By the time she got home, it was about noon and she gave me and her sister Serena a call. As luck would have it - I had gone in to work early that day, looking to get a jump start on the weekend and head up with George to the ward campout. I got home about 12:30, and Ashley was starting to have some seriously regular contractions. Every four minutes. One minute long. She called Labor & Delivery and they told her to come in. I was sure that the contractions would subside, and that we'd go home in an hour or two. With our little guy being breach, I figured he wouldn't be putting much pressure on Ashley and so we had plenty of time.
When we got to the hospital, they gave Ashley a quick exam and told her that she was dilated to a six, and that if he were head down it'd likely be an 8. This little guy was coming today! They quickly made preparations, and told us that Ashley would be having a c-section. By now it was about 1:30 pm. In about an hour, our second child would be born.
They whisked Ashley away - and I got dolled up in a blue man outfit. Ashley was as cool as a cucumber and all of the staff remarked at how calm she was. When I walked in to the operating room, or (OR as people in the know call it, thank you Grey's Anatomy), Ashley was on the table and ready to go. I sat down next to Ashley with a partition between us and where all the excitement was happening. After about ten minutes, one of the doctor's tapped me on the shoulder and I stood up to see the doctors pulling our little man out of the incision. By the time I was looking, everything had come out except his head. With a few tugs, he was out, looking tiny, and a charming pink/grey color. It took him a few seconds to start crying and those were obviously the longest seconds of our life.
After the operation, I escorted our little guy to the nursery where they checked him and patted his back a little until he could get all the junk out of his lungs. Ashley was getting adjusted to her room and being cared for by the nurses. The staff at the hospital were absolutely spectacular, and I would recommend anyone having a baby to do it up in Bozeman, without hesitation.
Our little man was born at 2:35 pm, weighing in at a bantam 7.1 lbs and 21 inches. We named him Cliff Edward Pulsipher, after his maternal grandfather. We are planning on calling him Ed/Eddie but it's all still up in the air.
Here are the action shots of our little guy's journey to earth.
Ed - getting worked on by the nursery staff.
We compared Ed's hair to George's as a newborn and its totally identical.
Ed's sharpee-esque feet. So soft and fun to touch.
Little guy face on. Ready to brave the cruel world.
Here he is, snoozing away in his nursery bed/cart. The nursery had an elaborate wrist/ankle band checking system that ensured we weren't getting a switched baby. It is kind of horrifying to think about how this system evolved, and why it was necessary.
So far George is being a great older brother. He loves holding Ed and loves to put his hand "soft" on Ed's face.
Ashley and her two boys. What a beautiful mom/woman.
George showing his softer side.
Me and the boys in the hospital bed. Our stay was pretty comfy, though a little tight at times.
The look on George's face says it all. Actually, I think he was equally excited about the fresh round of ritz crackers we just gave him. Tough to tell.
Me & Ed.
More Ed feet. They truly are a site to behold. I think they are tiny, Ashley thinks they are big for a man of Ed's size.
Compare/Contrast. George nestled into Ed's hospital bed. Can't believe that George was every a tiny baby now.
Catching up on some z's with Ed. He's already shown quite an affinity for napping on one's chest. Hard to beat that feeling.
Here is Ed in his Going Home outfit. Looking like a dapper fellow.
Close up.
The Pulsipher family, now a family of four on our exit of the hospital. It was a nice stay, but we were ready to leave.
Packing the kiddos in the CRV. Suddenly feeling a little cramped in there.
Ed at home in his swing.
You may have seen some of these already on Facebook, but hopefully you enjoyed the repetition. Ed is doing a good job of packing on the ounces (at at rate of 1 oz. a day) and keeping us all company with plenty of snuggles to go around.
If you play your cards right, you can get here in time to enjoy some quality Ed snuggles for yourself.
