The doctors and nurses took him away to check on his lungs and his body and measure him and clean him all up, and I made Liam follow them around. Dr. Wright stayed with me to help me deliver the placenta, and they checked it all out to make sure everything was good with it and none of it was left inside of me.
When they weighed and measured him, he came out to seven pounds, six ounces, and nineteen inches long. He was born at 5:24PM.
According to Liam, that is the exact measurement he was when he was born.
The nurses stitched me up and helped me situate while they worked on the baby, and then they gave him back to us with a diaper on and all wrapped up in a blanket.
Sofie said she was going to give us some time alone and she left.
Now it's just Liam and I, and our little guy.
Liam is sitting in the bed beside me, and we're both just staring at him.
He's fast asleep, his mouth moving as he suckles his tongue. His tiny hand is closed around Liam's index finger.
I study him, drinking in his face.
He has Liam's jawline, that much is clear, but his cheeks are mine. His lips and mouth shape are Liam's, but he has my eye shape. His nose is Liam's too, and I feel my heart swell with happiness.
He looks so much like his Daddy.
I watch him suckle on his tongue and I smile.
He's the best gift anybody could ask for.
I feel Liam kiss my head and I turn to look at him. He smiles at me.
"Can you imagine if Florida didn't get that hurricane? The pill would have gotten here on time."
I look down at our son and frown.
"He was a present," I say softly. I laugh a little and look back at my husband. "God gave us a present."
"We need to make sure to send him a thank you card," Liam grins. I laugh some more and kiss him softly on the lips.
God's gift.
"We should name him Theodore," I tell him. "We can call him Theo."
"Theodore?" he asks. "Why?"
"Because it means God's gift," I murmur.
We both look at our son and I smile.
"Baby Theo," he whispers. "I love it."
"What time is it?" I ask Liam suddenly.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and lights up the screen.
"It's six." He says. "Why?"
It's healthy for a baby to breastfeed within the first hour of them being born, and skin on skin contact is a must because it helps them get used to being outside of the womb. We didn't do it right when he came out because they were weighing and measuring and checking his body to make sure everything was working properly, but we have been so engrossed in him that I forgot about it.
It's been almost forty minutes since he was born.
"We need to do skin on skin with him," I tell Liam. "It helps him to adjust to the real world. Plus, he needs to breastfeed before his first hour of life is up because studies show when they do, they're stronger against diseases and death. And it helps me so I don't start bleeding a lot. Plus, the first milk he has is colostrum which has a lot of vitamins and nutrients and stuff that he can't get anywhere but from me. Some people even call it his first vaccine." I shrug at Liam.
"Okay, um, so what can I do?" he asks. He looks a little frightened that something so vital is almost out of time. "We need to do it now. The earlier the better."
"Here, hold him." I hold Theo out to Liam and he carefully takes him.
I reach over and untie the side of the hospital gown and lower it so my breasts are exposed and most of my belly.
"Do you want to take off his blanket?" I ask him.
Nodding, Liam carefully lies Theo on the bed and removes his blanket, picking him back up in just his diaper.
He hands him to me and I lie him in my bare chest.
He starts to move his little head, his face screwing up as he begins to wake up. After a few seconds, he opens his little eyes for the first time.
"Oh my god," Liam whispers.
"What?" I ask him.
"He has your eyes."
Theo starts moving his head and I know from nursing school that he's looking for my nipple.
Even though I've learned all about this, I've still never done this before.
How do I know something is going to come out for him?
I mean, my body made it, so it's there...right?
I shift his position so his mouth is by my nipple, but I'm unsure how to get him to latch on.
I remember reading something about stroking the cheek closest to the nipple and he'll latch.
I stroke his cheek softly and he moves his head.
He won't latch on.
"What can I do?" Liam asks.
"I don't know," I reply to him.
I reach up and move my breast.
A moment later, he latches on and starts suckling away.
_________
He ate on one breast for a little while, and then I flipped him over and had him start on the other breast.
He's done now and he needs to be burped.
"Can I do it?" Liam asks.
"You don't have to ask me for permission, Buddy." I smile at him.
He grins and takes Theo from my arms while I adjust my hospital gown so I'm covered up again.
Liam shifts him so his head is on his shoulder and starts burping him carefully. Every time his head moves, Liam puts his hand on him.
"It feels weird," he says suddenly.
"What does?"
"Having one of our own," he shrugs. "I always ask Noah and Aria if I can hold Matt. I guess I just asked you out of reflex. He's not our nephew, he's our son."
I smile at my boys and grab Liam's phone from his pocket, snapping a picture of him and Theo.
Liam is smiling at me and one hand is on Theo's butt and the other is patting his back.
I hear a soft burp omit from our son and Liam starts laughing.
"For his size, I give that a ten," he grins at me.
I smile.
"His diaper feels squishy though," he says. "I think he needs changed."
"We need the hospital bag," I tell Liam.
He walks over to the bag with Theo in his arms and picks it up.
I grab the sides of the bed and push myself up.
I'm still numb from the epidural, but I reach down and move the covers to make sure I'm not laying in a puddle of blood.
When the sheets aren't red, I put them back over my legs and sit cross legged, patting the spot in front of me.
Liam sets down the bag and I dig through it for a clean diaper, some diaper cream, some wipes, and an outfit for him.
I pick out a white short sleeve onesie with dinosaurs on it and a pair of black baby pants, followed by white socks and a blue hat. I pick out his baby blanket too.
Liam takes the bag back and I move everything out of the way, and then he lies Theo down.
I undo his diaper and cringe when I see the black tar-like substance in there.
"What the..." Liam trails off. "What is that? I'm getting the nurse."
"It's normal," I tell him. "It's the meconium. It's his first poop."
"That's disgusting," he mutters. I laugh a little as I start wiping him up. He's wide awake, looking around the room.
I get him all cleaned up, and then I strap another diaper on him, followed by a onesie, his pants, his socks, and a little hat.
He lies there staring up at me. I take another picture with Liam's phone.
He's lying with his hands at his sides and his ankles crossed, looking straight into the camera.
"He's so cute," I whisper. "Look at this little boy. He's just the cutest!"
"He's very handsome," Liam says. "I can't wait until the family meets him."
"Oh shoot, they're all in the waiting room," I tell him. "Can you go get them?"
"Yeah," he kisses my temple and grabs the dirty diaper, tossing it in the bin on his way out.
I move Theo while he's gone and carefully lie down the blue knit blanket I picked out of the hospital bag. My grandma gave it to us at the baby shower. She hand made it.
I fold a corner and lie Theo on top of it, carefully wrapping him up like a burrito.
I pick him up and hold him out in front of me with his head in both of my hands and his body resting on my forearms.
"You are such a handsome little dude," I whisper. "You look just like your Daddy, and that makes Mama so, so happy." I kiss his forehead.
_________
I love this so much there's so much love
~Sam