Category: London’s Birth
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Right before falling asleep last night I was scanning Twitter and I learned that yesterday was World Prematurity Day. The March of Dimes Twitter account, which I follow, had shared images of city landmarks all across the world that were lit up purple, the color of support for preemies. I don’t know how I missed…
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Back in 2007 I had a troubling sickness. It started with migraines, then it transitioned to the frightening Bell’s Palsy, and whatever I had did not stop there. I developed iritis (inflammation of the iris, which makes the whites of your eyes blood red and the photophobia can be unforgiving). I had partial hearing loss in one ear. Doctors ran…
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I am here to be honest with you. Having a preemie is such a deal both in cost and effort. Think of all the deals you have come across in your life. Think of the deals you expect to encounter in the future. Let your imagination run wild. I really doubt the deal you have…
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Last year, Kate and I were in Playa del Carmen for a wedding during the first weekend in November. I was thinking of this trip just last week and I momentarily refused to believe it had almost been a year since Kate and I strolled along on the beach during a midday thunderstorm. That walk and…
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I probably should have done this sooner, but if you’re just now finding this blog via a tweet, Facebook share, or web search, then you should know that it all started with a series of posts detailing London’s birth. These posts are the foundation of this blog and, for their author, the hardest to write…
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Two weeks after London was born I was foraging through the refrigerator for anything edible. We hadn’t been able to go grocery shopping since Kate was pregnant. I was not hopeful about what I would find, but why not try? If I found something, then maybe I would cook a meal at home. At this…
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How long is a baby considered a baby? Yeah, I just googled that because it feels like London has already been a baby for so long. The Google consensus is that a baby is a baby from one-month old to less than two years. Prior to a month, a baby is a newborn, although I…
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Dear London, You will remain for the rest of my life, the best birthday gift I have received. I did not expect to become a dad at 30. I thought I had a few more months, a little more time to prepare for your arrival. On this birthday, your mom and I checked out of…
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*In which I try to fill in some medical details I left out of the posts regarding London’s birth. The doctors never exactly figured out why London was born early. London’s premature birth may or may not have been related to a very small blood clot seen in one ultrasound quite a few weeks before…
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*This is the LAST post in an ongoing series. That’s good, because had I gone on a bit further I would have exceeded my knowledge of Roman numerals. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. Kate was able to sleep for an hour and a half after we got back…
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*This is another post in an ongoing series. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. We had to wait to go see London until Kate’s nurse came in and checked up on her. We had heard it was a male nurse and we were initially uncomfortable with that, but…
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*This is another post in an ongoing series. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. While in the waiting room a doctor came in to talk with us about London’s condition. She sounded positive, being clear to us about what our expectations should be. We had to stay there…
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*This is another post in an ongoing series. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. Right outside the double doors the charge nurse introduced herself. She guided me through a winding path of at least sterile-looking hospital hallways. Now was as good a time as any, “Can I get…
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*This is another post in an ongoing series. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. Throughout the operation there were tears slowly dripping from my eyes and my nose was a leaky faucet. I was aware that my snot had flowed through my mask and even in that moment…
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*This is another post in an ongoing series. Scroll all the way down or click to part I to get to the beginning. I confirmed with Kate that I was to go be with the baby now. We kissed. I told her she was doing great and walked to the foot of Kate’s bed where…
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These posts are in reverse chronological order. Read earlier posts first. They can be found by scrolling all the way down or clicking the links provided here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI. The only time I have ever seen a C-section setup in an OR was on…
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Parts ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, and FIVE of this series should be read first. The walk to the operating room was extraordinarily difficult. Dwelling on a worst-case scenario was unavoidable at times. Kate occasionally cried while she was being pushed toward the OR. The doctor told us that they would do their best to use…
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This is a post in a series about my daughter’s birth. Read parts one, two, three, and four first. Around 3:20am our doctor came into the room and made the call. The baby needed to come out now. Her heart rate was dropping too much and too frequently to safely leave her in Kate any…
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Just arriving? Read parts ONE, TWO, & THREE in this series before moving on. The nurses placed monitors on Kate’s belly to watch the baby, but every time Kate had a contraction the baby’s heart rate dropped dramatically or the monitor was no longer picking the heartbeat up. Every time this happened the nurse had…
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*If you’re just now getting here, read part I and part II of London’s Birth before continuing on.* In came several nurses and the lead nurse started asking what happened. Well, it was pretty clear. All one had to look at was the bed Kate was on. The nurse got on the phone and the…