Happy Birthday Blaze!

Wednesday August 26th, 2009

0200 - KT is still in the hospital. She has been transferred from a regular ward room on the 5th floor to a Labor and Delivery room on the 2nd floor earlier in the day. Dr. Soni had Cerviprime Gel applied to her cervix to help with dilatation.

0915 - Update from Dr. Soni to Dr.. Yash. Contractions have started but not as she anticipated. KT is only 1cm dilated. A Pitocin drip is started. We are officially in labor!!! We head off from our hotel room to the SI clinic to pick up the Docs.

1215 - 2cm dilated. Pitocin drip on hold. Contractions 15 mins. apart. So we manage to get some lunch with the entire SI staff before heading to the hospital to check into our room. Gerry is very anxious and requests Dr. Yash call Dr. Soni again to see if we have time for lunch. Dr. Soni just laughs and tells her, 'Only 5 mins. have passed! I will notify you if there is a change. Tell Gerry he will be the first to know.'

1430 - We all arrive at Hiranandani hospital. Dr. Yash, Dr. Sudhir and the expected parents. We check-in to the hospital at the admitting desk and with the help of Dr. Sudhir it only takes a couple of minutes. We go up to our room, #415 (just a single room as we didn't feel we needed the suite and wanted to save $$ where we could).

We drop our bags off and head down to the second floor 'Labor and Delivery' to visit with KT. J, her awesome husband is with her. He hasn't left her side for 2 days. What a guy!

He tells us he missed the labour of his 2 boys and so,'there is NO way he is going to miss this.' KT is still on the NST(non-stress test) machine and she smiles to see us. We can hear the baby's heartbeat and I sit and touch her belly and feel the contractions.

KT is such a trooper. The baby's heart rate slightly decreases as she has a contraction and she just grimaces not making a sound. I stroke her forehead and arm and tell her how strong she is, and that 'I would probably be waking the whole hospital with my screams.' KT gets a giggle out of that.

2100 - We head back down to visit with KT after the Docs leave. We had gone back up to the room and both taken a bit of a nap, since we are sure that we are in for a LONG night.

Dr. Soni is in to check on KT and gives us a detailed update. KT has not progressed past 2cm even though the Pitocin drip was restarted. Her contractions are regular and each time the heart rate of the baby slightly decreases but labor is not advancing. KT is in pain. We have 2 options Dr. Soni explains; Stop the drip and wait it out and see if she progresses, or do a c-section and get the baby out. We both tell Dr. Soni we trust in her 110% and she is the boss, whatever she feels is best for both KT and the baby, we are on board. She says that even if we wait it out, KT may not progress and she is in SO much pain already. With the babies size and heart rate lowering slightly with each contraction we don't want to wait and then run into an emergency and have to rush her in for a c-section, which at this point is where she suspects it may end up. Let's not put either of them at risk. At this point a c-section is probably for the best. 'Let's just get the baby out and both the baby and KT will be just fine,' she says. Dr. Soni first asks, if we are 'okay with that?' Of course we agree. She then turns and explains it all to KT and J in Hindi and they both agree, 'yes, let's do a c-section.' We were all in agreement and it was nice to know we all felt the same way. Dr. Soni had already called and told Dr. Yash the options so everyone had been well informed. After Dr. Soni leaves the room, KT looks up at me, smiles and says, 'Soon you will have your baby.' What a heartfelt moment for me, Gerry and I were worried about her procedure and all she could think about was us. Gerry and I each gave her a kiss on the forehead and stepped out so the Sisters (nurses) could prep her for OR. As we waited, Gerry had tears in his eyes saying, I hope it won't be painful for her. 'I worry about what KT is going through.' I tried to console him, telling him that the procedure in itself she wouldn't feel at all, but there would be some pain while she recovers. She has J and all the care givers at the SI clinic to care for her, so we know she will be in wonderful and caring hands. Not long after, KT was wheeled by and we gave her a last hug and smile as we headed down to the waiting area outside of the operating theater.

2130 - Dr. Soni and her team pass by and she says with a big smile,'Give me 30 mins. and you will have your baby.' WOW THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! The Anesthesiologist comes out and tells us what she will be doing. Again Gerry asks her about KT and the Doctor assures him she will be just fine. Just a few more minutes pass and Dr. Yash rushes by to get in for the delivery. She promised us before we arrived in Mumbai, that she would go in and give us every detail of our Angel's birth. Pictures and all:

Thanks for his first pictures Dr. Yash

We wait, Gerry peaks his head into the room where the nurses station is to see if he hears any baby cries.

Time ticks by, 30 minutes... 45 minutes... Now I am getting antsy. I start to pace the halls.

A nervous mother. What is taking so long? Is everything okay? Is KT alright? Is our baby okay?

Just then Dr. Sudhir comes rushing through the doors, 'I didn't miss it, did I?' We both laugh as he breaks the tension. He tells us how he was at the clinic getting his last dose of IV antibiotics with the nurse (since he is still feeling under the weather) when Dr. Yash called him. He pulled the IV lines off and told the nurse, 'I will finish later! I must go!'

The moment is perfect, everyone is there. We continue to wait. Now we see the Medical Residents and Doctors and various other people pass by, they are all tight lipped but smile as they pass, and we know that we are just seconds away from the big moment.

2222 - (I wonder if the number '2' will be his lucky number?) Dr. Soni rounds the corner at the nursing station as we peek through the little window. Our moment has arrived. She comes through the door, 'CONGRATULATIONS, you have a healthy baby boy!' I look at Gerry and say, 'You have your boy.' We look down at our Angel in Dr. Soni's arms. The tears begin to flow. He is perfect in every way. Big blue/grey eyes stare back at us. He is quiet and curious.

Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir are all smiles, and snap photos as Dr. Soni places Blaze into our arms.

The happy Indian God Parents

Gerry talks to him and he immediately turns his head to the sound of Gerry's voice. He is Daddy's boy! I look up and say (much to their surprise) Congratulations Indian God Mother and Father to Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir. They smile and say, 'we wouldn't have it any other way', and neither would we.

It was a moment etched in our minds forever.

Dr. Soni, Gerry and Dr.Yash

And now me too

2235 - (I kinda lost track of time at this point) The Resident Pediatrician takes Blaze to the NICU. Dr. Soni says, he is fine, but we want to observe him over night, he is still slightly early at 37 weeks so lets not take any precautions. The umbilical cord was very thick and it was wrapped around his neck once. 'Its a good thing we went ahead and did that c-section. She would have needed it anyway.' I think what my Mom will say, as she still to this day, tells me stories of my birth with the umbilical cord around my neck 3 times. We both follow Blaze to the NICU. We go in for a few minutes to see him before we go up to our room. We just beam and say to each other as tears stream down our faces, "Look at what we have done. We are so very blessed. Our perfect little Angel has arrived."

And this is only just the beginning.... (we promise more pics of handsome little Blaze)

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