While Roger offered a helping hand to the doctors and nurses in the nursery, Miyo lay in recovery, throwing up from the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist mercifully gave her some drugs at the end of the c-section to help calm her down ... it seems she was visibly shaken from the experience.
It's not clear how much time had passed before Miyo was wheeled back up to the maternity ward, but by the time she was, Caleb had been washed, poked prodded and dressed. He was swaddled in a blanket and was wearing a hand-knitted skull cap -- turquoise blue.
The details are fuzzy, between the excitement of the moment for one of the parents, and the drug- and fatigue-induced fog of the other, it's not clear exactly what words were spoken or the precise sequence of events. What Miyo remebers best is holding a little stranger in her arms and wishing he'd open his eyes. She tried to move Caleb's blankets and arms away from his face to get a better look -- he was cute! And splotchy, but that was not uncommon, apparently.
Caleb was the whisked back out of Miyo's arms and she was wheeled into yet another "Presidential Room" in the hospital (they seem to have an awful lot of those). It WAS a nice room, lots of windows and roomy. TV right there, too, within reach. That was to be Miyo's lifeline while she recovered for the rest of the week in the hospital.
From this moment on, our lives would never be the same. The hectic pace that had taken over since we set foot in the hospital hasn't yet slowed down. While we struggled with it at first, we wouldn't have it any other way now ... It was all worth it, the poking with the needles, the lack of sleep, and yes, even the puking. Parenthood apparently does make you lose your mind.
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