Adventures in Bobbysitting: The Arrival of *our* Prodigal Son.

So, April 26 started off like any other "normal" Monday. We got up, dropped Mom off in Crystal City, had breakfast and headed out to the hospital for the final non-stress test before Bobby's scheduled C-Section on Wednesday. I joked with my Mother that I'd let her know if Bobby was getting evicted earlier than Wednesday.

We showed up at the hospital and I got strapped in to the monitors. The nurses came in a couple times to "buzz" Bobby because he was not his usual perky self. The nurses seemed a little concerned as they sent me to a sonogram room and the doc came in to measure my amniotic fluid via ultrasound. The doctor said "have we been having problems with your fluid?" to which I said "nope...why?". She told us that there was virtually no fluid left and she was recommending delivery immediately. Whoa. Wait a minute. I have things I have to do to prepare for this babe's arrival. I have to vacuum the house. I have to double check my hospital bags for the 20th time. I have to, um, shave my legs!!!!!!!!!! Are you KIDDING ME??? I can't do this today! Then, of course, panic officially sets in....and as my husband and I are being escorted to the waiting room to wait until we are escorted to the Labor & Delivery ward I sit down and realize my husband has left me to make phone calls. I join him out in the hallway just as he's calling my Mom. Mom asks if he can put me on the phone, and about 5 seconds after I said "Hi, Mom", I completely lost it.

After we head up to L&D, I get told that I'm having bloodwork done, and I'm going to be strapped to a fetal monitor until I deliver. So, after 2 tries to get the IV in, I am settling in and trying to mentally prepare for the surgery, being a Mommy, etc. C.W. is on the phone letting the entire universe know that we are meeting our son...today! My Mom shows up at around 2 in the afternoon and C.W. rushes down to Woodbridge after being assured that we're meeting Bobby around 5 or 6 P.M. There I am...leisurely watching Ellen DeGeneres when an anesthesiologist announces that I am having surgery at 4. On. The. Dot. A frantic phone call to my husband ensues, where I tell him to grab everything he can and get his behind back to the hospital STAT!

The anesthesiologist shows up at 3:40 to give me my epidural. To say I'm just a little apprehensive would be a gross understatement. Thank goodness for Mom. She kept me calm and focused and with barely a wince from me, the epidural was succesfully placed and I was prepped to be wheeled off to the operating room. Mom called C.W. to find out where he was and he told her he was currently running through the hospital to get to me before I was wheeled away. He made it, huffing and puffing to give me a kiss as I was whisked away.

So, I get to the O.R., and the nurse asked if I could move myself to the operating table from the stretcher...uh, NO! I'm pretty much paralyzed from the waist down, thank you very much. They help me onto the table and I wait for what seems like an eternity for my husband to arrive. He finally does, but I don't recognize him because he has scrubs on. I am lying there and I ask my husband if the doc has arrived yet and the doc answers for him. A few moments pass and I ask C.W. if they have started the surgery yet. Somewhat amused, he replies "Hon, they're about to pull Bobby out". Oh, okay then!

Then I hear the sweetest sound I've ever heard. Ever. My sweet little boy cries for the first time in the "real" world. Then I see the sweetest sight my eyes have ever seen. The man I love holding the love of my life.