Hospital Metropolitano

The Story of a Not-So-Average Wednesday

Our adventure started in the morning, on July 11th. I had woken up early and played tennis with a friend in the park. I arrived home with some time to spare before our doctor's appointment. Much like the last few months, we grabbed our kindles and some water and headed to our doctor's office. Little did we know what the result would be. The sad part was that Lauren only ate a bit of toast for breakfast.

At our appointment, we expressed our concerns that our baby (which I was sure was boy!) wasn't moving as much as before. The doctor sent us in for our umpteenth ecografia (ultrasound) to check on the baby. He or she was doing great, everything normal, except that the umbilical cord was now wrapped around his or her neck ... twice! After some debating and advice from the doctor, we decided to schedule a cesarean. The doctor then told Lauren that instead of the next day as he had told us, he could fit her in that same evening. He also told us that Lauren now could not have any food or water for the rest of the day.

We went home for a few hours. Lauren calmly sat down on the couch and called friends and family on Skype to spread the good news. I, however, was in the zone. I was making a list, checking it a million times, and going every which way to make sure we were ready for everything eventuality.

We arrived at the hospital, and with my limited Spanish I checked us in and got the billing taken care of (after everything, including the surgery and two days in the hospital, the total was less than $1,000 and 100% covered). We found our room, which was actually pretty nice (pic below).

We only had a few minutes and then they whisked Lauren and I away. Lauren went straight into the operating area and had to wait by herself until we started. They got me into scrubs and made me wait in the employee lounge. I asked if I could see Lauren or go back to the room to update Leslie, they gave me a flat no and told me twenty minutes (they kept saying this for about an hour). While Lauren was get injected with some crazy, paralyzing anesthesia surrounded by only Spanish speaking attendants, I was in the employee lounge having tea and crackers while watching Meet Joe Black.

After an hour and a half of this (there was an actual emergency cesarean taking place), they told me we were about to start. They brought me into the next room and then into the operating room. I spoke calmingly to Lauren and the doctors began slicing immediately. They kept trying to get me to come and watch, and at one point they said "esto es la cabeza" and I came over to look ... yeah, it was just the outside of the uterus. I was like, "yeah, I want to see the baby, not the inside of my wife" and walked back to Lauren's head (the only thing exposed on the other side of the curtain. I kept telling Lauren about how the baby was super close and all of a sudden they told me he or she was coming. I looked over the curtain and they pulled out a head!! Then the pulled out the rest of the baby and I was SUPER eager to hear the gender. Then he turned her around and I got excited because I thought I saw a vuh-jay-jay, and then the doctor said "es una nina" and Lauren repeated it in a cracking voice, starting to cry happy tears. Then they whisked the baby over the the table and starting man handling her, looking all over to make sure she was in one piece. Then they wrapped her up and handed her to me! I walked over to Lauren's head and Lauren gave her daughter her first kiss.

Within minutes of this photo, the baby and I were whisked away to the nursery (there was a lot of whisking going on, as if everything was happening in a blur). I gave Lauren a kiss and wished her well, because she would be by herself for the next few hours recooperating. I went with the baby, and called Leslie on the way to tell her the good news and that she should come to the nursery window. She came speed walking down the hall and raised her hands to her face with a look you can't describe. She teared up with a huge, motherly smile, and kept voicing wonderful things through the glass. The baby needed a bit of oxygen at first (gringos need to get used to the altitude). Slowly over the course of twenty minutes, the nurses turned down the oxygen and let the baby adjust. After that the baby just had to hang out there for the mandatory two hours (the same time that Lauren was mandated to be in recooperation).

Leslie and I alternated between pacing the halls, watching Lily through the nursery window, and trying to send out email updates via the hospital's janky internet.

Lily (or Liliana) was born at 7:20pm on July 11th 2012, weighing 6lbs 7oz (2.91kg), and measuring 18.5in (47cm).

It wasn't for three hours longer that mother and baby were able to return to our hospital room. Leslie and I welcomed Lauren back excitedly, and called the nursery for the baby. Then, after some arguing in Spanish with the nurse about keeping the baby overnight, we got our baby ... and haven't let her out of our sight since (except for a quick bath the next morning).

Well, what a Wednesday. The love of my life went under the knife and I wasn't able to be with her for the most part. Then we received the best thing that has ever happened to us (we were both secretly hoping for a girl). We couldn't be happier!