A Baby Story

Jessica and I have been waiting for about two years for the advent of our second child. Late last summer I took Jessica out to eat and could tell that something was different about her so I asked her if she was pregnant. She informed me she had just "unofficially" found out that morning. We didn't have any confirmation from a doctor and decided to wait to tell anyone until such a time, even though my Mom and sister were coming into town that very evening and Mom loves news like that!
The pregnancy was very different this time around for Jessica. Because of the differences she saw between the pregnancies she felt this one might be a girl, the thought of a daughter would certainly be a change for our family but we were excited either way. We made it a family affair when we went for the ultrasound where the gender was discovered. We were to welcome another son into the family. William has always been excited to have another sibling and has really taken to "Oohing, and Ahhing" over other babies and looking after the babies he was around at daycare. I am not sure how excited he was to have a brother or if it still has hit him as being real but he has shown the same care and interest in his brother as he did the other babies.
We were told that the due date was March 23, 2011 and when I told my Dad this he responded by saying, "Wouldn't it be neat if he came a little early, you could have a St. Patrick's Day baby." How prophetic.
Over the next 39 weeks and one day Jessica progressed along in her pregnancy without complication. Towards the end she looked extremely uncomfortable as the baby never seemed to drop, just kept pushing out farther and farther. Jessica had been asked at church if she were expecting twins. "Nope I'm just fat."Needless to say she was ready to be done with the pregnancy.
I had arranged to take two weeks off from work in anticipation of helping out here at home after the baby's arrival and was actually looking forward to my last three days of work at the hospital last week. I worked Wednesday night on the 16th and came home the morning of the 17th ready to sleep. I woke that afternoon when Jessica's Dad came over to help install some electrical components that he is adept with and myself, not so much. I noticed Jessica holding her stomach and wincing but paid no attention as pregnancy seems to be an uncomfortable condition and two days prior at her doctor appointment she hadn't dropped and was only dilated 2cm. I knew I had another week before the child-who to that point was still nameless-would come. I dressed to go to work and then went to pick up William from Preschool. I came home to find Jessica in tears and knew something wasn't right. I called work knowing that the charge nurse had just delivered her own child not too long before and would be able to help calm my concerns.
I asked her to refresh my mind on the difference between Braxon-Hicks contractions and the real deal. Everything she was telling me seemed to indicate I had missed something important in Jessica's progression and needed to take her to the hospital. So I informed the nurse that I needed to call in for that night and most likely the following evening as well. I took Jessica to the hospital and left William with Anna.
I think my favorite part of pregnancy is the drive to the hospital while my wife is having contractions. Sorry to those I zoomed around on my way! We got to the L&D floor about 5:45, were checked into our room by 6:00, Jessica was assessed and very quickly things began to happen. The nurse said, "Oh, you're about an eight, let me get the doctor!" This is not a ranking as to how awesome my wife is (as clearly she is a ten) but rather reflects the anxiety level of a father who despite his medical training missed something and is about to be a father again! Nurses began flooding the room and the anesthesiologist came in for an epidural placement which, as with the first child, only worked on her left side. The on-call OB/GYN came in introduced himself and after a quick assessment and a couple of pushes at 6:50pm our newest son was born.
8lbs 13oz, 21in length, 14cm head 13.5 cm chest. The hospital records had him the exact weight and length as his older brother at birth but with a larger head. I am not real sure how many times we had been asked what his name is, each time our answer was "We don't know yet." I know couples who have names picked out before they are actually married. We knew early on about William but just couldn't agree on a name for this newest addition. We tossed around a lot of names and combinations of names but just couldn't come to a consensus. I had wanted a good Irish name to celebrate being a Paddy's day baby but found out that Braddock is actually English, not Irish. So ten minutes before discharge we inquired after birth certificate paperwork and put down his name as . . .


Weston Buchanan Petrie