It doesn't surprise me much but its been a while since my last post. This morning we welcomed Maverick Cottle Sessions into our little family. It's surreal watching your family grow and meeting a child. I'm sitting here in the dark while Amy and Mav sleep. They had a much more exhausting morning than I did. It's been a bizarre week. I've been working insanely hard over the past 6 months since taking the sales management job at Gemini Duplication. This Tuesday was my first real day off in a long time. It's been a great week getting the house all cleaned up and ready to welcome our new baby boy into the world. Yesterday Amy and I worked out butts off cleaning the cars, kitchen, and everything else just to get our minds off the day just ahead. We went out to eat some Mexican food and then went home to relax. As Amy I were lying in bed she began to stew and think about the difficult morning that was only hours away.
She is incredibly resilient but like most mothers she can be a bit of a worrier. She doesn't like to admit it because she is so strong but she seemed really worried about the surgery. I encouraged her to trust in those who had prepared to take care of her at the hospital and to focus on what she could control.
We control our faith. We control our focus. We control our positivity. We control our love!
We decided that we were going to love this little boy regardless of what may happen. The drive to the Gilroy hospital seemed unusually long this morning. We left the house at 5:30 and got here around 6:00am. The surgery was scheduled at 7:30 and it was supposed to be a slow weekend at the hospital. Since it was Friday the 13th, the hospital was anything but slow. As they were prepping Amy for surgery, a couple burst through the doors with an emergency that required all the nurses to leave our room to go help them. I'm not sure what happened but I sure hope their little one is ok. After what seemed like an eternity the nurses came back and really started moving fast to get Amy ready. Dr.Watson came in and spoke with us for a little bit before we went into surgery. They took Amy first and I was left pacing like a tiger in the prep room. A million things were racing through my head. How can I love another kid like I love Rocky? How will life change with a 2nd kid? How will my sons feel having me as their father? The pressure of being a dad to another little boy started weighing heavy on my chest. Right as it began to feel like 500lbs was sitting on my chest, the nurse busted back in the room and instructed me to follow her. I was already dressed head to toe in the blue hospital scrubs they had given me and I was ready to go. When I walked in the operating room they had already begun the surgery. I saw Amy's stomach cut open and they were cauterizing her wound so it wouldn't bleed too heavily. The smell of cauterized flesh isn't something I would describe as pleasant. I wasn't prepared for that so I quickly sat down behind the sheet that separated Amy's head and the doctors. There was a big round mirror in the top of the room directly over Amy's feet. It was positioned so that I could watch what was going on. I watched about 80% of the time and tried to comfort Amy the rest of the time. The doctor asked us if we wanted him to put the baby back if it came out a girl rather than the boy we were expecting. I quickly replied that we would take the girl but if it was a red head then we didn't care about gender and that he should put it back. As they began to pull Maverick out of Amy, Dr.Watson said, "Wow this is a big head". I looked up at the mirror and watched them pull an 8.11lbs baby boy out of Amy's stomach and he immediately started crying. I watched the nurses swarm around him and start cleaning him up and counting his fingers and toes.
Amy started asking about Maverick and wondering if I could see him. The doctors began sewing Amy up and putting everything they took out exactly how they found it. A nurse named Helen bought Maverick over so Amy could see him briefly and then I followed her and Maverick into the recovery room where they began weighing him and warming him up. It was a special moment for me to let those little fingers clutch mine while the nurse poked and pinched him. It had only been minutes since he was born and I felt like I was able to be there for him in a time of need. His grip was weak but I could tell he was squeezing with all his might. Moments later they wheeled Amy back in the room and Amy got her first real look at Maverick. It wasn't a long look because Maverick needed a bath but it was special to watch Amy lay eyes on her new baby boy. They put Mav into a basin in the sink and he was almost too big for the basin. After a quick bath and some expert swaddling, Maverick was handed to Amy. The bond between a mother and her children is special. Amy clutched him tight to her chest and he decided he was hungry. He latched on to his mother quickly and was ready to eat!
We sat there for a few moments and then got word that Kevin, Sandy, Megan, and Rocky had arrived. Sandy brought Rocky back and his reaction was priceless. He was so excited to see his baby brother. He was anxious to hold Maverick and kept saying that he loved him and that he was so cute. He tried to jump on Amy and we had to restrain his excitement. It was a moment I will never forget. It made me think a lot about my older brother. I really have looked up to my brother over the years and I really hope that my boys will develop a special bond. After a short visit Sandy and Rocky left and they moved Amy to the post partum room. The whole entourage came back at this point to hold our precious baby and say hello. Amy has been really sore but is still worried more about others then herself. She keeps concerning herself with my comfort rather than her own. I told her that I wasn't the one that just had a major surgery and that I'm just fine. Its been a busy day and we are all just resting now. We have started calling loved ones. Its a special day. I love being a Dad!
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