"There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice."

July 05, 2013

"There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice." - Simon Sinek

The sweetest thing

I sincerely hope everyone has been ready for this exciting treat. I have been tasked with writing the next blog post update. I know you are all as excited as I am. Actually I was so excited when I learned about this I did an “Evelyn” (I pooped my pants then fell asleep).

So this story begins where the previous post left off which will be EKG day+1. This day started after my restful nights sleep on a lumpy pull out chair covered in pleather. Somewhat like sleeping inside a Ford Pinto. Anyway I am dreaming peacefully when all of the sudden there is a thump at the end of my bed. Initially, I thought it was a kick of reality that someone has enough of a sense of humor to leave me in charge of another human being but actually it was Steph. Yes, maybe 6 hours post c-section. She was lying in bed and decided she wanted to check her phone, which was on the table on the other side of the room. So she proceeded out of bed with her IV pole in tow. I guess what happened was when she reached my side of the room with her phone, my bed was in the way so the IV pole became a battering ram to incite my awakening and move my a** out of the way so the phone could be reached. I certainly learned my lesson. The phone was never more than a few inches away the rest of our stay. I would also like to point out, I didn’t think women recovered this quickly from a c-section. Must have been the expert hands of Alex and Yesmean (Steph’s surgeons).

Following the bed assault we proceeded to the NICU to see baby Evie. Sparing everyone the gory details I will summarize Evie’s stay in the NICU by saying it was a very unpleasant experience for everyone involved punctuated by a few bright moments which are highlighted below. While unpleasant, we were glad Evelyn met all her goals and after a 6 day stay had gained enough weight and spent enough time maintaining her temp, that she was able to come home.

NICU Highlights:

I became an actual Dad by going through the extensive initiation procedure that included being both pooped and peed on while changing a diaper.

Preemie clothes: We didn’t have any. We never expected to have such a small baby thus did not have any clothes which actually fit her. So for the first couple of days she wore some loaner clothes from the NICU. This lead to some interesting outfits. A pink hat, a blue boys onesie and camo pants is not necessarily the best look for a little lady. Luckily I don’t think she minded that much. Ev’s fan club has since rained down an array of outfits that will ensure she never wears the same outfit twice (at least not for the first 0-3 months).

So while Evie was still in the NICU, Steph got discharged from her post-op stay. Ever the ones to look for a silver lining- our exit from Steph’s hospital room lead to a little shenanigan on our part. So the hospital room contained a bidet, which I determined was still in operation. Thus, someone dared me to use it. Never one to pass up a dare or the potential for a funny story I quickly dropped my drawers and got comfortable for a relaxing and cleansing experience. Whilst sitting on the bidet, Steph says she should get a picture. Now I am up for a lot but a picture of me sitting on a bidet is not something I want to subject all of you too. So I decided a compromise would be a pic of me standing next to the bidet with the water running. So I button up and go to turn the water on for the picture. What I have underestimated is the water pressure in the bidet. Next thing I know the bidet is shooting water onto the ceiling of the bathroom. This lead to raucous laughing by both of us (thankfully Steph did not tear her c-section stitches- or Alex and Yesmean would’ve been put to work again on a repair) along with me getting soaked trying to turn the bidet off while the water is dripping from the ceiling onto my head. Needless to say we made a hasty exit before anyone discovered the results of our experiment.

Bidet

So two days after Steph was released we finally sprung our little peanut (or "Thumbelina" as we often call her) from the NICU. Forthcoming posts will focus on her travels home and her first days home with her sometimes inept, parents.

Until Then,

Jas

I don't normally do pictures- but Steph said people would want to see them. Here they are.

Read the t-shirt and weep.

Poppie with Evie in the NICU

The nurse made this for Evelyn's crib

It was a great day when she went from "Babygirl Garee" to a girl with a name.

Bath time, and boy did she hate it. Still does.

Steph with Evelyn

Precious

On our last night in the hospital we received VIP treatment- because Steph is an employee of the hospital we both received our "Surf & Turf" meal- filet and lobster tail. Amazingly, it was delicious.