The Story of our Boy

We welcomed August Robert Tarmichael 
on January 12, 2011 at 12:54pm.

Here's the story of his debut.

Pregnancy

I know a lot of women have a visceral reaction to those crazy ladies who say they just LOVED being pregnant...well, I am one of those lucky one's who truly enjoyed pregnancy. It was not without it's moments (all-day sickness, anemia, and swelling), but all the while, I just couldn't believe I was growing a tiny human in me. The gravity of it kept me humbled and thankful.

Befitting to the news, I actually realized we were possibly expecting Mother's Day weekend while spending time with my mom in Georgia. When I returned to Chicago we celebrated the confirmation of the big news with a dinner of baby back ribs, baby carrots and more. Doug was so supportive throughout the duration of cooking our little parasite in my belly. He was always looking out for my nutrition and patient with my changing and often unexplainable moods.

Getting Close
The last five weeks of pregnancy required weekly bio-physical exams (ultrasounds) and fetal heart rate monitoring. All was going well, aside from this stubborn kiddo being breech. We were doing everything we could to try to encourage a "flip" but alas, he was too comfortable right where he was. It took some time to come to terms with the fact that my doc was suggesting a cesarean section. We eventually had to scheduled the c-section for January 17th. However, this kid had other ideas.

The Big Day
When I went in for my routine weekly tests, they noticed there was no amniotic fluid around the baby. I knew from the ultrasound lab tech's reaction that we were going to have a baby that day.  After finishing the ultrasound, we waited to see the doctor. When she came in the room, she confirmed we were having a baby that day...in fact in about two and a half hours! Dr. Harmon wanted me to get to the hospital so Doug and I said we would head home and grab our bag and then head to the hospital.  The doc said "No, you don't understand...you need to get to the hospital now...Doug can head home after dropping you off and meet you back there".

So, we did just that. On our way over, we called the family to let them know baby was on the way. My mom was actually visiting from Georgia and had been hospitalized for a broken leg and ultimately some lung issues and was at Delnor, the same hospital where we were going to have the baby. When I arrived to the hospital I went to Mom's room and told her she was going to meet her grandbaby later that day!

I was admitted and anxiously sat and awaited my surgery. Doug returned and quickly changed into his scrubs and was comforting me as waited. At 12:30 I went in for my spinal and to get ready for the surgery. The room was smaller than I expected. After getting me numbed up they called Doug in and they had actually already begun the surgery. Doug was peaking around the curtain to see some of the action. It was very quick and quite an odd sensation to feel the pressure of the doctors working to bring out our child safely. Because he was breech, the doctor announced we had an "August" as she delivered our little bundle. They lowered the drape so I could see my baby just as he was being born. HE WAS PERFECT! I felt my heart flutter with excitement and joy and a single tear escaped my eye.

They invited Doug to cut the umbilical cord and brought the bundle over to me to see him up close. I do not recall the words that came out of mouth, but Doug said he would never forget my overjoyed reaction. "Oh look at him Doug...LOOK at him!" Doug and August went to the nursery as they finished stitching me up. Doug was so sweet and wanted to also stay by my side and I insisted he go and be with our little pumpkin. It seemed like forever, but about 25 minutes later our family of three reunited in the recovery room.

From the recovery room, Doug called our parents to update them on the good news. In true Doug form he told them everything about the baby...except the sex...until the very end!  The rest of the day was filled with a lot of meetings. August met Grandma Lynn Matteo, Nana Rose Tarmichael, Papa Art Tarmichael and Aunt Gwen LaSalle. I had some struggles with recovery but by the following morning was doing great.

We feel so blessed to have this little guy in our lives. We are enjoying watching every little thing he does and are already feeling a tinge of sadness that he is growing.

Here is a video of August's first few weeks.