Dallin Charles Connor
My newest miracle came into the world on Thursday, December 8th. The good folks at Keesler Medical Center induced my labor so that my sister Joanna could be with me for the birth of my sweet little son. To my delight, I was also able to have my wonderful husband Philip with me via Skype. What a huge blessing that was! It was so great to have him there with me.
I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and was given a large, beautiful room. The night nurses inserted an IV and filled out paperwork so that I would be ready for the doctor when he arrived. For some bizarre reason, the nurse put the IV in a vein on the side of my arm. It was a very awkward place to have an IV, but I wasn't about to let them poke me again, so we made do.
My labor and delivery nurse arrived shortly after 6:30. Her name was Laurie and she was fabulous! I was so grateful to have such a wonderful competent person taking care of me and my child. Any time things got dicey (Dallin's heart rate kept dropping) she would say "I got this." and would move me or change the medication and everything was always OK. They started pitocin at about 7:30 which made the contractions that I was already having get stronger and more consistent, but it was slow going.
Lady in waiting
At noon, the doctor broke my water and that really got things going. I got the epidural about an hour later and that made things a lot more comfortable. Phil and I passed the time playing frozen bubble online (he beat me soundly) and reading together from a book that we have been enjoying. I lost him for about two minutes at one point, but the connection was quickly reestablished.
At a little after four, I was ready to push so the staff got everything ready and Joanna helped find a good spot where Phil could see the baby as he came into the world. After a couple of good pushes, Dallin's head was out, and we discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, hence the problems we were having with the dropping heart rate. That was a scary thing to hear, but the doctor and nurse were so calm, that it made me feel better. Dr. Kim was able to get the cord over his head and I pushed him out. His eyes were open and as the doctor held him up I saw him blink. Then they suctioned out his nose and mouth and he let out a beautiful cry. He pinked right up and the doctor gave him to me right away so that I could hold him. I couldn't believe how much hair he had! Such a beautiful little man.
The pediatric nurses whisked him away to the other side of the room to check him and weigh him etc. He weighed in at 7 lbs and 11 oz and was 22 inches long.
I had a small tear, so I got stitched and then they cleaned up and got me all settled back in the bed so I could wait for them to bring Dallin over to me.
Because of the time difference between here and Afghanistan, Phil had been up all night and was drooping. He didn't want to go, we were both mesmerized by the gorgeousness of our son, but I finally persuaded him to go to bed. I was so grateful that I had the Internet in my room and was able to talk to Phil several other times during my stay at the hospital. Thank you to my wonderful sister Joanna for coming all the way to Mississippi to be with me and help me with the kids. Thanks to all the doctors and nurses at Keesler who were so wonderful.
Welcome to the world little Dallin. We love you!
I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and was given a large, beautiful room. The night nurses inserted an IV and filled out paperwork so that I would be ready for the doctor when he arrived. For some bizarre reason, the nurse put the IV in a vein on the side of my arm. It was a very awkward place to have an IV, but I wasn't about to let them poke me again, so we made do.
My labor and delivery nurse arrived shortly after 6:30. Her name was Laurie and she was fabulous! I was so grateful to have such a wonderful competent person taking care of me and my child. Any time things got dicey (Dallin's heart rate kept dropping) she would say "I got this." and would move me or change the medication and everything was always OK. They started pitocin at about 7:30 which made the contractions that I was already having get stronger and more consistent, but it was slow going.
Lady in waiting
At noon, the doctor broke my water and that really got things going. I got the epidural about an hour later and that made things a lot more comfortable. Phil and I passed the time playing frozen bubble online (he beat me soundly) and reading together from a book that we have been enjoying. I lost him for about two minutes at one point, but the connection was quickly reestablished.
At a little after four, I was ready to push so the staff got everything ready and Joanna helped find a good spot where Phil could see the baby as he came into the world. After a couple of good pushes, Dallin's head was out, and we discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, hence the problems we were having with the dropping heart rate. That was a scary thing to hear, but the doctor and nurse were so calm, that it made me feel better. Dr. Kim was able to get the cord over his head and I pushed him out. His eyes were open and as the doctor held him up I saw him blink. Then they suctioned out his nose and mouth and he let out a beautiful cry. He pinked right up and the doctor gave him to me right away so that I could hold him. I couldn't believe how much hair he had! Such a beautiful little man.
The pediatric nurses whisked him away to the other side of the room to check him and weigh him etc. He weighed in at 7 lbs and 11 oz and was 22 inches long.
I had a small tear, so I got stitched and then they cleaned up and got me all settled back in the bed so I could wait for them to bring Dallin over to me.
Because of the time difference between here and Afghanistan, Phil had been up all night and was drooping. He didn't want to go, we were both mesmerized by the gorgeousness of our son, but I finally persuaded him to go to bed. I was so grateful that I had the Internet in my room and was able to talk to Phil several other times during my stay at the hospital. Thank you to my wonderful sister Joanna for coming all the way to Mississippi to be with me and help me with the kids. Thanks to all the doctors and nurses at Keesler who were so wonderful.
Welcome to the world little Dallin. We love you!
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