The Most Special Gift...

He is finally here! Ethan William Soroka entered the world on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 6:39 am. Ethan weighed in at 7lbs., 12oz. and measured 20 inches long. First let me say that we feel truly blessed to have this little love in our lives. It has been the best experience of our lives so far.

Ethan decided to take his time to arrive. On Thursday, August 5th, we went to the doctor for an appointment. My doctor scheduled me for induction for the evening of Tuesday, 8/10. Of course I had to get an awful head cold for my trip to Pallisades Medical Center to deliver our baby! Nerves and anxiety filled my head in the days leading up to the induction. Of course I was super excited that we would meet our baby, but I was really sick and not myself. Time to make the best of it.

Here is a run-down of the days that followed for those who want to read about the induction, labor and delivery.

Tuesday, 8/10

6:30 pm - Ty and I leave for hospital. First we stop at Dunkin Donuts to grab some coffee. Who knew when I would be able to have my mocha iced coffee again?!? Man...it was so worth it!

7:30 pm - Check into hospital

10:30 pm - Start cytotec (spelling?), a drug to start the labor process...bring on the contractions. I was given some pain meds that night that helped me to sleep...little did I know, this was the last bit of sleep I would get for a few days

Wednesday, 8/11

7:00 am - Visited by Dr. Moon who examined me. I was about 1-2 cm dilated. My water was broken at this point...HOLY COW - I never expected that much water to be expelled! I think I set some records...even the nurses couldn't believe how much fluid there was (maybe we have a little Michael Phelps on our hands). Pain not too bad. Started on pitocin. We are ready to have this baby!

10:00 am - Contractions getting stronger, pain pretty bad...we decide to get epidural at this point.

12:00 pm - The epidural worked for a while, but then started fading. It was discovered that baby was hanging out in my belly face up, so I was having what they referred to as "back labor"...what I refer to as HELL!

4:00 pm - Dr. Brescia visits and determines I was dilated to about 4cm. He says that the contractions should be longer and more frequent by now and that, at this point, I should be close to delivering (which I obviously was not).

Wednesday, 8/11, 12:00 pm through Thursday, 8/12, 5:00 am

To make a verrrrry loooong story a bit shorter, I will sum it up like this...the pain I felt during this time was really intense...pretty much unbearable....I liken it to dying (LOL - i laugh now, but I really thought I was dying). I mean I knew there would be pain, and lots of it, but this was ridiculous. My mommy friends told me that once they were given their epis, they experienced so much relief. My body did not see it this way...most likely because of the back labor. During the night I dilated to 7cm, however I was stuck there for the next 6 hours.

Thursday, 8/12, 5:00 am - Dr. Brescia calls a C-section (thank you, thank you, thank you!). I really wanted to avoid a C-section; however, the pain I was experiencing was getting unbearable.

I was sick with a cold...and couldn't breathe.

I was in so much pain and so upset - nearly to the point of a panic attack. How would I deliver this baby?!?

I was tired - it was 31 hours since this induction began. I was done.

6:00 am - C-section began. Although I was nervous, I knew relief was in sight and we were going to come out of the operating room with the most special gift. The nurses took me in first to prep. Tyler joined about 15 minutes later. I knew Ty was a bit emotional about the surgery, so I warned the nurses to not have him come in to the O.R. and see lots of "stuff"...stuff meaning blood and all that other goodness. Of course, they brought him right past me and my open abdomen on the operating table. He handled it fine, but was really surprised to see how invasive a C-section actually is (after the surgery was over, he told me how deep the doctor's hands had to get inside to get that baby out...i'm glad he waited until I was in recovery). All I felt was a lot of pressure, no pain. I was surprised at how quickly they get inside and get the baby out. Tyler was standing behind my head so he got a bird's eye view of everything. The doctor asked him if he wanted to see the head (before it was actually out)...he was amazed. When the doctor delivered the baby, he said to Tyler, "Dad, what is it?" and Ty exclaimed, "IT'S A BOY!". It was 6:39 am. I don't think I will ever forget the pure joy in Tyler's voice and hearing our baby cry after it breathed it's first breath! It was pure bliss.

The nurses took baby Ethan to clean him off. Daddy Tyler followed taking pictures and movies during the process. After Ethan was all cleaned up, he was wrapped snuggly in receiving blankets and brought over to see his mommy. I will also never forget seeing my baby for the first time...he was so alert, looking right into my eyes. He pursed his tiny lips and blew a few spit bubbles...so cute! It was honestly love at first sight!

I was able to visit with him for a few moments before he was taken with daddy to be weighed and measured. I was given some medicine to knock me out and taken to the recovery room. Waking up about two hours later, I was greeted by Ty, my mom, my sister and our new baby!

The rest of the day was spent with Tyler, my family and our new arrival! We took many pictures and movies. Ty really did a fantastic job capturing many of the day's moments. Thanks, Ty! I know we will cherish those memories forever.

All in all, the experience was physically the most difficult thing I have ever gone through, but WOW...we were given the most special gift ever...our son...our baby boy, Ethan....OUR DREAM COME TRUE!

Daddy and Ethan

What a long and exciting day...I think I need to rest.