Before.
After.
Dominik Drake Loheed
7/10/08 5:05 pm, 5lbs 14oz, 18 inches
Scarlett Olivia Loheed
7/10/08 5:06 pm, 5lbs 4oz, 17.5 inches
Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles
Dr. Mark Dwight was the Physician In Attendance.
Check Out The Complete Slide Show At Flickr with captions and everything!
On Thursday AM Beth and I went into see Dr. Dwight for a final look and found out that she was dilated. Given that the kids were in breech position and Beth was in obvious discomfort Dr. Dwight decided that it was time to deliver the babies. Suddenly, our planned delivery was coming 4 days early! We admitted Beth and I rushed back to work and home to tie up loose ends and get our things we were going to need for the stay at the hospital. I got back 1/2 an hour before the surgery.
The most difficult part for me was waiting outside the operating room for them to put in Beth’s anesthisia. It seemed like it was taking forever and I started to get really nervous. Then Tracy the nurse came out and waved me in. Within minutes Dominik and Scarlett were with us. I was looking over the curtain when Dominik first emerged and could not believe how huge he was! Dominik, surprised by the sudden change in environment took a big gasp of surprise and amniotic fluid on the way out. So after I cut the cord he was rushed to the Natal Intensive Care Unit so they could help him clear out his lungs. He would go on to have a tough first day outside the womb with a lot of pokes, prods and tests.
Scarlett emerged very quickly and was positioned well so she didn’t have any trouble at all. Within a few minutes she and I were ushered into the recovery room to wait for Beth. Scarlett’s feet were imprinted on a commemorative birth announcement which upset her a little but she’s been really unflappable from the moment she arrived. Nervously, I put my finger in her little hand and she grabbed it pretty firmly and I thought to myself, “Damn, my baby is cute.” I think she has Beth’s eyes.
The nurses wheeled Beth in who had been so cool and collected through the whole surgery. Then they handed Beth a little swaddle of Scarlett who just cooed and hung out and I got to see Beth fall in love with her daughter.
Worried about Dominik I asked for directions to the N.I.C.U. and went to see how he was doing. They had him hooked up to a bunch of monitors and a Sipap tube which blows air pressure into his chest to help him absorb all that amniotic fluid. He was breathing hard but the nurses there seemed to think that he would be just fine given a little time. It was tough to see him covered with all the wires and tubes though. He was crying here and there anytime someone shifted him.
Beth, Scarlett and I were ushered down to the 7th Floor Post Partum Ward of Good Samaritan Hospital where we would spend the next few days recovering (although hardly sleeping out of excitement). I finally got a chance to hold Scarlett and we all got some time to spend together. Beth, although exhausted, could barely sleep. Actually, she can still barely sleep 
. I could have easily slept but the hospital was unable to provide a cot that night so what little sleep I got was sitting in a folding chair. I went up to see Dominik a few times and was worried since he’d been moved into an incubator but he was breathing so much better and had far fewer tubes running into his nose so that put me at ease. On my second trip I was able to bottle feed him some formula and I was able to nap a little bit knowing that he was going to be okay.
The next morning I got to wheel Beth and Scarlett up to meet him and we finally got to hang out as a family. It was also the first time Beth got to see Dominik since he’d been rushed out of surgery. She got to feed him and hold him for a little while. Later that afternoon they wheeled him into our room and we’ve been together pretty much non-stop since then (although I have been out for brief periods to run errands).
We came home Sunday evening and the kids slept through their first car ride.
We’ve had a deluge of well-wishing e-mails, phone calls, and other inquiries, and we’re anxious to show off our new kids to everyone but we’re also really wiped out. Bear with us as we get back up to speed
Special thanks to Emma, Sara, & Gemma who helped out bringing us food at the hospital, nice lamps to offset the harsh flourescent lights, and gave me a chance to run out for coffee.
