The morning started out with great excitement...we were going to have a baby today! I was scheduled for a c-section at 9:30 am. We arrived at the hospital and the nurses began their pre-op monitoring and procedures. I was actually having contractions, I could see them on the monitor, but they were small ones, not enough to be painful but just enough to be uncomfortable. The surgery started just about on time, which is ironic in hindsight. Everyone had bets on what time the baby would be born, but my heart was set on 10:13...after all there had to be a 13 in there somewhere right?
Just as Dr. Weidman came in a got started with the surgery, a nurse asked him if he wanted music on and he said yes. It was not a radio, it was a CD. I remember that because there were no commercials in between songs. I have no idea what the first song was, but when it ended and I heard the beginning notes of the next song I immediately looked at Jason and began to cry. When I was pregnant with Matthew, I made a mix of songs that I wanted to play while I was in labor. Ideally I wanted this one song to be played right after Matthew was born. It's called "I could not ask for more" by Sarah Evans. The words are just so powerful and emotional. Sadly, I ended up with a c-section and never got to play the song. But on that day, in that OR on that CD...I finally did get to hear it. I couldn't believe it, of all the songs in the world...that song just happens to be on the playlist that day? I cried through the entire song...it was like we had come full circle...our last child enters our lives in a way we had hoped to welcome our first.
As Dr. Weidman prepared to pull the baby out, Jason was watching the clock...at 10:13 am...Emily Elizabeth was born! It's a GIRL! We were so surprised and couldn't believe it. Jason's first words to me were "We did it baby, we did it...It's a girl". We had a daughter and it felt amazing! I couldn't stop crying, we were both so happy. After she was cleaned off and wrapped up, they brought her over to us and handed her to Jason. He was so proud, he had a little girl now and it made us both feel so complete.
But I saw it right away. There was something not quite right about her eyes. I didn't question it at first because I figured it was because of the ointment that they put in a babys eyes right after birth. They looked foggy to me, but I was so completely in love with her that I dismissed it and was just enjoying the new thoughts of having some pink in the house!
After they wheeled me into my room, Jason eventually made his way to find me. He had been in the nursery with Emily watching her get a bath and having some routine tests done. He came and told me that he heard one of the nurses say to the others in the room, "come and look at how beautiful her eyes are". I remember saying that "she must have the most beautiful eyes they've ever seen". I guess I was right...they never had seen eyes quite like hers before...neither did we.
Later when they brought her to me, a nurse came in and said that they tested her eyes and she is responding to light which is good, but since her eyes look cloudy they called in a pediatric opthalmologist to come and examine her the following day. No-one really told us how serious this was. We were scared. The first thing that crossed my mind was that she was blind, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I immediately went into new mommy mode and just started to take care of her and teach her to nurse and tried to put some of the scary thoughts in the back of my mind until we knew what was wrong with her. After all, today was her birthday and we were all just enjoying the fact that she was a girl!
Just as Dr. Weidman came in a got started with the surgery, a nurse asked him if he wanted music on and he said yes. It was not a radio, it was a CD. I remember that because there were no commercials in between songs. I have no idea what the first song was, but when it ended and I heard the beginning notes of the next song I immediately looked at Jason and began to cry. When I was pregnant with Matthew, I made a mix of songs that I wanted to play while I was in labor. Ideally I wanted this one song to be played right after Matthew was born. It's called "I could not ask for more" by Sarah Evans. The words are just so powerful and emotional. Sadly, I ended up with a c-section and never got to play the song. But on that day, in that OR on that CD...I finally did get to hear it. I couldn't believe it, of all the songs in the world...that song just happens to be on the playlist that day? I cried through the entire song...it was like we had come full circle...our last child enters our lives in a way we had hoped to welcome our first.
As Dr. Weidman prepared to pull the baby out, Jason was watching the clock...at 10:13 am...Emily Elizabeth was born! It's a GIRL! We were so surprised and couldn't believe it. Jason's first words to me were "We did it baby, we did it...It's a girl". We had a daughter and it felt amazing! I couldn't stop crying, we were both so happy. After she was cleaned off and wrapped up, they brought her over to us and handed her to Jason. He was so proud, he had a little girl now and it made us both feel so complete.
But I saw it right away. There was something not quite right about her eyes. I didn't question it at first because I figured it was because of the ointment that they put in a babys eyes right after birth. They looked foggy to me, but I was so completely in love with her that I dismissed it and was just enjoying the new thoughts of having some pink in the house!
After they wheeled me into my room, Jason eventually made his way to find me. He had been in the nursery with Emily watching her get a bath and having some routine tests done. He came and told me that he heard one of the nurses say to the others in the room, "come and look at how beautiful her eyes are". I remember saying that "she must have the most beautiful eyes they've ever seen". I guess I was right...they never had seen eyes quite like hers before...neither did we.
Later when they brought her to me, a nurse came in and said that they tested her eyes and she is responding to light which is good, but since her eyes look cloudy they called in a pediatric opthalmologist to come and examine her the following day. No-one really told us how serious this was. We were scared. The first thing that crossed my mind was that she was blind, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I immediately went into new mommy mode and just started to take care of her and teach her to nurse and tried to put some of the scary thoughts in the back of my mind until we knew what was wrong with her. After all, today was her birthday and we were all just enjoying the fact that she was a girl!
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