RJR3 was born on February 23 at 10:41am in St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, NY. RJ was born 7lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches in length.
The birth was via Cesarean Section because lil' Richard was in a breach position for most of my pregnancy. Actually his butt was straight down and his head was straight up and his toes were touching his forehead. Our Doctor scheduled the procedure a week prior and there was nothing much we could do but wait and then go into surgery.
The surgery was scheduled for 10:00am on the 23rd. We didn't get much sleep the night before anticipating the following day. on Thursday the 23rd we arrived at the hospital at around 8:00am and we were admitted into the Labor and Delivery ward. I went into a small room and changed into a hospital gown and hair net. The nurse put an IV into my left wrist to deliver hydration and nutrients. (I hadn't eaten anything for about 14 hours). They also put a catheter into my bladder to drain it and keep it drained.
Soon an anesthesiologist came in and explained the epidural anesthesia procedure. At 10:05, they wheeled me into the operating room. Rich came along to comfort me during the procedure. My Doctors (Kushilani and Florio) were already there ready to perform the procedure. There was a drape placed at about my chest so that I could not see down to where they would perform the surgery. Rich sat by my head and the anesthesiologist sat behind Rich. There were 3 other nurses in the room to assist with the procedure.
The anesthesiologist began to administer his cocktail (which included some Morphine) and soon I could not feel too much below. I did feel ice cold and I was shivering sometimes uncontrollably. I also felt some of the tear in the abdominal muscle when they made the incision and also pressure when they would put their hands inside me and when they were removing the baby. At 10:41 the baby was removed. He was quiet, not crying. The nurses immediately took him to a heated table to clean him and warm him. 5 minutes later they brought him by my face and I kissed him for the first time.
At that point, they took him to the nursery to weigh and measure him as well as check various signs. Rich went along to make sure everything was ok. It took about another half hour for my doctors to close the incision and sew me up. Then, they wheeled me to my room. At around 11:50am, Rich came with our son and the nurse and I could hold my baby for the first time.
There was no sense of time after that. Rich and I were immersed with the wonder and the beauty of our tiny little son, the small bundle of life which we had just brought into this world. We will both remember and cherish those moments forever. We couldn't get over how perfect he seemed. His eyes, nose, face, skin color, lips, smile....Really all of him!
Rich stayed with me overnight in the hospital that night (Thursday). We spent the whole day on Friday together (as a family). My parents came and visited and were so happy with their Grandson. Our friend Pabla also came on Friday night to visit. On Saturday, Richs' Dad and Stepmom came. Sunday was our busiest day. Everyone wanted to see the baby. First my Mom, Dad, Sister, Niece and Cousin. After that came Tim, Emma, Richs' Mom and his Stepdad, Bob.
On Monday the 27th we were finally ready to take Lil Rich home. The staff at the hospital were more than we would ever have hoped for. Sandy, Winnie, Claire, Eileen, Laurie...All of them were so attentive, caring and helpful. They all seemed genuinely sad to see us go. It was really cold out that day. (15 degrees with wind chill). We made it home in about 7 minutes and started to get acclimated to our new life with Richard III.