theo

Somebody decided to crash his brother's birthday party.

This is Theo Willem Klooster.  He came a little earlier than expected on November 20, Jude's third birthday, at 9:36 pm.  He weighed in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18 inches long.

Theo means "God's gift", and he is. 

We chose Willem because we liked it, but also to honor my Grandma Dieken, whose dad's name was Vilhelm - the Danish version of Willem.  We also like that Willem is Dutch, a large part of Theo's ancestry.

This is how Theo got here.

The last guests from Jude's 3rd birthday party, my parents, had just left around 3:30.  As they were going out the door I said to my mom, "He's coming soon.  I'm restless and I can't sleep.  He'll be early, I think."

An hour later my water broke.  I'd laid down for a short nap, and when I got out of bed at 4:30, gravity did its work and I knew he was on his way. 

I started packing my hospital bag.  After tossing a few things I planned to take on the bed, I went downstairs and interrupted Jono's phone conversation with his brother, Jesse.  I said, "You should get off the phone soon.  We need to talk." 

For the next half-hour we ran around the house getting ourselves ready for the hospital and Jude ready for Grandma's house.  My doctor was on vacation so I called Rose, the on-call nurse.  She said "As long as your contractions stay about ten minutes apart, you can stay home for an hour or two." 

We puttered for awhile longer.  I told Jono I was glad to be going into labor, but worried he would be small because it was three weeks before his due date.  I wiped down the counters and put away the birthday cake.  I e-mailed my boss telling him I still planned to meet my deadline for the publication in mid-December, but that he'd have to find someone else to put together his year-end campaign letter. 

We all sat around the kitchen table and talked while Jude had a bowl of cereal.  I'd been having a few mild contractions, but then had my first slightly more intense one at that point, around 6:00.  It was still nothing to worry about.

We left to take care of business around 6:30, dropping Mona off at Joel and Jessie's and Jude off at Grandma Lehman's.  I had another contraction on the curb outside her place - they were still coming about 8 to 10 minutes apart. 

We were kind of on our way to the hospital by 7:00, but we were hungry.  So we stopped at a pizza place downtown.  It sounds less-than-kosher, but I had to lay napkins down where I planned to sit and thought, "Sorry pizza guys."  I had a decent contraction there, too, and had to stop talking to Jono so that I could concentrate on getting through it.  But Jude had taken his sweet time to get here, and we thought with Theo things might be similar.  (Ha ha!)  I wasn't letting myself hope for more.

We got to St. Mary's at 8:00.  I had a contraction in the parking garage, but was easily able to walk from there to the main entrance and take the elevator to the ninth floor.  I was getting sleepy, and lethargically answered the nurse's questions before they led us into triage.  I got into the infamous hospital mu-mu, and tried not to feel disturbed by the steady leaking of my water onto the bed.  An older, seasoned nurse asked me the usual questions about whether or not I'd shot up on anything during the pregnancy, or if I was homeless.  She checked my vitals and Theo's.  All was well. 

I had a few contractions in triage, and experienced my first walloping one there at about 8:30.  Memories of how these things had felt during my labor with Jude came back strongly and I tried to gear myself up mentally to get through quite a few hours of having them roll over my body relentlessly.  I experienced a little dread, but things appeared to be moving along quickly now, and I had another intense contraction a few minutes later. 

Then another, and another, each one a minute or two behind the other. 

I still wasn't in the delivery room, and my labor nurse, Colleen, had come in and noticed contractions were almost on top of each other.  She led us on a shortcut through the nurse's station to our room, but before I went in I had to stop and get through an especially intense contraction in the doorway.  I was hanging from Jono's neck for this one, and I think I almost pulled him to the floor (I was not especially petite at this point).

We finally made it to the bed.  Colleen asked if I wanted an IV, or if I was interested in an epidural.  I replied that I'd like to go without one, if possible.  She checked my cervix, and told me I was dilated to 8-9 centimeters.  I couldn't believe it.  "How soon until I can push?" I asked.  She answered that I needed to be 10 centimeters first.  Then she left the bedside to get some delivery things ready.  While she was over there I felt an undeniable need to get going on this pushing thing. 

"Can I push?!"  I yelled at her.  "I need to push!" 

I don't remember if she answered because I was busy pushing, with or without her permission.  There was no stopping it.  I half heard her get out her walkie-talkie (or whatever it is they use to alert one another of things) and say, "I  need a delivery table and a doctor in here... right now."

The first push was a push I was trying to stop, so it didn't do much.

I had started on my second push as the doctor ran into the room.  I felt the shape of his head leave my body.

The third push brought his shoulders, torso, and legs.  I felt all of this very distinctly, and it hurt, but not in a crazy, out-of-control way. 

I gave birth to Theo on the bed (forget the delivery table), at 9:36 pm, about an hour and a half after we had gotten to the hospital.  Praise God.  I was filled with shock and gratitude at the speed of the process.

Luckily someone was there to catch him - an attending physician who was the only doctor there and available at that point.  I peeked down between my legs and saw her hands holding him, and putting the suction tool into his mouth.  He cried right away, a squeaky little wail.  I reached for him, and they put him on my stomach.  He was very, very small.  Jono cut the cord, and they whisked him away for a few minutes to wipe him down and put him in a hat and blanket. 

I kept asking Jono when I could have him, because I wanted to do skin-to-skin with him and nurse him as soon as possible.  They gave him back to me and I held him to my chest, still covered in vernix, while the doctor held the umbilical cord that was still attached to me.  I clung to him and cried. 

We were like that for awhile, waiting for another doctor to arrive and supervise the delivery of the placenta and the stitches they said I needed.  They called the wrong guy first, so he came and went quickly.  He looked at me and said, "I don't know why they called me."  I didn't care either way, I just wanted someone to help me out.  There I sat, spread-eagled, while they called the proper on-call doctor. She was there in five minutes.  I pushed out the placenta, recieved my stitch (I only needed one), and got ready to nurse Theo.

My little five-pounder has his daddy's nose, we think, and his mama's face shape and hairline.  His ears are impossibly small.  The eyes, mouth and chin are to be determined.  He has a bit more hair than Jude did, and it's darker. 

Jude dropped by with Grandma Lehman the next day to meet Theo. Knowing how he loves miniature things, the first thing I did to sell him on his new baby brother was to show him Theo's toes. He was delighted to see them, and counted them immediately. Since then his interactions with Theo have mainly been asking to hold him (this lasts about .5 seconds) and sniffing or stroking the top of his head. He shows a lot of concern when Theo cries ("Is my baby brudder okay?") and loves it when he squeaks ("He made a squeak just like a mousie!")

Theo is precious beyond words.  I spent our first and second nights together falling in love with him.  We are home now, and he is ten days old.  He has put on weight and is now six pounds!  I feel really good, and am still amazed by how well  (and how easily) a natural birth can go, compared to my first experience.  One hour of hard labor, three pushes, and I had my boy.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)