The day my second little princess was born.
Well here we go again. I'm about to be the dad to a second kid. Round 2 was a bit different than the first, let's take a look. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time because I had already been through this.
Since our first daughter was born via C-section, my wife's doctor advised us that the second baby should also be born this way. So the good news was we got to schedule the birthday, No surprises this time. I had been though this before so now I wasn't as nervous as the first time. I knew I would have to get suited up in scrubs. I knew that the OR would be cold. I knew to expect a team of doctors and nurses that would all do their part in ensuring my wife and baby were safe.
When they delivered the baby, I was in shock. That baby was HUGE!
The surgery was scheduled for early morning. So we were at the hospital around 6:00 AM. The nurse came in and had my wife fill out some paper work. I was given scrubs to change into. This time my wife just walked into the OR. They prepped her before I was able to enter the room. I'm guessing it was that enormous needle in her back for the epidural again. I'm not exactly sure what else she did since I wasn't in there.
I was waiting in the birthing room (hospital room) in my scrubs for the nurses to come get me. They came and got me and I walked up to my wife's head and the doctors started the surgery. When they delivered the baby, I was in shock. That baby was HUGE! When my first was born, she was early and was pretty small. My second was close to 10lbs. To me it had seemed like the baby was already like 3 months old, except it was a newborn. This experience was different then, and like all of my kids, my middle one is her own unique person.
The baby was taken to the nursery while the doctors finished the surgery. I went to the nursery and watched them clean, swaddle, and put on the obligatory newborn hospital hat on the baby. After she was cleaned and swaddled she was wheeled back to the hospital room. I was much more relaxed this time and knew what to expect. I also knew it was a scheduled surgery. My anxiety this time came in the fact that now we had two kids!
My mother-in-law brought in our first daughter to the hospital to meet her sister. Watching my daughters meet each other for the first time was a very cool experience. My oldest daughter was SO EXCITED to meet her and wanted to hold her immediately. I knew this would happen, but it made me nervous too. Should I let my 2.5 year old daughter hold a baby that was born only a couple hours prior? We did, and it wasn't as scary as I thought. She was very gentle an we were right there to help.
My wife stayed in the hospital for three days. We discussed if I should stay at the hospital or go home at night and we decided it was best that I went home at night. After all we did have another child at home that also needed care.
So there you have it. This was By FAR the easiest of my three children in terms of the actual day at the hospital. It was a unique experience and one I will never forget. The experience of my third would certainly prove to be unforgettable. As I looked back at this day to write this post, I realized how "normal" this second experience was. Although each birth is different in itself and I'm not really sure what "normal' is when it comes to childbirth. You can plan the day all you want, but in the end you definitely can't bank on it going according to plan as I learned with 2 out of 3 of my children's birthdays.