He weighed in at 7 lbs, 4oz and was 20 inches long. Our lives will never be the same and we couldn't be happier!
Gabe's original due date was January 31st, but at my 35 week doctor's appointment I was told that it would be likely that the baby (we didn't know if it was a boy or girl) would come early and that I would probably not even get to 37 weeks. We were really prepared, but thought we still had about another month to let the thought of this little baby soak in. Nope. I called Brad from the parking lot. We needed to install the car seat, pack a bag, grocery shop, wash the baby's clothes and blankets...it was very overwhelming news! Also, Brad's company had planned a baby shower for us on January 15th. There was likely going to be a pretty major scheduling conflict now. A week later at my next appointment, Jan. 5th, the doctor said I could have this baby at any moment. I selfishly hoped that the baby would not be born on my birthday, January 12th. I would never get another gift! Just kidding...not really. :)
On January 7th, the night of the college football national championship game with UT vs. USC, we went over to Barry and Susan's house for the game. Around halftime I laughed out loud at a funny commercial and felt a little gush. (Ok, this is TMI, but let's just get it out there...really pregnant ladies sometimes pee a little when laughing, sneezing, or coughing. There, done.) Anyway, I just assumed that was what happened, but I kind of wondered. We left at halftime and while walking to the car it happened again. I was not laughing, sneezing, or coughing this time. I mentioned it to Brad, but blew it off because I felt no other symptoms of labor. We went home and continued to watch the game. I was getting more and more nervous, but felt nothing. We went to bed and when I tried to switch positions I really felt something. There was no denying it this time, I was having a huge pain that would not ease up. We had just gone to bed so Brad was pretty much awake. I told him that I thought it may be labor, but I could be wrong because it was not what I was expecting. Either way, there was a lot of pain and if it was not labor we should go anyway because something is wrong.
So, at 11 o'clock at night we grabbed the bags, left a key under the mat for Barry to come take care of our dog, Sandy, and we headed off to the hospital. We would have given anything to get a good night of sleep before facing labor, but as we were soon to learn...the baby is the boss. So off we went. I was getting really scared and giddy. I was also completely uncomfortable....having nothing to do with the labor pains. We had installed the baby car seat behind the front passenger seat and I didn't realize how little leg (and pregnant belly) room it left the front seat passenger. Anyway, Brad was trying to stay focused and on top of the labor, but I was of no help. I had no idea how far apart the contractions were because the pain never stopped...so not what I was expecting!
We got to the hospital, got registered, I got checked out to confirm that I was, indeed, in labor, and then got set up in a labor and delivery room. Poor Brad had to go back for all of our stuff and was barely able to find the room again. The hospital is a huge maze and it is especially hard to navigate in the middle of the night because some doors are locked and there is no one around to ask for directions.
The whole experience was the scariest and most exciting thing ever. We had taken lamaze class and read a bunch of books, but there was no preparing for this. First of all, my water broke so I had to go to the hospital right away. If your water doesn't break you can stay in the comfort of your own home until the contractions get to be about five minutes apart. I had a few things in mind for how I would deal with the pain while I was at home....a warm bath, a walk with Brad and Sandy, and other distractions like movies, the music selection Brad had prepared for the labor (Brian Eno), and breathing exercises we learned in class. Brad even printed out instructions to remind us how to do the breathing exercises when the time came. In the labor videos, the women would be helped through the contraction by her husband and then walk around and chat until the next one came. What?! There was not a clear break in the contractions and there was certainly no getting up and walking around! Despite my freaking out a bit, Brad was really great and calming the whole way through. He really helped a lot.
I had initially decided I would try to labor without any meds. I very quickly said I not only wanted the epideral, but also some pain meds to take the edge off until the doctor arrived to administer the epideral. What a wuss! However, it ended up being the best decision because it gave Brad and me a chance to get some rest for the real work that was ahead of us. I finally got the epideral around 2am and we dozed until about 5:30am when it was time to start pushing. That was when it finally became real. We were about to meet the little baby we had been thinking about and planning for for the last nine months...even longer actually.
We chose to keep the sex of the baby a surprise. We thought it would be fun. There are so few surprises in life and you can't go wrong either way, right? Anyway, Brad was standing in the place with the best view of the baby so the doctor let Brad call the sex. At 8:57am, the baby who would later be named Gabriel Kegan Parker, was born. I had my eyes clenched shut so it was so exciting to hear Brad say "it's a boy." I knew the baby would be a boy. I don't know why, but I just knew. Brad cut the cord and we stared at our little baby and shared tears of joy. There is no describing such a moment.
They took the baby off to clean him up, weigh him, take foot prints, etc. I asked Brad to stick close to the baby to make sure he was ok and also to make sure there was no way our baby could accidently get switched with someone else's. Kind of paranoid, but you see 20/20 episodes about this happening. Feel free to laugh...I know.
And so begins our journey...
