Happy Father's Day Indeed....

Let me start by saying thank you so much for all the prayers, thoughts, and kind words.  You all mean more to us than we can say.  Oh, and if you somehow missed it...

Coming in at a respectable 9 lbs.  14 oz.  and 21" long... William Anderson Hodge!!!

What an emotionally taxing day!!!  Shew!!! I started it by reluctantly going to work, as (at that time, still) Preggars McGee had been having contractions for two days that were getting stronger and more regular.  Well, my reluctance proved to be warranted.  Around 4:30 that afternoon, Preggars called me and told me they were close and strong.  We agreed I would stay until they were that way for over an hour and the she had already called the doctor.  Fast forward a bit because you obviously know I left work...  At the hospital, I was a bit more positive about it than was she.  However, as some of you may know, her jadedness didn't come out of nowhere.  We had come and been sent home 3 other times before this one.  The observed her for a while and then proved her wrong.  Around 10:30, as many people were texted, we were in the room we would soon meet Will.  Or so we thought...

And so we played the waiting game... sleeping when we could, me a little more than her :-)... watching Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, A Few Good Men, The Rainmaker, and even a little of Sleeping with the Enemy.  Somewhere in there getting an epidural, getting her water broken, and starting a pitocin pump.  Kill enough time for ya?  And here's where it got a little rough.  Jeana had stayed at 6cm for a few hours and then, suddenly, went to almost a full 10 in less than 2 hours.  So, the nurse had her push three times through a couple of contractions to see if we were ready to do this.  That didn't work out so well...  Will's heart rate dropped dramatically with every push/contraction.  The doctor then made the decision that she had to have a c-section and now.  I won't bore you with counting the times I cried... suffice to say it started at this point and continued off and on for 3 or so hours.  Worry consumed me and I tried my best to hide it from Jeana.  I don't think it worked.  The whisked her off to the O.R. and had me get scrubbed up and put me in the "time out chair", as I'll choose to call it.  Seriously, they pointed to a chair in the hall and said, "You, sit there."  and I did.  For 15 minutes I sat while they prepped my wife for a surgery she was not ready for.  Will had already dropped WAY down.  And, here's the big one (at least to me) she had an epidural, not a spinal.  To me, there's a difference.  And after yesterday afternoon, you will never be able to convince me otherwise.  Anyways, I was ushered in and directed to sit at her head and hold her hand.  The procedure started.  She felt pressure for a while, then she felt tremendous pain.  It's not easy to look at your wife in so much pain and be utterly and absolutely powerless against it.  As all this going on, Will did come out and come out screaming. 

 Best thing I've EVER seen.  Ever, ever, ever.  Ever.

 So, that part went well.  Here's where it gets a little dicey.  If you've read this blog before, you know how badly I've wanted to hold my son.  Maybe even a little more than everyone else on Planet Earth.  That, however, doesn't make it easy when I do get to hold him for the first hour of his life while, now free of whatever causes Preggarcy... The Jeana, CAN'T hold him.  It broke my heart.  All I wanted was to hand him to her.  Then, her epidural started wearing off.  That's not good.  At all.  Not at all.  So, what does the anesthesiologist do at this point?  Knock The Jeana plum out cold.  Not nice.  Well, I guess it's better than the pain.  I guess I just wish there'd been a third option.  You know, with no complications.  But, alas... we have a healthy baby boy.  Oh, oops... the reason Will's heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions is that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and his body.  Good call Dr. Piper.  Wish there didn't have to be an emergency rip up my wife and put her back together session.. but, good call none the less. 
     After we get back to our room and the stuff starts wearing off and The Jeana wakes up enough, she got to hold her son.

New best thing I've EVER seen.  Ever, ever, ever.  Ever.

 After a little while with just The Jeana, Will, and myself I went out to get Mom, Dad, Billy, and Kristi... I started to lose it before I ever got to them.  So, as to not alarm them, I did the only thing my tired mind could think of.  I walked up to them balling with two big thumbs up.  What an idiot.  No doubt comical to onlookers.  It had just been a very rough 2 hours and it all came out right there... nothing I could do.  Ah well.  :-)

    Now my other favorite part.  Seeing "Mamaw" and "Daddy Hodge" hold their first grandson for the first time.

And Uncle Billy... well crap.  I'll wait til Dad gets here today and pull some more pictures from his camera... sorry Billy and Kristi...

Sorry about the senseless ramblings and grammatical errors... I'm tired.

Well, we are here at Baptist this morning, happy, in less pain, and tired.  We have our son, he's healthy and happy.  We're blessed.  Happy Father's Day, indeed. 

Jeana's first entry...

So this morning I was reminded of how amazingly blessed Ben and I are and, and slapped in the face by how selfish our hearts can sometimes be.  For weeks no Ben and other people have been sure baby Will would make his arrival any day now and each time we go to the doctor she says no not yet and let’s just wait and see.  This has been frustrating for both of us in different ways.  Ben has become impatient waiting to hold Will, I have become hugely uncomfortable as Will continues to grow but refuses to move down and is taking more and more space near my rib cage with his head down and feet up on my right side.  
 
Yesterday when we stepped into the office we expected to be put on the schedule for induction Friday the 17th or Monday the 20th when my mom is scheduled to arrive.  We were good with either of these.  When we were told that they could not get on the schedule until Friday the 24th we were both disappointed but again for different reasons.  Ben because he wants Will here sooner rather then later and is frustrated by the doctors un-willingness to schedule ahead.  Myself for 3 reasons. 1) I have to go to the doctor Tuesday for an ultra sound because I am past due and we are scheduled to induce Friday which means Ben will miss the two days he is scheduled to work next week, anyone who knows me knows I stress money like no one else. 2) My mom will already be half way through her visit by that point and I want her to get to enjoy time with her grandson not just me.  3) I am terrified of a c-section and it seems like the longer we wait and the bigger he gets the more likely this is.  I know c-section is a standard procedure but I don’t enjoy being cut on or having to be away from my baby in recovery or missing the first three weeks of school.
 
Here is where the feeling selfish and blessed comes in.  This morning there was a post by Ben’s friend Hardy baby Clara’s daddy asking for votes for CHARUBS a CDH charity and a Blog post from Janna baby Thomas’ Mommy.  Yes I have been sick and uncomfortable this whole pregnancy but so were Chrissie and Janna.  And here is where I feel like a jerk yes I might have to be away from Will for a couple of hours if I have a C-section but that is nothing compared to what these two families and sooooo many others have been through.  
 
This year has offered so many opportunities to have life not subtly put into perspective but shoved in your face put into perspective.  In a little over a week I will no longer be pregnant and as far as we can tell Will is healthy I am hugely grateful to God for this miracle because I know how easily this could not be the case.  Technology now is also so great that we will be saving cord blood in hopes to keep him healthy even if something genetic happens down the road like Hodgkin’s Lymphoma which some of you know my brother is battling right now.  
 
I would like to thank Janna and John, and Robert and Chrissie for sharing their stories and helping to remind us all of what it means to be prayerful Christians, and apologize for all of the whining you may or may not have heard me doing during the past year.

June 6...

June 6, 2009... 2 years ago tomorrow... I can't believe it's been 2 years!  I was beginning to give into the idea that I would be alone, or at best float in and out of relationship after relationship, for the rest of my life.  Then, thanks in part to a certain Craig and his list of wares, my friend's girlfriend met my future wife met and became roommates.  That eventually led to aforementioned date, our wedding.  I will be working tomorrow, and thus will not get to spend our 2nd anniversary with Jeana "Preggars McGee" Hodge.  This leads to a funny little situation.  I've only gotten to spend 1 of 2 anniversaries with me wifey... if Will shows up tomorrow, who among you believe June 6 will EVER  stand for our anniversary again?  Not me.  And I'll tell you what, I don't care.  I can't wait to see him.  Jeana, words will never be able to serve as a proper way to say how much I love you.  Thank you for all you do for me.  Now, get Will out here!!! 'Til next time....