The Adventures of the Halstead Fam!

Our world changed completely at 11:53am Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 – our beautiful baby boy, Samuel James, was born!  Months of anticipation, excitement, dreaming, hoping, joking, sleepless nights filled with kicks from inside my belly, and praying for a safe labor and delivery came to an end as Stead looked at our baby and said, “It’s a boy – we have a boy!”

The week before Samuel was born we had our regularly scheduled weekly appointment with the doctor.  She told us that Baby had decided to flip, or as I liked to think of it, he attempted a summersault and got stuck half-way through his trick.  We spent the weekend stretching with pre-natal yoga, swimming and doing handstands in the pool, hanging upside down off the couch, and walking through our neighborhood.  Despite our attempts, Baby was still breech at our follow-up appointment the next week.  After lots of conversation with our doctor we decided to attempt a ECV (external cephalic version).  This is a crazy procedure done with two doctors pushing, pulling, and attempting to lift baby from their breeched position and get them head down.  It’s painful – it feels like someone is knocking the wind out of you from the inside out.  After 2 attempts I looked at my doctor and told her I was tapping out.  She agreed – baby wasn’t going ANYWHERE.  She then looked at the clock and said, “We could pop into the c-section room now, or we could wait until this afternoon.  I’m here, you’re here, you’ve already fasted for the version so you’re ready for surgery.  Want to have your baby this morning?”

Yes.  Yes please.  Let’s hold our baby!  Immediately our room was filled with nurses and assistants who helped prep Stead and me.  The anesthesiologist came in and explained the epidural.  We heard our doctor in the hallway, “I’m ready if you guys are!  Let’s have a baby!”

We decided that Stead would be the one to declare if Baby Halstead was a boy or a girl.  As our doctor started she let us know what was happening.  Stead sat next to me and we confided in one another how excited and scared we were.  “There’s two little feet!”  I was on the verge of tears.  “There’s baby’s cute little butt!”  Please cry, please cry, please let us hear a cry….  And then the most beautiful sound – our baby’s first breath.  He didn’t sound scared or in pain or overwhelmed – just a loud “hello world!”  Our doctor held up our baby and I saw his scrunched up face and full head of hair but that was it – the surgery shield blocked the rest of the view from me.  But Stead saw.  “We have a boy – our baby’s a boy!”

The next 30 minutes is a blur of holding our baby on my chest and Stead helping clean and check baby’s vital stats.  Before we knew it we were being pushed down the hall as a family of 3 to our room where we would spend the next 3 days.  When we got back to our room we still hadn’t settled on a name.  After a few hours together we chose to call our son Samuel James, meaning “God has heard and may God protect”.