Baby Edoardo is Here!

After an unexpected "breaking of my waters" on July 30th, little Edoardo was born Thursday, July 30th @ 6:13am, weighing 4 lbs 14oz and 18.5 inches long.

Starting that Wed night (the 29th), what I thought was just a routine trip to the bathroom, turned into the actual onset of labor. It was about 8pm and the girls were getting dressed for bed. KC was on the computer working on a paper. When I realized that my water broke, I called for Serene and told her to tell KC. She started screaming a ran to dad to let him know "mom's having the baby, her water broke"! KC was totally stunned (after all I wasn't even 37 weeks yet and the parents weren't flying in until Friday! ). He jumped up and immediately went into panic mode, getting the girls ready and packing his bag (I already had mine packed of course). I called the hospital. They told me to come in right away since I have a history of very quick births. KC called our neighbor and she was happy to come over until Kari (my sister-in-law) could get to the house from Colorado Springs. We rushed to the hospital, got hooked up on the monitor and waited. After an exam showed that I wasn't even dilated yet, I was feeling a little discouraged. After hours of waiting and very irregular contractions, I finally got to a 3, but I just wasn't progressing as usual. This was a very weird experience for me. I've never just "lied" there before while I was in labor. Thankfully we were able to keep busy by staying in regular contact with the parents (on top of that, we had a cord blood banking issue that KC was working on). Anyhow, it is now almost 4am and I am totally exhausted. The contractions are coming hard, but still not regular. I'm only at a 5. The doctor and nurse came in to give me "the talk". The baby is starting to show some signs of distress. There may be a possibility for a c-section. I was then advised that I should get an epidural so that I can at least get some sleep and be prepped in case we need to do one. I was surprised that it didn't take me much convincing. Bring on the epidural (btw, it was wonderful)! Of course I still couldn't sleep, but at least I wasn't in agony. I was able to hold on another couple more hours and when the nurse came in at 6am to check me, I was at 10! Woo hoo! KC had just woken up and the nurse told him I was ready to push. He jumped up with the camera and in one 1/2 push (literally), he came out. Nice and easy. He did have the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times (which is where the distress was coming from), but you know how those amazing doctors work. They looped it off so fast and placed him on my tummy. He was so tiny! It worried me a little, but the doctor didn't seem to be worried at all. He was screaming and was obviously just fine. I actually got to hold him for quite a bit before they whisked him away. I was so sad that the parents couldn't be there to see their son enter the world. It was so oddly anti-climactic. Thankfully KC was able to get it all on video for them (although I give him a hard time because 1/2 of the video is of my vagina). Good grief KC, could you have made it a little more tasteful please?! :S

At 7am I was ready to pig out. We had breakfast and just waited to hear how Edoardo was doing. The nurse came in and told us that he was great and I was so relieved. I could finally breathe. KC and I got all settled in to our new room and finally got a little rest. I was bothered by the fact that the parents wouldn't be there until the next day, so I didn't sleep much. I felt like he was being abandoned and I didn't like it. As soon as we were allowed to see him, KC and I made a visit to the nursery. I hated him being alone! When we got back to the room, we called Kari and the girls and invited them to come to the hospital. When they got there, the nurse brought Edoardo in and the girls got to hold him. You should've seen their faces light up. They were so proud. I think they really felt like they were a part of something pretty special. I'll never forget their little faces...

KC and I spent that night at the hospital as well. The next day (Friday) we got to see Edoardo again and were released at 11am. Leaving the hospital was a little weird, I have to admit. Walking out to the car with no baby was odd. I wasn't sad though. I didn't feel any kind of emptiness, just glee. I felt so proud all of a sudden. I did it! It was great to be home with the girls again. I really missed them. I suddenly felt so motherly (and emotional). I kept hugging them and kissing them. I realized that it was a natural reaction. My body and hormones are telling me I should be taking care of a newborn right now, but instead I have 3 older children to take care of. I immediately started picking up their toys and fixing them lunch. KC had to force me to stop and suggested we go out to lunch to celebrate. The whole time at lunch all I could think about was Edoardo being alone. I knew in my mind that he was being well taken care of, but it bothered me so much that he hadn't even met his parents yet. Although I hid it well, my heart was really hurting. We waited and waited to hear from Antonio and Laura. We didn't get a call until about 10pm that night. Their flight was of course late and they were just exhausted. Neither one of them were feeling good. As hard as it was for them, they decided to go to their hotel to get some rest, so they could be rested enough to spend the next day with the baby. They were reassured when we told them that was a good idea. They don't want to be in a haze the first time they hold their son.

The next morning we were so delighted to get a call from Antonio and Laura asking us to take them to the hospital. They said they wanted us to be there when they met Edoardo for the first time. I was so honored and excited! We all jumped in the van and headed to their hotel. When we got there, it was a big emotional cry session. Laura and I couldn't stop balling and hugging each other. We were such a mess! They invited us into their hotel b/c they had "a little something special" to give us. When we got into the room, Antonio handed me a bag and began the most beautiful speech I have ever heard. I can't even replay any of it, but he then told me that he was in "the business of diamonds". It's funny b/c I was always curious what he did for a living, but never asked. Now I know! When I opened the bag, there were 3 little boxes, each with a single loose diamond in them. He had gotten one for each of the girls. I was so surprised. I think I blurted something out like, "this is too much" and he immediately retorted with "too much?!- You just gave birth to our son and you think this is too much?!" I guess he had a point. :) I thought that was the end of the "special gift giving", but then Laura handed me a larger box. She then began her beautiful speech and I started balling again. Good thing I didn't have any make-up on. I really was a mess. I opened the box and I saw the most beautiful sculpture I had ever seen. It was a black and silver ballerina with diamonds placed perfectly around the bodice. She explained to me that she had a famous sculptor in Rome custom make it for me (she knows how mch I love dancing). I've never owned anything this nice before. I was blown away! I still haven't taken it out of the box yet. I'm too scared! :)

Long story short, we got in the car and they followed us to the hospital. When we walked into the nursery, Antonio and Laura got to see their son for the first time. Again, it was a crying session. I got to lift little Edoardo out of the bassinet and place him in the arms of his ever-deserving parents. It was beautiful. Those first few moments are something I will NEVER forget. Just seeing their faces as they studied his tiny little features. They were glowing from the get go. We took lots of pictures and talked a lot about the labor and delivery. The girls were eventually getting ancy, so we had to get them home. We left Antonio and Laura to enjoy their alone time with Edoardo and told them to call us if they needed anything. (Side note: our Colorado case manager just happens to be on vacation right now, so we're basically going at this alone with no help from her. We're of course clueless, so it's been interesting.)

We've since been in contact with the parents every day. KC and I have pretty much taken on the role of their family while they're here. They come by every evening to pick up the breast milk that I've been pumping and we plan on spending some time together before they leave. My Italian family- it's pretty cool! :) We've definitely formed a special bond and I wouldn't be surprised if you hear me doing this again! I know they would really like a sibling for Edoardo, so this next year will be interesting! Dunt- dunt- dunt- dunt- to be continued... :)