Welcome Gavin Walter!

Well, Gavin has finally arrived!  And very much so on his own terms.  We've had quite a few eventful days and I have a lot to update everyone on, so this will be a pretty long blog.  But have no fear my male followers.  I am going to give two versions.  The "male" version that is short and to the point, and the female version which includes every single detail. :)

The short story is that I had a regular doctor's appointment on Friday.  My fluid levels were very low which led to the doctor sending me to the hospital to be induced.  That was around 2pm.  I never made it to induction, because I went into spontaneous labor on the way to the hospital and Gavin was born 5 1/2 hours later at 7:32 pm!  He certainly suprised us all!

And now for the details.  By the time we drove half a mile down the road from the OB clinic to the hospital, I began having contractions.  They were very quickly at 3 to 5 minutes apart.  My dad was with me and we went up to Labor and Delivery where the worst receptionist of all time was on duty.  Well, they wouldn't let me go back immediately because I was there to be induced and apparently there weren't any rooms available at the time.  I stood directly in front of the nurses' desk for nearly two hours with contractions that were two minutes apart and asking for a room about every half an hour.  The receptionist just kept pushing us off.  Finally, a nurse came by and rushed me back to triage around 4:30pm.  I was asking for an epidural and the contractions kept coming closer.  A doctor came in about an hour later.  In the meantime, they left me in the room by myself and my dad in the waiting room.  I was very much so in labor.  At 5:30pm, a doctor came in and checked me, I spoke with the anesthesiologist, and everyone left again for about half an hour.  At 6pm, I WALKED from triage to a labor and delivery room.  I was still waiting on an epidural and asking for one about every ten minutes lol.  (Around that time, my beautiful sister-in-law arrived to be with me through the delivery.  She dropped everything to come be by my side and I will forever be grateful for that. )  Once in the room, it was more waiting before a doctor came in to check me again and FINALLY the anesthesiologist came.  The epidural went in and I just knew relief would be coming within 20 minutes.  Well, as soon as the epidural went in and the nurses helped me lay back on the bed it was time to push.  I'm not even sure the anesthesiologist had time to close the door to the room before I was pushing.  There were about a dozen people who rushed in the room between doctors, nurses and the NICU support team.  There was a concern because they couldn't find Gavin's heartbeat, but it turns out they couldn't find it because he was coming out!  Within about five minutes, Gavin arrived!  Everyone was very shocked that I came in to schedule an induction and went into spontaneous labor which only took 5 1/2 hours from start to finish!  Luckily, the epidural hit a few moments after he was born so I was relaxed after everything was over.

The NICU team gave me thirty minutes to bond with Gavin before they took him.  He is so precious and loving...and perfect!  Medically, everything is as we expected so far.  He had an x-ray, ultrasound and contrast study of his stomach, and his duodenal atresia is actually duodenal stenosis, but the surgery to correct the issue is the same.  There is some concern now that there is a malrotation of his intestines as well, but the doctors can't really tell until they are in surgery.  If there is a malrotation, they will reposition everything and remove his appendix while they are in for surgery.  This does add some complication, but I have confidence in the surgeons.  Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, so please send prayers up for our little man on Wednesday!

We should hear more from the cardiologists tomorrow, but Gavin seems to be doing well so far.  He has had two echocardiograms and again, things look as expected.  He doesn't need oxygen right now so that's great news!  He was on oxygen for a while yesterday because his levels and heartrate kept dropping, but today he hasn't needed it.  After several hours of trying yesterday, the team was finally successful on putting in Gavin's central line.  That will be how he gets nutrition until he can start eating on his own, so it was a big deal to get that set up.  The original line that went through his umbilical cord was not functioning properly so that one had to be removed.  But now the line is in, Gavin's heartrate is stable and he's back to not needing oxygen.  He's SO strong!  We still don't know about heart surgery, and we may not know anything for a few more days, but I am so happy with how he's doing right now. 

Chris FINALLY got approved to come home.  I will spare all of the details so that I don't get worked up again, but let's just say his unit is not exactly family friendly and they have impossible standards to meet beyond what the Red Cross requires.  But no need to focus on the negative right now.  Chris is in route to the US now.  He has been stressed too with trying to get home and see Gavin.  I know it's hard being so far away and not being able to see your family during times like this.  But we will be together very soon and I am so excited to have our whole family together again.  I can't wait for him to meet Gavin, and I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas just thinking about Lorelai's face when she sees her Daddy.  That's a lot of emotion for someone who just had a baby and has horomones all over the place as it is! 

The nurses and doctors at Duke have been wonderful.  I love seeing how much Gavin is cared for.  I couldn't ask for anything more.  I would like to thank everyone for your kind words and messages.  It may be a while before I get around to responding, but please know that every single message touches my heart and means so much.  The outpouring of love is a blanket of peace and comfort so thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.