Daddy Again

Recap: Jo's water broke at 12:40 am. Twelve hour later she is in the OR for a C-section because the doctor thinks that the cord is wrapped around the baby.

They prep Jo and re-do her epidural while I sit outside the OR in a gown, booties, mask and cap. Carol is waiting in the waiting area. 30 minutes have gone by since she saw Jo being wheeled away. I know she is worried.

Dr. Carter comes out to call me in and asks me to bring my chair with me. I look at her questioningly. "Dads pass out and if you are sitting you don't fall so far". "Oh" is all I can say. "And is your camera ready? I'll be quick in there" she adds. I unzip the gown, pull the iPhone out of my pocket and stride into the OR with my chair. The anesthesiologist tells me to set my chair next to Jo's head. There is a large blue drape propped above Jo's chest that blocks the view of her abdomen from us. There are several people in blue surgical gowns milling around her on the other side of the "wall". Jo sees the iPhone in my hand and smiles and says through her oxygen mask: "Expecting a call?"

The anesthesiologist looks up at the clock on the wall and says: "Starting 1:01pm." I hold Jo's hand and kiss her forehead. And then stand up to get a better look. It takes less than three minutes for Dr. Carter to neatly slice through Jo's abdomen and to start pulling the baby free. The process is neither pretty nor delicate.

A whitish blue alien looking thing covered with splatters of blood and tissue and a headful of dark hair emerges from Jo's abdomen. As more of it comes into view I see a rather large sized scrotum and say "It's a boy!". Then I remember that I am holding my iPhone. I took this picture less than 5 seconds later.

In the next picture Jo is grinning from ear to ear with mixture of joy, relief and anesthesia. As I turn my iPhone in the direction of Jo's face to take this photo, I realize the baby's feet have barely cleared Jo's abdomen. A miracle of modern medicine.

The neonatal team takes over the baby. I squeeze Jo's hand and turn my attention to the neonatal table. They work fast. Six blue gloved hands expertly handle the baby. They give him a couple of blasts of oxygen, suck goop out of his mouth, throat and stomach, check is heart beat, put a hat on his head, ink his feet and take impressions on a card, wipe him down and swaddle him up. They ask me - what's his name? I say "Evan. Evan Cole Chatterjee". I look back at the operating table and see the doctor and her people putting Jo back together and point my iPhone and click.

In a minute or so, they've got a somewhat clean and swaddled Evan. They carry him over to Jo. Mom and son are cheek to cheek for a few seconds. I look down and see the four most beautiful eyes looking at me. I am walking on clouds.

In a blur, I kiss Jo and head off to the nursery with Evan cradled in my arms. He seems relaxed yet very alert - eyes darting here and there. I first go to the waiting area. Carol and Nicolle see the baby and melt into a puddle. I say "Jo is fine. It's a boy. His name is Evan Cole." Nicolle melts into a very large puddle. The four of us go down to the nursery. I walk in and hand Evan to a nurse. She unswaddles him puts him on a scale. He's not happy. I take a photo. "7 pounds and 6 ounces". Then they measure him. "Twenty and a half inches".

We wait outside the nursery - peering at Evan through the glass - who is peering back at us. I hug Nicolle and Carol with tears in my eyes. Back at the OR they are done and they wheel Jo into the recovery area. I tell Jo that everything is fine with the baby. Jo looks terrific - I can't believe what she's just been through. But her body is uncontrollably shaking from a shiver reaction that she can't stop. She's covered with an inflated blanket and a large pipe is blowing warm air into the blanket to try to warm her up. A bit later they are done with Evan at the nursery. I take him back to the recovery room and lay him down on Jo's chest. She gives this smile that is so beautiful that time stops. And she stops shaking.

Nicolle, Carol, Jo and I relax and chat. Jo eats a few ice chips. Evan lays on Jo and looks quite content.

Jo takes a picture of Evan and me. Daddy all over again.