Zachary Alexander Sandoval

I finally have time to sit down and write about the birth of our little Zach! I cannot believe that I have had him with me now for two weeks! On November 10 Alex and I arrived at Women's East at 4:30 am. We were shown to my room around 5:15, and the nurses started their usual routine. Everything was going well until I had my IV put in. About five minutes afterwards I started feeling sick and I could tell I was losing my hearing....the sure signs that I about to pass out. Alex started fanning me and the nurse stuck something smelly under my nose. I was saved! The nurse told me that I probably had a vasovegal reaction....basically just fainting. She said she would warn the doctors in the OR just in case it happened again. Sure enough, it did. As soon as I had my spinal block in the OR, I started feeling sick and my blood pressure dropped to 60/30....not too great. They continually injected more meds into my IV which kept me from completely passing out or puking. Nice, huh? Anyways, after all that drama it seemed like no time that Zach was born. He was officially born at 7:58 am, weighed 7 lbs 15 ozs, and was 20 inches long. Right after he was born the nurses told us that he had to go straight to the NICU because he had fluid in his lungs. The fluid was causing his breathing to be too rapid and his little body was working too hard. Alex was able to hold him for a few minutes before he left, but I was not able to hold him until much later. It was so sad not being able to hold my precious boy right after he was born! Of course I was pretty much spaced out from all the medicines in my body, but after I got back to our room the fact that my baby was not with me hit me pretty hard. I was so upset! I finally got to hold and feed him a few hours later when they brought him to my room. Klara and my family were able to meet Zach during this time. Klara was all smiles as she looked at her new baby brother! However, after I fed him they had to take him back to the NICU because he started making a funny gasping noise. Very scary. He remained in the NICU for all of Tuesday and until late Wednesday afternoon. After I gained the feeling back in my legs, my nurses let me walk to the NICU and visit Zach, but it was not the same as having your baby with you in the privacy of your own room. But I knew it was for his own safety and well being, so I had to be content with that. After he was released back to us, we spent a nice Wednesday night in our own room and were discharged Thursday around 11:00 am. I was so thankful to be able to take my little baby home with me! He is absolutely precious and all my fears about having a baby boy completely disappeared the moment I saw him!