Wesley Douglas Long

Our newest little buddy arrived April 5, 2012.  He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long.  My biggest baby by a pound!!!  I want to record all the details from the day because Wesley had quite a shocking start to his little life.

My c-section was scheduled for 2:00pm so we had a nice relaxing morning.  We took our time with the kids, spending time with them in our bed and making sure they got a lot of cuddles in!  We finished packing and then dropped them off at my parents house around 1130am.  After dropping them off, we headed down to GBMC.  When we arrived, they got us all settled in the pre-op area where you wait and wait and wait longer!!  It is awful.....the waiting makes me crazy, all that anticipation!!  Anyway, they finally have me walk into the OR and I give Nick a kiss and then it's showtime.  They get me all settled on the table and they start scrubbing my skin.  I am wondering what is taking so long to get the anesthesia started.  FInally, Dr. Weitz says she is waiting for the team to get there.  I was a little confused because I had already met the pediatrician and her team but just brushed it aside.  Anyway, the anesthesiologist says, "Have a nice nap Mrs. Long and we'll see you soon....with your baby!" 

Next thing I knew I was waking up in recover but there was no baby and no Nick.  The nurse was there and she was really nice.  She put my glasses on my face and asked about my pain.  I asked her where nick and my baby were and she said he was having some problems breathing and that they took him to the NICU.  She was so calm that I totally thought nothing of it at all.  I fell asleep and woke up about 45 minutes later just as Nick was walking back into the recovery area.  They were ready to transport me to our room.  He was smiling and said everything was fine.  Anyway, we got to our room and I was starting to get really emotional because I hadn't seen my baby yet and everyone was being so vague with me.  The nurse told me I could call down anytime I wanted to for an update.  At that point, Nick realized he was going to have to bring me up to speed before I heard from someone else.  Apparently, Wesley came out crying and then as soon as they laid him on the table to clean him up, he stopped breathing and then his heart stopped.  Nick stood by as they bagged our beautiful new baby boy and then felt his life slip into slow motion as they began CPR.  He was revived in under 90 seconds but that is a terrifying amount of time for a parent to hang in the balance.  So he was in NICU so they could figure out the cause.  At about 9pm the NICU doc called our room and told me that they were going to have to admit Wesley into the NICU because he was not getting enough air on his own and his body temperature kept dropping.  I lost it.  He had been born for over six hours and I still hadn't seen him or held him and I was feeling very isolated.  So, mind you, I had a catheter due to the c-section and had my IV in still and I said I don't care who I have to talk to, I am going up there right now.  The nurses were worried about me doing too much too fast but I needed to see my baby with my own eyes!!  So they got me into a wheel chair and carefully wheeled me through the hospital and at 9:38pm and I held my baby for the first time.  It was such a relief to see him for the first time.  He was struggling to breath but he was beautiful and, otherwise, healthy. 

Wesley is our third and last little miracle.  Nick and I decided it was time to count our blessings and be done. So, I got my tubes tied.  Knowing this is our last baby has allowed me to really appreciate this baby.  I watch longer, hold longer, kiss more and sing all the time so that I can take advantage of every second I have with this sweet boy.