A Second Story of Mommy

It's been three and a half years since The Story of Mommy.

And now it's time for a second story.

Monday, May 18th, Kelly and I enjoyed some late night ice-cream while watching TV, a mere eight days away from Baby Kolchuk's birth. At 11pm, Kelly was upstairs getting ready for bed, while I was downstairs, a few minutes into "24" on the DVR. I thought I heard footsteps on the ceiling, and thought I should get ready for bed, too. When I was changing, Kelly called me into master bathroom to tell me she thought her water had broken.

We called the doctor and were told that if contractions started and came every 5-7 minutes, we should go to the hospital. On the flip side, if no contractions came by 7am, we needed to go anyway.

Needless to say, we didn't sleep well. By 7am, no contractions had come, so we dropped Tyler off at daycare, and then went to the hospital. We were told that Kelly would need to take 4 hours of antibiotics, then we'd have the C-section. It was really gonna happen.

Dr Popp, one of Kelly's OB/GYN's decided that based on the situation, and the fact that other C-sections were scheduled that day, that there really was no benefit to waiting. So, we decided to have the c-section as soon as possible.

The hardest part for me, was sitting on a bench outside the operating room, waiting for them to prep Kelly. After 20 long minutes or so, I was brought in. Kelly was covered in a warm blanket, and I held her hand, careful not to look at the operation...lol.

It took longer than the first c-section with Tyler, because of scar tissue, but after about a half hour or so, the anesthesiologist said to me, "Now, do you want to see this baby's birth?" I am glad she said that, because it helped me enjoy one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen in my lifetime.

I peered over the blanket, was able to see an angle that didn't show me much of the surgery, and it was a perfect place. I watched as they reached in, and pulled Baby's head out. Instead of being grossed out, I was just in awe. This was something amazing I was seeing. I told Kelly I could see the head, then I watched as they pulled and then dug into my wife and the shoulders slipped up and out. At that point, I said, "Here come the shoulders," and moments later, Baby was out. I immediately looked for the groin, to see the sex, but Baby's legs were up and blocking the view. The male doctor lifted the baby, and laid him on Kelly, where I saw that it was a boy.

Funny thing was, that it didn't register at first. I saw he was a boy, but wasn't sure for some reason...lol. The doctor then snapped me out of it when she said, "Do you want to tell her?" I turned to my wife, and said..."It's a boy." She cried tears of joy, causing me to do the same, because we both knew Aiden had arrived. The room was then filled with the joyous sound of Aiden's cries. The male doctor brought him over to Kelly's view, so she could see him, and it was an emotional, tearful, amazing thing.

I didn't cut the cord because it was a c-section and a sterile environment, but it was fine. I went and took pictures as they cleaned him up and it was amazing. The nurse helped pose him a bit, too, which was great. His voice was loud and his cries were so beautiful.

I took pictures, showed them to Kelly, and she said, "why aren't you with him?" lol.

Once cleaned up, I brought him to meet Mommy for the first time, and we got pictures. Aiden was already making sucking motions with his mouth, clicking his tongue off his upper lip. When they let Mommy kiss him, Aiden licked her lips. It was so cute! They will forever share a bond that I can only hope to understand, that began on Cambridge Avenue, in our old house, nine months ago. Perhaps it was fitting that the same place she told me she was pregnant, was the same place she told me her water broke. In our Master Bathroom...lol.

Aiden came 8 days early, and although it was unexpected, it seems to have been right. Everything fell into place, including the timing of being able to send Tyler to daycare. Everything worked out so perfectly. We were blessed that day. We were taken care of.

Kelly carried Aiden for nine months, something so amazing. To experience the actual birth, and feel the joy of discovery as I saw he was a boy, is something she gave me...gave us. She is a strong, beautiful woman and a great mommy. Because of her and everything she did/sacrificed to have a healthy pregnancy for those nine months, and for what she is, and will endure in recovery, I can now stop typing this post, close the laptop, and spend time in room 3054 of the Mother/Baby Unit, as a family.

We are a family of four.

Chris, Kelly, Tyler & Aiden Kolchuk

This is what I see when I look at the world today.