Isabel Nicole made her grand appearance a few weeks early, on October 24. Her birth was eerily similar to Luke and Olivia's in some ways, yet so different in many other ways. I know it sounds so cliche and so "Oprah," but it was our full-circle moment. We got the "do-over" that I was hoping for, despite just a few mishaps, and have been focusing on enjoying all the sweet baby moments that we mistakenly let pass us by with Luke and Olivia.
As with Luke and Olivia's birth, I started going into labor in the early evening and was at the hospital by 8pm, being prepped for my c-section soon after that. When we arrived, we were admitted into the exact room where we were as we anxiously awaited the delivery of Luke and Olivia just over 2 years ago, having no idea what was about to hit us. Then, they wheeled me to the exact same operating room door where, again, I had to briefly part ways with Pete until it was "go time." When they took me into the actual room, a chill came over me as I looked to my left and saw the same "Baby A" and "Baby B" bassinets that were stationed there when I had the twins. My wonderful OB held my hand as the anesthesiologist did his thing and, holding back tears, I said to her, "Please just tell me this baby is healthy and okay when it comes out." When they finally had me ready, Pete came in and sat at the top of the bed at my head. That's when Dr. Gomez, the same neonatologist who broke the news to us about Luke, came in and said she'd be taking care of our baby. We both just looked at one another with ghostly white faces. So far, this was all just too familiar.
They proceeded with my c-section and finally delivered our beautiful baby girl, much to our surprise since I was 99% sure it was a boy. That's when things become really scary as there was a lot of commotion that I couldn't see because of the drapes blocking my view. Again, this was just all too much the same as when the twins were born. I kept asking if she was okay and couldn't get a definitive answer. Finally, we were told that she was "too calm" and having trouble breathing and would need to go to the NICU. I got to see her for all of about 5 seconds before they took her away. I had to have another procedure done in conjunction with the c-section, so it was still quite some time before I was in recovery, where we had to wait another couple of hours before going into the NICU to see Isabel. Pete later told me that when they took him to the recovery area to wait for me, he stood staring at the same chair where he sat when we were given the news about Luke, after which he decided on a different area for this time.
It was a long night, but our Isabel was a total fighter and made it out of the NICU in just a couple of days. We both did a lot of reflecting while we were in the hospital, recalling those very difficult days after Luke and Olivia were born. It's hard to think about how we missed out on so many great memories because we were just numb and trying to get through one day at a time. We make up for it now, however, by enjoying every moment with them and with Isabel...even the 3am wake-up calls!
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