Sunday, November 13, 2011

Caleb

On Thursday morning, I finally got the call - my sister was in labor!  Mom and I headed to the hospital.  When we got there, she had just gotten an epidural, and told us she had been in labor since about midnight, but they arrived at the hospital around 7.

After her first pregnancy, Lindi wanted to deliver at a hospital with a high level NICU and neonatal specialists. .  The closest to home is none other than Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, the same place Scarlett has had all her oncology treatments, so we all know it well.  In fact, Thursday is also Scarlett's clinic day, so a few hours after I arrived at the hospital to see Lindi, Chris brought Scarlett in for her labs and clinic.  I made a few trips from Labor and Delivery on the 2nd floor to Oncology on the first.

We waited all day, but Lindi made very little progress.  The baby's heart rate kept fluctuating and making the doctors and nurses very nervous.  She wore an oxygen mask to help him, but it didn't make enough difference.  They started talking about a c-section in the afternoon, and had her sign a consent "just in case" around 7.  At about 8:30, when she had made no progress in over an hour and the baby was not at all dropping down, they made the decision that it was time for a cesarean.  Of course, this was not what she had hoped for, so Lindi was pretty upset.  However, once the wheels were in motion and she was being prepped, everyone was calm and eager to get Caleb born.

We all moved to the waiting room - me, my parents, Mike's parents and brother and some friends - and waited.  And waited.  Finally, around 9:45, we were introduced to Caleb Michael.  He was 8 lbs. 4 oz., 21 inches.  He has dark hair and eyes, and is very, very calm (so far!).  He was born at 9:33 pm, after about 20 hours of labor - whew!




 It turns out that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, so he just couldn't make his way out.  They were monitoring him closely, but he was very healthy.  We watched him get his first exam through the nursery window while Lindi was still in surgery. It was after visiting hours, so we were lucky that we didn't get kicked out of the hallway!  Unfortunately, that meant we couldn't really visit much until the next day, when we all descended upon the hospital to meet the little guy.

Now, everyone is feeling pretty good and they are planning to come home tomorrow.  Scarlett hasn't gotten to meet her cousin yet, but I'm sure she'll be happy to poke at him as soon as she gets a chance!

9 comments:

Kelly L Boots said...

Congrats!

CEZ said...

Oh Congrats Brandi! I know how it feels when it doesn't go as planned but God was in control and Caleb is a healthy and precious addition to your family! Give a hug to your mom for me! Can't wait to see Scarlett play with her baby cousin!

Robin said...

Congratulations Auntie! What a beautiful little boy!

bobwendi said...

Congratulations to your sister and her husband! When I read the story of her first pregnancy, it broke my heart, and I've been praying for her ever since! I'm so thankful my prayers for her have been answered!

Now it's time for my prayer for Scarlett's total and complete recovery/remission for the rest of her healthy life be answered!

Love and prayers to you and your family!

p.s. Oops...forgot to congratulate your entire family on your new nephew...Congrats to all! :)

Alison said...

Aw! Congrats to your family! Caleb Michael is also my son's name. He is adorable!

April said...

Congratulations to Lindi and a job well done! He's a beautiful baby. I am sure he and Scarlett will be the best of friends.

MC said...

Congratulations to Lindi and to all of your families!!! Caleb is adorable!

Caitlyn said...

My mouth absolutely dropped when I saw the name of your nephew, Caleb Michael. That's my son's exact name...and here I thought we were being original. I will absolutely flip if you say their last name is Jansen- LOL. How neat!!

cmraven said...

Awww What a cute guy! The picture of the nursery window brings back a lot of memories. I walked that hall what seemed to be hundreds of time while my young cousin was in PICU after his kidney/liver trasplant. I would take my then 18 month old son to the windo to the the new babies while I waited for my rotation in the room with Brendon, my cousin.