Koen's birth story

I thought it might be fun to write down Koen's birth story while the details are still fresh in my mind. One day he may like to know...

Dan and I had decided early on in my pregnancy that we were going to schedule a c-section for Koen's birth. After our complicated delivery with Bodhi, we decided it was the best way to go. The c-section was scheduled for February 3rd at 8am, just 3 days before Koen's expected due date. The night before, I woke up at 1:30am and could not get back to sleep - I was excited, anxious, nervous, all of the above. So needless to say, I was exhausted by the time we arrived at the hospital at 6:30am (not exactly the way you want to start life with a newborn!). We were taken to a room to get prepared for the surgery and both Dan and I could not stop smiling, laughing and joking - by this point, we were both so excited. After a short while, people started filing in, introducing themselves to us and letting us know that they would be in the OR with us for the surgery. Being in a teaching hospital, each one of these people also had a student with them to observe - very quickly Dan and I realized that there would be A LOT of people in the room! At about 8:20am, the nurse came in and told me it was time (that's when the nerves kicked in!). She asked me if I wanted to put something on my feet because the floor was cold, so I put on my big colourful wool socks that my mom knit for me and waddled down the hall to the operating room. It was all very calm and civilized - a far cry from what it was like with Bodhi's delivery!

I lay on the operating table looking at Dan and hoping desperately to just let me hear that cry. The next thing I knew, all the people in the room started cheering and all I wanted to do was tell them to be quiet so I could hear my boy's cry! Finally they all quieted down and there it was, the sweetest sound I could hear - Koen's first cry. They brought him past me and put him on the scale - I almost passed out when they announced his weight - 9 pounds 1 ounce! A big boy! After our midwife swaddled him in a blanket, she handed him to Dan who lowered his cheek to mine. What a moment.

Soon afterwards, we were being brought back into our original room for recovery. They placed my sweet boy on my chest and within seconds he was having his first feed. He was a pro right from the start. They wheeled us down the hall to our room, my boy in the crook of my arm and his Daddy following close behind. I was so happy.

Soon after arriving back in our room, our midwives arrived to let us know that all babies born over 9 pounds had to have a glucose test and Koen's had come back that he had low blood sugar. After a few more tests, his blood sugar level still wasn't rising, so we were told to start supplementing with formula - something Dan and I both were not happy about having to do. All through that night, the nurses came in and out doing test after test on the poor little thing, until finally he was in the clear! We were ecstatic. By the time we got Koen home, he was eating like a champ, off the formula, and completely healthy. Just a little something to let us know that he would be keeping us on our toes!

I could never have imagined how well this little guy would fit into our lives, but he just has. It's like he has always been here and it was meant to be. We all feel it.