Raiden Zane

For the last few weeks, my mantra has been "There will come a time when the baby is born." Then is now. Yesterday, May 24, 2012, Jemonis was born, becoming Raiden Zane Froerer.

I didn't want to have another c-section, but baby Raiden was 9 lbs. 2 oz., just like big brother Sasha, was breech at 39 weeks (although he'd turned back the right way by yesterday) and was overdue. A VBAC is not suggested under such circumstances, and so I reluctantly agreed to a repeat c-section. I found it's very different to plan one than to labor for 9 hours first! I went in, did that tedious paperwork, and got prepped. The nurse anesthetist, who gave me my spinal, told me the steps for a spinal go like this: go into the OR, which is at 42 degrees; wash off your back with an ice-cold antibiotic; get a numbing shot, which will only hurt like a bee sting for about 10 seconds; then get the actual spinal, which should not hurt. Gee, I told him, you're really selling this!

In actual fact, the OR was NOT 42 degrees. It was 52 degrees. True story: there was a thermometer in there. The nurse was very impressed when he gave me the numbing shot; he said I didn't flinch at all. I had to live up to my 3-year-old, I told him. Sabrina might cry but she did not move for her numbing shot, so the least I could do was not move. Or cry. I didn't do that either.

So, I got my spinal, lay down on the (very narrow) table with some help, as my legs were already basically useless, and they put up a blue sheet so I couldn't see the indignities they were committing on me. Or get sprayed with blood, probably. But this is a family-friendly blog, so I won't mention the blood.

Did you know that a c-section is boring? It is if you're the one getting it. I had nothing to do for the 30 or so minutes they were taking Raiden out and putting me back together, except make smart comments to Zane and the nurse. The doctors, I felt, had enough to do, so I didn't have to entertain them with my rapier wit. That was a good move, apparently, because the c-section was more exciting for them than for me. They said I had huge veins in there and no space between skin and uterus. I could've told them THAT. Did you see my belly those last few days? I had to keep some of my organs in storage while Raiden was in there. I didn't even have room for both my kidneys.

So I passed the time being bored and trying to figure out what they were doing by the faint tugs I could feel and what they were saying. Then, he was out! Cheri had a really tough pregnancy with Elli, and as soon as Elli was born, Cheri is on record as saying "I feel so much better!" I can relate. It wasn't quite as relieving as Cheri's experience, but it sure was nice to not be pregnant anymore. Besides, once Raiden was out, he was screaming for pretty much all his evaluation, which proved his superior lung capacity, so I had something to listen to besides myself. Then Zane brought him over so I could look at him during the putting-mommy-back-together part. By the way, his 1-minute APGAR was 9, and 5-minute was 10. Eat your heart out, vaginal births. Oh, and he has the prettiest head EVER.

I don't have my camera cable to put the pictures on the blog yet, but they'll come. Suffice it to say he is of the "dark Froerer" variety. Zane says he looks suspiciously like his brother Lance, with the dark hair and lanugo all over his back. I say since Lance has three blond, blue-eyed, pale kids, his genes aren't very strong. Regardless, Raiden is my first child to have my dark hair. He is beautiful, healthy, and loves his mama. What more could I ask for?