Dear Marco,
The day that you were born ranks as the best day of my life, tied with your sister Lily. Meeting you was worth the unpleasant pregnancy and worth all the friendships I may have lost due to unwanted additional hormones. And I promise, and commit to you, that I will do everything I can in my power to protect you, love you, teach you, and care for you to help you grow and become the smartest, kindest, best son I could ever ask for.
The day you were born started out extremely, extremely early for your Daddy & I. Grammy flew in that night and drove straight from Charlotte and got to our house around 1:00 am. She came to watch your big sister so that Daddy could be by my side and could be there when you decided to arrive.
I was lucky enough that the doctors agreed to help “urge” you out by means of an induction. For some reason I was having excruciating back and hip pain, and all parties involved felt that it would be best for me to go ahead and get to meet you as soon as possible.
It was a miracle that we got to the hospital when they wanted us to (5:30 am) because your Daddy & I are always running late. But I think that the fact that there was no traffic, maybe because it was so early in the morning, helped us make it there on time.
And getting to the hospital early was fruitless because the induction didn’t even commence until 8:30. Once the IV’s were in, we were committed and things were going!
Noon rolled around and while we waited for my body to “naturally” progress, we had a phone interview to be highlighted in the newspaper the following day. Technically, I wasn’t even in labor yet. Each hour passed by and not much more was really happening. Finally around 2:00 they broke my water and within the hour I received an epidural. Yay! I was now in labor. So the waiting began.
And wait we did.
3:00 - no progression
4:00 - no progression
5:00 - no progression
6:00 - oh - now we are dilated to a four!
6:30 - BAM! I’m dilated to a 9.5.
6:45 - Epidural completely wears off in one spot. Every kind of pain is intensified by 100x in this tiny little spot and I think that I am going to DIE!
7:00 - Finally see the resident anesthesiologist. I threaten to sue him unless he miraculously is able to make my pain go away before I need to start pushing.
7:30 - Pain finally - FINALLY goes away.
7:45 - Fully dilated. Fully effaced. Ready for you drop just a little bit more to make your appearance. Doctors decide to wait an hour to see if this can progress “naturally”. (HA! Right?)
9:05 - Actually see the Doctor again. I guess their definition of 60 minutes actually means 100?
9:15 - Start pushing.
9:31 - Last push and I get to hold you in my arms atop my chest.
The room was full of love, full of the spirit, and full of you! If my heart was any more full at this moment, I may have died. I felt truly blessed and so happy to hear you cry and to become a Mommy again. And your birth was a miracle. Truly - not just because creating human life is a miracle, but it was a miracle you got to us in the shape and condition you did.
Apparently all of Mommy’s back and hip pain (which was actually contractions) was due to the fact that you were face UP instead of face DOWN. Almost always when a baby is in this position the doctors are urged to go ahead and start a c-section because of all the health risks and threats imposed. So the fact that you came at all (even in 16 minutes!) was truly a blessed miracle. And because you were face up the poor crown of your head was completely purple and bruised - a fact which caused you to retain and have slight jaundice. Nevertheless, you were here! And you were healthy.
You scored an impressive 8 and then 9 on your APGAR tests. You were weighed at 7 lbs 14 oz with a length crown to toe of 21 inches. You were perfect in every way, and you were mine. I was your Mommy and I was so in love!
Over the next few days we really debated back and forth what your name should be. When push came to shove, we settled on MARCO ADAM. Adam was a shoe-in. We knew that would be your middle name before ever going to the hospital because that’s your Daddy’s middle name… a middle name that he holds dear to his heart because it’s his grandpa’s name. And we took over 50 names, narrowed it down to 10, then down to four: Marco, Clarke, Reed, and Ian. And proudly announced to the world your final name: Marco Adam. It suits you perfectly.
Everyone was so excited to meet you!
The hospital wasn’t the most enjoyable experience… maybe I should say… the post-pardum stay wasn’t the most enjoyable experience because there was no nursery at this hospital so you roomed with me. Let me translate: This means Mommy got NO sleep. Which made for a rough emotional recovery. My physical recovery was phenomenal compared to Lily’s (you can hold that over her head later in life, I’m sure). But in any case, we were happy to take you home and introduce you to the rest of your family! Because the flu was so extreme this year, they didn’t allow any visitors under the age of 18 to the hospital, so Lily had to wait to meet you. And once she met you, she was more in love with you than anyone else. She constantly wanted to hold you and kiss you and smother you. She referred to you as her baby. Lily was thrilled that you were now a part of our family, as is your Daddy & I.
Thank you for being such a sweet little baby and for being ours!
We love you Baby Marco!
