractions started shortly after I sat down. I kindof rolled my eyes at them, because I've had quite a few episodes of contraction before and figured it was just going to go away. BUT, I wrote them down anyway, as I had heard that sometime people have bad diarrhea prior to going into labor.
Contractions were about 5 minutes apart to start with, but within an hour, they were down to 4 minutes. I finally woke Greg up around 5:45am and told him that contractions were 4 minutes apart and had been regular for about an hour and a half. And they were kindof painful. I called the hospital, and they told me to take a warm shower and see what happened after that. I gladly took a shower! Contractions continued through the shower and even wound down to 2 minutes! I insisted that Greg take a shower, too-- I don't think he's ever taken a shower so fast! And then we gathered everything togethere that we needed and headed to the hospital. I was still convinced that this was another false alarm and they would just send us home.
8am
We got to the hospital, and Greg took me inside and grabbed a wheelchair for me. He went out to move the car and promised he would be right back. I swear, he was gone forEVER. The girls at the front desk had wanted to take me upstairs without him, but I wanted to wait for him because he would be right back. Well, instead of parking in the ER parking lot like they had TOLD him to do in the prepared childbirth classes, and instead parked in the main lot, clear in the back. Grr!
They took us up to the triage room and hooked me up to all the monitors. Sure enough, they were coming, though at about 3 minutes apart-- so they slowed a little. They monitored for about an hour-- I sent Greg down to get himself something for breakfast for himself. After he was done eating, they sent us out to walk the halls for a 1/2 hour. I was at 2cm. Then monitored me again. Then sent me out to walk again for another 1/2 hour. She said I was still at 2cm and to keep walking. I was in tears, after the second round, sure they were going to send me home... However, baby and doctor had other plans...
After the second round, Dr. Calgumuggio came in and examined me, declared me at closer to 3cm and asked the nurse for a hook so he could break my water. There was this warm gush of warm fluids. They monitored me for a few more minutes, and then had me put my pants back on (!!!) and walk down to room 304. Little did I know this would be my home for the next 4 days!
They hooked me back up to the monitor. Once I was settled in, Greg headed down to the car to get our bags. The first thing the nurse did was draw blood and hook up an IV. If at some point I changed my mind about not wanting meds, I would need to be well hydrated. I warned her that my veins roll, and that most have to use a pediatric needle to get things started. She actually heeded my warning and used the correct needle. She got it on the first try (MY HERO! LOL). I was in a good mood at this point and feeling okay. After she got it started, she said they wanted to monitor for a while and then I could get up and walk to get things moving along.
Noon- 4:30pm Everything was a blur....
Greg and I paced those halls quite a bit, but the contractions just were not getting any stronger, and I wasn't dilating any more. Around noon is when things started spiraling out of control and completely against our birthplan. First, they wanted to start Pictocin to get my contractions stronger. They started out light, but tolerable. Mom came shortly after that bearing gifts, including animal crackers and magazines. They kept uping the Pict and by 3pm, I was very uncomfortable and in extreme pain. Soon after that, they checked me, and I was still at 3cm. I was sobbing at this point and Greg got really close to me, looked directly in my eyes and told me something along the lines of my not needing to be a hero, and that I can get pain medication if I needed it. I agreed, and I did need it. They weren't going to let me get into the tub like I had originally wanted to because of the Pictocin. Mom came in to relieve Greg for a few minutes and rubbed my back while I was laying on a beanbag to try to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling. Soon after that, the anesthesiologist came in to insert an epidural in my back. They helped me to the edge of the bed and positioned Greg in front of me to hold me hand and get me to concentrate on him-- basically anything but the contractions so that I would stay still for the dr. to work. It took them 3 tries to get the epidural inserted right-- something about blood coming back in the line, if I remember correctly. I do remember them saying something to the anestesiologist about how the baby's heartrate was dropping, so he needed to move a little faster, and that they were probably going to need that line. Once it was in, my entire right side went numb fairly quickly, but I was still feeling contractions on the left side pretty severely. They injected more boluses (the epi medication). I think the moved me to my left side at one point, saying that the baby didn't like me in the position that I was in. As I said before, much of this was a blur. Just after the got the epi inserted, Greg said he would be right back, and Mom came in to be with me while he was gone. I was in tears, but quickly feeling relief as the pain melted away.
The OB, Dr Cal, came in and was looking at the monitor sheets and said somethings to the nurses and then turned to me and said something about how I wasn't progressing as they'd like, and baby seemed unhappy based on the heartrates- he said we could try to continue for another two hours, but that more than likely we'll be in the same boat we're in now and thought maybe it would be best to go forward with a C-section. This was the LAST thing that I wanted, but somewhere in my heart, I knew that this was what needed to be done. I told him to go ahead and move forward with the c-section.
Greg called his folks and let them know, and soon after the decision was made, Dad walked in the room. I think he was expecting it to be time for me to push-- when we told him that no, they're doing a c-section in just a few minutes, I think he was a little surprised. (Believe me, we were, too!) I felt eerily calm at this point- I suppose it was because there was an end in sight, and soon, I'd be able to meet my baby!Just before it was time to take me down, Greg's parents showed up. Mom let Myra know that Greg probably needed a peptalk, that he was having a hard time. I found out after everything was over that he'd had a little meltdown out in the hall after my epidural-- Mom knew this) So Myra gave him a peptalk, and Greg started changing into his scrubs. Soon after, the nurse came in full scrubs and was ready to take me to the surgical area. Mom and Dad gave me kisses and hand squeezes and they took me back.
5:20pm-7:00pm Surgery.
I was still incredibly calm at this point. They rolled me into the room and moved me over to the surgical table. It was SO cold in that surgical suite. I suppose it was probably nerves, but once they pulled the sheet up and put oxygen on me, I started shaking uncontrollably. But, my wonderful anestesiologist was right there with me and reassuring me throughout. Apparently, they had started, and Greg was allowed to come in. He was so wonderful. He came in and I could tell he was grinning from ear to ear, just looking at his eyes. He walked right up to me, gave me kisses through his mask and told me I was gorgeous. (He's a really good liar-- I found out later that I was grayer than gray). I remember the doctor talking about Bob and Tom on the radio-- no idea at this point what the subject was-- but that G & I both laughed. Soon after that, they said something about feeling some pressure on my chest and they pulled him out. I heard the most beautiful little sqawk/cry and they took him over to examine him. The doctor asked if he had a name, and I shared it-- Kaleb Robert Van Vorhis.
Greg was still with me, and I demanded that he go over and see my baby. I wanted details! I wanted to see him! Greg kept coming over and giving me updates about how beautiful he was. (Little did I know what was actually going on). I wish he'd brought the camera in so I could have seen a picture. Dr Stephanie, his pediatrician, FINALLY brought him over so I could see him for what seemed like seconds. He was so beautiful and perfect. Greg was going to stay with me, but I wanted him to go with Kaleb. I was in good hands and felt like I'd be fine.
They finished up and took me back to my room. Kaleb had to stay in the nursery for at least an hour while they monitored me. I was upset about this. I really wanted to see and spend time with my baby! I'm so proud of Greg for watching out for me- I'd only seen my baby boy for a few moments before they took him away to the nursery. I know that the grandparents all tried to go back to the nursery to see Kaleb once they knew he was in there, but Greg stood his ground for me and turned them away. I feel bad that everyone had to wait to see Kaleb, but I needed to be selfish and see my little boy first! I'm sure he made some grandma's mad, but I think they can appreciate what I was feeling and understand what Greg was doing.
7:00-- I get to hold my little boy, and Evan and Kaleb meet...
Around 7, the nursery nurse who was caring for Kaleb came in and asked if they were ready for baby to come into the room. I was wide awake and looked at the nurse who was caring for me hard. She told them that they weren't quite ready yet, but the nursery nurse said that she thought that baby was. (Little did I know that Greg had put her put to it-- he knew that I needed my baby!). They brought him in and immediately gave him to me. He was ready to nurse right away. I hardly had time to really look at him and take him in before he was latching on. My first thought was "wow, this is going to be easy...." (little did I know!)
We got to spend about 15 minutes together, and Greg took some of Kaleb's and my first pictures together. By this time, Evan was at the hospital, too, so we felt that we really needed to let them in.
Evan came in and his first words were "wow, he has a lot of hair". He came over to the other side of the bed and just looked for a few moments. His next question was "does he have any teeth?". After we talked for a few minutes with Evan, we let him know that Kaleb came with a gift for his big brother-- A transformer-- and a bad guy, at that! Everything with Kaleb was forgotten, and it was all about the transformer. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't more excited about his new brother, but he's 5, and a boy. I was kindof worried about what this would mean in the future with these two, though. I don't think I realized how much it bothered me until a few days later.
All of the grandparents got to hold Kaleb and get pictures together. My sister, Emily, showed up with the kids. Sami and Cole were SO excited I was surprised at how klingy Cole was to me. They brought Kaleb a stuffy animal, puppy. Cole insisted on sitting on the bed with me, which I think scared Greg a little bit. But Cole was SO GOOD. He was full of hugs and kisses for me. Sami was an old hand at this hospital/baby thing and was very loving with Kaleb. She's very into babies right now. Emily told me that she picked the kids up from the babysitter's and Sami was busy playing and not quite ready to go yet-- Em yelled at her across the yard that they had to hurry and get going-- that Aunt Jenny had her baby. Em said she's never seen Sami move so fast. She was in the car, buckled up and ready to go before Em had a chance to say goodbye to the sitter!
With everyone in the room, it was a little overwhelming for me, and had I known what the night would hold, I would have prefered a little less chaos. But I did love every minute of it, and wouldn't have had it any other way. I think this is where Greg and I are different, and we're learning to balance each other out. Because of my large family, I thrive on chaos, where he's more of a calm, orderly person. I guess you could say he's the one who keeps me grounded, and I take him flying every once in a while. It's a good balance. =-)
After everyone had left, the three of us took a deep breath and I finally got to take off Kaleb's blanket and examine him from head to toe. Crazy that I hadn't been able to do that yet! He was perfect. I couldn't stop staring at him. We worked on nursing from 8-11pm, and then slept until 1pm, then he nursed again from 1-4am and again at 8am. It was exhausting and extremely overwhelming. This little boy had his days and nights completely mixed up! This continued throughout the hospital stay until the last night, when we finally started to space things out a little more.
Final Thoughts of the Day...
This was the most incredible, overwhelming, frightening, painful, exciting, exhausting day of my life. A week later, I still cannot believe that Greg and I did this-- We made this little creature, he grew and moved inside of me and came out of me. He's the most beautiful, wonderful thing I have ever done, and I have never been prouder of myself.
Greg is a wonderful husband, father and friend. He watched out for me every step of the way, and never let on that he was frightened or worried. He only offered his love and total support throughout the entire process, and has acted only in my best interests, not thinking about who he might make mad along the way. He has been my rock and through this process, I've fallen deeper in love with him than I ever thought possible. As a father, he continues to amaze me. Despite the fact that we've both been sleep deprived, he's been up with Kaleb when I'm up (and when I'm not) and has done so much for both Kaleb and myself that I've been unable to do since having surgery. I can honestly say that I have only changed about 5 diapers since Kaleb was born. Greg has handled all of those. He can read me and my face and knows when I've done too much or when there's not much more that I can do.
I'm a lucky girl. I have the love of my life by my side and a precious gift from God in my arms. How could life possibly get any better?
Kaleb Robert's Birth Story (very long)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008: Last day of work
This was my last day of work before beginning maternity leave. My boss had called the day before and suggested that we start it on Wednesday, since I had laid out in my leave plan to him that I planned on working up until the due date. Well, my original plans were that I would work up until baby was born-- my thinking was that would be the "due date". But he knew that my "official due date" was October 9th, so that was the deadline in his eyes. SO, I needed to have all ends wrapped up by noon on the 8th. I think I ended up working until 1pm. After that, I ran a bazillion errands-- paid some bills, went to the meat market to stock up on enough meat to last through maternity leave, hit the grocery store, etc. I was a busy girl! That night, we had Evan, and Greg decided to take Evan over to the Old County Home and take pictures. I tagged along and took pictures. Can I just say that its a bad idea to go somewhere that doesn't have bathrooms accessable at night when you're due to have a baby at any moment? Opps. But anyway, it was fun, and it was a good way for Greg and Evan to spend some time together. I got some great pictures of the two of them.
After they left, we hit Grounds for Thought, figuring it could be our last chance to go together alone. We got some coffee and did our usual book loop there. We headed to bed not long after the debate was over.
Thursday, October 9th: Kaleb's birthday!
4am-7:45am
Around 4am, I woke up with some horrific diarrhea. (If this is too crunchy for you, stop reading now-- it'll get worse). I had about 3 episodes of this. After the second episode, I moved out to the living room and sat in the lazyboy. I knew I wasn't going back to sleep for a while and I didn't want to disturb Greg, since he had to go to work in a few hours. I started one of the shows I had recorded on the DVR. Contractions started shortly after I sat down. I kindof rolled my eyes at them, because I've had quite a few episodes of contraction before and figured it was just going to go away. BUT, I wrote them down anyway, as I had heard that sometime people have bad diarrhea prior to going into labor.
Contractions were about 5 minutes apart to start with, but within an hour, they were down to 4 minutes. I finally woke Greg up around 5:45am and told him that contractions were 4 minutes apart and had been regular for about an hour and a half. And they were kindof painful. I called the hospital, and they told me to take a warm shower and see what happened after that. I gladly took a shower! Contractions continued through the shower and even wound down to 2 minutes! I insisted that Greg take a shower, too-- I don't think he's ever taken a shower so fast! And then we gathered everything togethere that we needed and headed to the hospital. I was still convinced that this was another false alarm and they would just send us home.
8am
We got to the hospital, and Greg took me inside and grabbed a wheelchair for me. He went out to move the car and promised he would be right back. I swear, he was gone forEVER. The girls at the front desk had wanted to take me upstairs without him, but I wanted to wait for him because he would be right back. Well, instead of parking in the ER parking lot like they had TOLD him to do in the prepared childbirth classes, and instead parked in the main lot, clear in the back. Grr!
They took us up to the triage room and hooked me up to all the monitors. Sure enough, they were coming, though at about 3 minutes apart-- so they slowed a little. They monitored for about an hour-- I sent Greg down to get himself something for breakfast for himself. After he was done eating, they sent us out to walk the halls for a 1/2 hour. I was at 2cm. Then monitored me again. Then sent me out to walk again for another 1/2 hour. She said I was still at 2cm and to keep walking. I was in tears, after the second round, sure they were going to send me home... However, baby and doctor had other plans...
After the second round, Dr. Calgumuggio came in and examined me, declared me at closer to 3cm and asked the nurse for a hook so he could break my water. There was this warm gush of warm fluids. They monitored me for a few more minutes, and then had me put my pants back on (!!!) and walk down to room 304. Little did I know this would be my home for the next 4 days!
They hooked me back up to the monitor. Once I was settled in, Greg headed down to the car to get our bags. The first thing the nurse did was draw blood and hook up an IV. If at some point I changed my mind about not wanting meds, I would need to be well hydrated. I warned her that my veins roll, and that most have to use a pediatric needle to get things started. She actually heeded my warning and used the correct needle. She got it on the first try (MY HERO! LOL). I was in a good mood at this point and feeling okay. After she got it started, she said they wanted to monitor for a while and then I could get up and walk to get things moving along.
Noon- 4:30pm Everything was a blur....
Greg and I paced those halls quite a bit, but the contractions just were not getting any stronger, and I wasn't dilating any more. Around noon is when things started spiraling out of control and completely against our birthplan. First, they wanted to start Pictocin to get my contractions stronger. They started out light, but tolerable. Mom came shortly after that bearing gifts, including animal crackers and magazines. They kept uping the Pict and by 3pm, I was very uncomfortable and in extreme pain. Soon after that, they checked me, and I was still at 3cm. I was sobbing at this point and Greg got really close to me, looked directly in my eyes and told me something along the lines of my not needing to be a hero, and that I can get pain medication if I needed it. I agreed, and I did need it. They weren't going to let me get into the tub like I had originally wanted to because of the Pictocin. Mom came in to relieve Greg for a few minutes and rubbed my back while I was laying on a beanbag to try to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling. Soon after that, the anesthesiologist came in to insert an epidural in my back. They helped me to the edge of the bed and positioned Greg in front of me to hold me hand and get me to concentrate on him-- basically anything but the contractions so that I would stay still for the dr. to work. It took them 3 tries to get the epidural inserted right-- something about blood coming back in the line, if I remember correctly. I do remember them saying something to the anestesiologist about how the baby's heartrate was dropping, so he needed to move a little faster, and that they were probably going to need that line. Once it was in, my entire right side went numb fairly quickly, but I was still feeling contractions on the left side pretty severely. They injected more boluses (the epi medication). I think the moved me to my left side at one point, saying that the baby didn't like me in the position that I was in. As I said before, much of this was a blur. Just after the got the epi inserted, Greg said he would be right back, and Mom came in to be with me while he was gone. I was in tears, but quickly feeling relief as the pain melted away.
The OB, Dr Cal, came in and was looking at the monitor sheets and said somethings to the nurses and then turned to me and said something about how I wasn't progressing as they'd like, and baby seemed unhappy based on the heartrates- he said we could try to continue for another two hours, but that more than likely we'll be in the same boat we're in now and thought maybe it would be best to go forward with a C-section. This was the LAST thing that I wanted, but somewhere in my heart, I knew that this was what needed to be done. I told him to go ahead and move forward with the c-section.
Greg called his folks and let them know, and soon after the decision was made, Dad walked in the room. I think he was expecting it to be time for me to push-- when we told him that no, they're doing a c-section in just a few minutes, I think he was a little surprised. (Believe me, we were, too!) I felt eerily calm at this point- I suppose it was because there was an end in sight, and soon, I'd be able to meet my baby!Just before it was time to take me down, Greg's parents showed up. Mom let Myra know that Greg probably needed a peptalk, that he was having a hard time. I found out after everything was over that he'd had a little meltdown out in the hall after my epidural-- Mom knew this) So Myra gave him a peptalk, and Greg started changing into his scrubs. Soon after, the nurse came in full scrubs and was ready to take me to the surgical area. Mom and Dad gave me kisses and hand squeezes and they took me back.
5:20pm-7:00pm Surgery.
I was still incredibly calm at this point. They rolled me into the room and moved me over to the surgical table. It was SO cold in that surgical suite. I suppose it was probably nerves, but once they pulled the sheet up and put oxygen on me, I started shaking uncontrollably. But, my wonderful anestesiologist was right there with me and reassuring me throughout. Apparently, they had started, and Greg was allowed to come in. He was so wonderful. He came in and I could tell he was grinning from ear to ear, just looking at his eyes. He walked right up to me, gave me kisses through his mask and told me I was gorgeous. (He's a really good liar-- I found out later that I was grayer than gray). I remember the doctor talking about Bob and Tom on the radio-- no idea at this point what the subject was-- but that G & I both laughed. Soon after that, they said something about feeling some pressure on my chest and they pulled him out. I heard the most beautiful little sqawk/cry and they took him over to examine him. The doctor asked if he had a name, and I shared it-- Kaleb Robert Van Vorhis.
Greg was still with me, and I demanded that he go over and see my baby. I wanted details! I wanted to see him! Greg kept coming over and giving me updates about how beautiful he was. (Little did I know what was actually going on). I wish he'd brought the camera in so I could have seen a picture. Dr Stephanie, his pediatrician, FINALLY brought him over so I could see him for what seemed like seconds. He was so beautiful and perfect. Greg was going to stay with me, but I wanted him to go with Kaleb. I was in good hands and felt like I'd be fine.
They finished up and took me back to my room. Kaleb had to stay in the nursery for at least an hour while they monitored me. I was upset about this. I really wanted to see and spend time with my baby! I'm so proud of Greg for watching out for me- I'd only seen my baby boy for a few moments before they took him away to the nursery. I know that the grandparents all tried to go back to the nursery to see Kaleb once they knew he was in there, but Greg stood his ground for me and turned them away. I feel bad that everyone had to wait to see Kaleb, but I needed to be selfish and see my little boy first! I'm sure he made some grandma's mad, but I think they can appreciate what I was feeling and understand what Greg was doing.
7:00-- I get to hold my little boy, and Evan and Kaleb meet...
Around 7, the nursery nurse who was caring for Kaleb came in and asked if they were ready for baby to come into the room. I was wide awake and looked at the nurse who was caring for me hard. She told them that they weren't quite ready yet, but the nursery nurse said that she thought that baby was. (Little did I know that Greg had put her put to it-- he knew that I needed my baby!). They brought him in and immediately gave him to me. He was ready to nurse right away. I hardly had time to really look at him and take him in before he was latching on. My first thought was "wow, this is going to be easy...." (little did I know!)
We got to spend about 15 minutes together, and Greg took some of Kaleb's and my first pictures together. By this time, Evan was at the hospital, too, so we felt that we really needed to let them in.
Evan came in and his first words were "wow, he has a lot of hair". He came over to the other side of the bed and just looked for a few moments. His next question was "does he have any teeth?". After we talked for a few minutes with Evan, we let him know that Kaleb came with a gift for his big brother-- A transformer-- and a bad guy, at that! Everything with Kaleb was forgotten, and it was all about the transformer. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't more excited about his new brother, but he's 5, and a boy. I was kindof worried about what this would mean in the future with these two, though. I don't think I realized how much it bothered me until a few days later.
All of the grandparents got to hold Kaleb and get pictures together. My sister, Emily, showed up with the kids. Sami and Cole were SO excited I was surprised at how klingy Cole was to me. They brought Kaleb a stuffy animal, puppy. Cole insisted on sitting on the bed with me, which I think scared Greg a little bit. But Cole was SO GOOD. He was full of hugs and kisses for me. Sami was an old hand at this hospital/baby thing and was very loving with Kaleb. She's very into babies right now. Emily told me that she picked the kids up from the babysitter's and Sami was busy playing and not quite ready to go yet-- Em yelled at her across the yard that they had to hurry and get going-- that Aunt Jenny had her baby. Em said she's never seen Sami move so fast. She was in the car, buckled up and ready to go before Em had a chance to say goodbye to the sitter!
With everyone in the room, it was a little overwhelming for me, and had I known what the night would hold, I would have prefered a little less chaos. But I did love every minute of it, and wouldn't have had it any other way. I think this is where Greg and I are different, and we're learning to balance each other out. Because of my large family, I thrive on chaos, where he's more of a calm, orderly person. I guess you could say he's the one who keeps me grounded, and I take him flying every once in a while. It's a good balance. =-)
After everyone had left, the three of us took a deep breath and I finally got to take off Kaleb's blanket and examine him from head to toe. Crazy that I hadn't been able to do that yet! He was perfect. I couldn't stop staring at him. We worked on nursing from 8-11pm, and then slept until 1pm, then he nursed again from 1-4am and again at 8am. It was exhausting and extremely overwhelming. This little boy had his days and nights completely mixed up! This continued throughout the hospital stay until the last night, when we finally started to space things out a little more.
Final Thoughts of the Day...
This was the most incredible, overwhelming, frightening, painful, exciting, exhausting day of my life. A week later, I still cannot believe that Greg and I did this-- We made this little creature, he grew and moved inside of me and came out of me. He's the most beautiful, wonderful thing I have ever done, and I have never been prouder of myself.
Greg is a wonderful husband, father and friend. He watched out for me every step of the way, and never let on that he was frightened or worried. He only offered his love and total support throughout the entire process, and has acted only in my best interests, not thinking about who he might make mad along the way. He has been my rock and through this process, I've fallen deeper in love with him than I ever thought possible. As a father, he continues to amaze me. Despite the fact that we've both been sleep deprived, he's been up with Kaleb when I'm up (and when I'm not) and has done so much for both Kaleb and myself that I've been unable to do since having surgery. I can honestly say that I have only changed about 5 diapers since Kaleb was born. Greg has handled all of those. He can read me and my face and knows when I've done too much or when there's not much more that I can do.
I'm a lucky girl. I have the love of my life by my side and a precious gift from God in my arms. How could life possibly get any better?
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Re: Kaleb Robert's Birth Story (very long)