{"id":221,"date":"2004-12-04T21:46:57","date_gmt":"2004-12-04T21:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/?p=221"},"modified":"2004-12-04T21:46:57","modified_gmt":"2004-12-04T21:46:57","slug":"baby-boy-number-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/?p=221","title":{"rendered":"Baby Boy Number 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chase<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn’t really expect to find myself in the hospital just after midnight,
\nearly on a Sunday morning. The wife had emerged from the bathroom
\njust a short while ago. Her water had broken. It was time to go.<\/p>\n

I didn’t anticipate that it would happen so fast. It seemed only moments ago
\nwhen the babysitter for Cam arrived. I packed the truck.
\nI threw the camera in the back. I added the new car seat in its
\nproper spot. Less than four hours later, 7 centimeters was the
\nmeasurement of interest.<\/p>\n

And I really didn’t know what to do with myself when the doctor
\nand nurses began to move with a sense of urgency. The little
\nheartbeat emitting from the nearby monitor was straining.
\nContractions made it dangerously slow. I found myself slightly
\nout of the way while the hospital staff took the necessary precautions.<\/p>\n

My wife found her bed titled — her head lower than her feet. An oxygen
\nmask was placed over her mouth. The strained lines that crossed across her
\nface weren’t the result labor pains.
\nIn a fit of courage, she pleaded with the doctor. “Tell me what I
\ncan do to help my baby. I’ll do anything.”<\/p>\n

The doctor replied in a calm voice, “Just try not to wander into the
\nhallway.”<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, things settled down. My wife’s blood pressure
\nrebounded. The baby’s heartbeat stabalized. Active labor was about
\nto begin. We waited for things to remain calm for a bit.
\nTwenty minutes followed. The quiet beep of the baby’s heart kept
\nus company.<\/p>\n

\"Chase,<\/a><\/p>\n

We were relieved when things began in earnest. The wife was prepared –
\neven excited – to begin pushing. She barely got the chance. After a
\ncouple of pushes, I stole a glimpse of a small tuft of hair. A few
\npushes later, the doctor grabbed a pair of forceps and told the wife
\nhe’d take things from here.<\/p>\n

Before I knew it, my second son lay in my wife’s arms. He cried, providing
\ntwo parents the desired assurance that he was ok. I followed his lead.
\nChase Kenneth Wootton, meet world. World, meet my youngest son.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried to write this blog, a chronicle of the birth of my second
\nson, several times. Each time the events of the birth sound
\ndire, something that will likely surprise those who’ve talked to me since.
\nIn casual conversation, I tend to dismiss the harried events of the actual
\nbirth rather quickly. However, when putting things in writing, I can’t
\nseem to dodge the sparks of fear and worry that preceded the little gift
\nfrom God that followed.<\/p>\n

I suppose it is a reminder of just how lucky we are. From what I understand,
\nall the concern I felt was not a mistake. It wasn’t just a feeling brought
\non my watching scurrying folks in hospital scrubs. We were later told
\nthat a nearby room had been prepped for an emergency C-section, just in case.<\/p>\n

God has blessed us. The Wootton clan now counts 4 in their number.
\nWe are, by all official measures, a family. We no longer
\ntalk of our child. We speak of “our boys”. We fret over “the kids”.
\nCritical mass has been reached, filling our house, heart, and
\nlives rather nicely.<\/p>\n

I believe the biggest surprise in the end, if you speak to my wife and I, is
\nthat this family thing happened at all. Three years ago, we would have given anything for
\nwhat we have now. Two years of trying with no results ensured we felt
\nthe grips of despair. Now we pick our little dreams up for hugs and nestle
\nthem close just because we can. There isn’t a better feeling in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

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I didn’t really expect to find myself in the hospital just after midnight, early on a Sunday morning. The wife had emerged from the bathroom just a short while ago. Her water had broken. It was time to go. I didn’t anticipate that it would happen so fast. It seemed only moments ago when the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plan.thewoottons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}