Grateful for Plan B!

There was an oddity tangible in the air on February 5, 2015 in our small apartment.  It was nearly 5:00 pm as Tara and I made final preparations for what would be the most important 24 hours of our lives.  These next 24 hours would be our last without a child.  That is right, we were making preparations forour upcoming journey to the hospital where Tara would be induced a bit later that night.

Tara and I had spent hours together talking about and studying in preparation for these most sacred of hours.  While Tara by no means had a strict "birthing plan", we both had a vision of what our experience was about to be.  Luckily, there was a different route than our Plan A.

We arrived at the hospital around 8:00 pm on February 5th.  The doctor had Tara taking medicine overnight that would hopefully act as a catalyst in the labor process.  After a fairly uneventful night and early morning, the doctor broke Tara's water at 7:30 am on the 6th.  This is when our Plan A really began to take shape.  With her water broken and some medical help from Pitocin, Tara began feeling contractions.

Tara in the delivery room.

To make a long story short, Tara's progressing in getting little MJ out went slower than expected.  By about 4:00 pm her dilation was not as much as hoped and Tara was beginning to feel ill with nausea and a fever.  Tara's fever would not subside as her's and MJ's heartbeats were consistently increasing.  Plan A was not going as planned.  Suddenly, we had another visit from the doctor.

They let us know that the plan for a normal birth was not going to be an option and that an emergency c-section was quickly in store.  Tara's fever, and the increase in heart rate were all signs of an infection in Tara's amniotic fluid.  We had only a few minutes to pack our bags, call our families and prepare ourselves for what would be the most important moments of our lives.

When we received the news of the C-section, both Tara and I grew a bit upset at the idea of surgery.  On top of that, the doctor let us know that MJ would need to spend at least 24 hours in the NICU to monitor for infection.  Tara and I were at an emotional low.  Nervous for surgery and devastated that MJ would need to be separated from us immediately after birth.  Quickly, the doctor said something to us that has been engraven in my mind since.  She said, "You guys, at least there is a plan B."

At least there is a plan B...Yes!  Suddenly, both of our moods changed.  While the fear and the emotion did not change or leave, our gratitude for the gift of modern medicine molded our perspective.  Tara was wheeled to surgery, our beautiful baby was born and mom and baby are both healthy.

Mom's first time to hold MJ after C-section.

I am so grateful for all of the times that I have had to resort to plan B in my life.  I am grateful that because of a plan B I have a healthy wife and an amazing son sitting next to me tonight.

Often times it is easy to get upset when life throws us curve balls and take us off of our planned route.  But, let's quickly turn to plan B and be grateful that there are additional paths.  Plan B means the world to me!