He's here!

This is Clark the night we decided to start his blog. He had woken up at 3:00 a.m. to eat and hadn't gone back down until about 6:00 a.m. I knew that I had to get up soon enough anyway, so instead of going back to sleep, we decided to get started.


Intro

We wanted to start this blog so that our friends and family both here and in Mexico could get to know our firstborn, Clark. He is amazing and we want to share the experiences that we have with him with our loved ones. But mostly this blog will be for him. I think back on my childhood and on all my wonderful memories, and then I think back on all that I would like to know more about and wonder. This is an effort to not forget any details of these days, but mostly, it’s for Clark. With that in mind, we'll get started. Clark, we love you. Our hope is that the memories and experiences that you've given us and that we share together as a family can spark in you a gentle reminder. A reminder that, no matter what, you are our little boy, and we will always love you.

Love,
Mom and Dad

So we waited our 9 months, Sept. 20 came and went, and Clark still hadn't come. We had our next appointment on the 23 of September at 10:00 a.m. We went there expecting an ultrasound and we were told that he was a big kid, approximately 10 lbs, but that this far along the ultrasound is less and less accurate. The doctor said that because of his size, he would recommend a c-section. He also said that if they baby turned out to be anything less than 10 lbs that my wife could give him a kidney punch. Small comfort, but he was pretty sure he was right. He then gave us the choice of going straight over to the hospital and starting the procedure around 2:00 p.m. that same afternoon, or of coming back at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. My wife has never been much of a morning person, and we figured that we wouldn't be sleeping much that night anyway, so despite her nervousness, we decided to go straight over and get started. My mom was there with us, and she offered what comfort she could to Julieta. She was actually handling it all extremely well. By this time we were ready to have the baby, at least that's what we thought. As they gave us our room, my wife changed into her gown and laid down in the bed.

It was noon now and I could hardly take it. In 2 hours I'd be holding in my arms the thing we'd most hoped for for more than 2 years. But as I looked at my wife, lying there in the hospital bed, I had to bring myself back to reality. What she was about to go through was not going to be easy. Despite all that she had been told, we weren't really sure what to expect. My wife is one of those people who has never had to go to the hospital, and before getting pregnant, had never been to the doctor's office either. She hates needles and she hates taking medicine. That being said, she did wonderfully. The staff at the hospital took excellent care of her, even going out of their way to provide for the language barrier. I looked at her and saw a mixture of emotions in her face, in her eyes. As she puts it, she became hungry, tired, and cold all at the same time. She couldn't find a comfortable position in the bed and began tossing and turning. She now had about an hour before the came to take her to the O.R., and in that hour she was able to nap. This helped calm her down immensely. Finally the hour had come, and the nurses showed up to wheel her away. With the advice of the anesthesiologist, we decided that they would put her to sleep. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to wait in the room for her. My poor wife had to be wheeled down a hallway by people that she didn't understand and into a room where she really had no idea what was about to take place. One of the nurses held her hand the whole way and even offered both of her hand to Julieta for her to squeeze when the gave her the epidural. Luckily, the Dr. arrived soon after and told us that we highly recommended that we not put her to sleep. That being the case, I was told to wash up and put my scrubs on, and that I would be allowed to be with her in the O.R. I suited up as fast as I could and waited to be let in. By the time I got there she had already had the epidural and the doctors were ready. I sat by her head and held her hand. She was shaking like a leaf, so I whispered whatever I could to calm her down. I don't know that it really helped, but within minutes we heard a tiny scream. They had him cleaned up in no time and asked me if I wanted to hold him. Of course I did.

Meet Clark Randall Drake, all 10 lbs 10 oz, and 21 ½ inches of him.

Aunt Emily teaching cousin Tanner how to be "soft" with his new cousin.


Papa with his boys.

We were soon left alone with our newborn son. Nurses came and went throughout the rest of the day and night. At about midnight they came to take him to the nursery to run some more tests on him. But they didn’t end up bringing him right back out to us. They soon informed us that they had detected a problem and that they would need to keep him in the nursery for a time. Clark still had fluid in his lungs, and was having trouble breathing normally. They hooked him up to pressurized oxygen and an I.V. and kept him on a heated bed. That was late Thursday night. It was hard on Julieta since she couldn't get out of bed, she couldn't go and see her baby. I was allowed to go into the nursery and be with Clark. I could also take one person in with me.

Nanny of course was the first to go in with me.


Perhaps this one pulls at me the most. This is my little man in intensive care in the nursery. He's got his momma stroking his hair and a tight grip on his dad's thumb. We like to think that he knew we were there with him.

Clark loves having "awake time". He's genuinely a happy kid, very content to just be awake a look around.

The next few days were difficult, but Julieta was finally discharged on Sunday, Sept 26 just before midnight. As nice as that was, Clark would be staying in the nursery under the constant care and supervision of the wonderful nurses at BRMC. While it was nice to be able to actually rest in a real bed (I ended up messing up my back pretty good trying to sleep on the hospital furniture), it was hard not having Clark with us. We would go and see him every day.
Despite the tongue sticking out we are sure he loves his little razorback.

This is Stewie the stegosaurus. Maybe we'll just have to let him decide a little later on, he's still got several at home to choose from.

It was amazing to see him respond to us. I know most people would say that that's impossible at his age, but during his time in the nursery we noticed that Clark was starting to track us with his eyes. Not just vaguely, but his eyes would lock dead on to ours. I particularly loved that the sound of my voice would even calm his cries (although that seems to have worn off now). Finally the day came, 11 days after his birth, for us to take him home.



This is Clark going home after 11 days in the hospital and wearing his 3 mo old clothes.

After getting him home, we began to settle into a routine. We were told to keep him home for the first month or so, which was fine for us. It meant having to share him less with others. We did take him for a walk in his stroller, all nicely bundled up.


Its been almost 3 weeks now and I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It makes me sad in a way, knowing that he won't always be so small and cuddly, but I'm definitely making the most of it. My favorite time with him is just after hes eaten, when I can burp him and he'll snuggle up on my shoulder and fall asleep. I'm slow to let go of him. My wife is also adjusting nicely. She's almost fully recovered from the delivery. She's an excellent, loving mother to her son. She's also an excellent, loving wife to her husband, who still needs her at least as much as her son, if not more.

We've noticed that Clark is doing things that we didn't expect for a few more months at least. We've begun to wonder if maybe the ultrasound dates weren't off by a few months. He tracks very well, responds to mine and Julieta's voices, and has even rolled onto his side several times. If he could just get that arm out from under him he'd go all the way over. The thing I like most is when he smiles at you, which he's been doing since he was in the hospital.


These are just some of the ones we were able to catch on camera.

It's fun watching him move his arms and his fingers, and kick his legs. When he stares at you, you can't help but wonder what he's thinking.

All in all, its been a whirl-wind last few weeks. I've had a "fun" time getting caught up on all of my missed school work, while trying to spend as much time as I can with my little family. Julieta has slipped nicely into a new routine based mostly around Clark. My family has been there through it all. I sometimes wonder if parents become parents so that they can one day become grand parents. Not that they don't love their kids, but being a grandparent must be the best thing ever. I say this based on watching my parents, Clark's "Nanny" and "Papa", spend time with him each day. It's all of the fun and none of the responsibility. They can spoil them rotten and give them back at the end of each day. It's getting late, and as I finish this post, I'm left wondering... can it get any better?