Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Birth week diary!


9-2-12
Bots gets me up at 7am, and I am in and out of sleep till 9:05. The wife at some point had moved to the living room to sleep better. She’s greatly uncomfortable and ready for this pregnancy to be over! I get up and check online stuff. The wife says we have to travel to St. Johns to look at a potential new car we are gonna trade the silver surfer in for. We head out and meet the dealer. He gives us the keys to a 2011 Chevy Equinox to see what we think for the next two days. Then we come back Tuesday to potentially seal the deal. We drive off and initially, I am not liking the car. Its pretty long and hard to see the blind spots in. But eventually I get used to it and accept that the wife is into it. (Wife always gets what she wants!) Besides, she let me score the BR player yesterday. Seems only fair for me to grin and bare it. (we eventually decide against getting it, keeping the Silver Surfer for now)
We get back and head to McDs for food and then home. She lays down for a nap and I work on word balloons for the erotica anthology short story. I get them done and we head out to Walmart to get cat food and frozen foods. We get back home and the car is already feeling natural. I’m kinda hoping the deal goes through on Tuesday. We’ll have to see I guess. I finish up the balloons and let the wife read the story. She digs it, so I send it off to the people involved. I resend it after I get a reply saying that the way I sent it was no good. I take a break and attempt a nap at 7pm, which doesn’t take thanks to the bouncing bots. I get up at 9:30 and watch some odds and ends stuff, waiting for the season finale of Breaking Bad to come on. At 11 its over and I give the wife a good night back rub. Then get to work on a pinup piece for the horror anthology book. I pass out around 2:30am

9-3-12 through 9-4-12 Are a complete blur. Bots started school for the year. Nothing much happened beyond two dayjob shifts, artworking and sleep. There ya go.

9-5-12
I get up around 9am and work on some artwork. I also build a business card for a client and then finalize word balloons on Erotica Anthology and watch Beverly Hills Cop 1-3 (three is HORRIBLE! I have never seen it before!). We get the call that the C Section scheduled for the morning is now delayed till Monday because there’s no room in the hospital. Tons of women are in labor right now and since ours is a voluntary early C section, we got bumped back to our original due date. The wife isn’t happy at all about it, but she deals.
I watch most of the Giants/Cowboys NFL opener and then lay down with the wife, watching “The Longest Yard” remake. The only reason I’m watching it is cause Joey Diaz is in it. It turns out to be okay. I pass out around 3am.

9-6-12
I’m woke up by the wife around 9:30 to say that my parents called and have dropped our kids’ bday money and our anniversary present at a moneygram at Walmart. We get up and head there to get it. We get there and apparently, the origin filed the wrong state! So we called my parents and they had to go back to their Walmart in Illinois to have them re-wire it. We wait at the nearby Culvers for some food. Then we head to our new apartment where they let us walk around in it again and I take tons of pics and film a video. We get back to Walmart and everything is straightened out.
We get back home, pick up bots off the bus (He started school on Tuesday) and head out. We pay some bills, get gas in the car and food for the bots. I also stop off at Best Buy to get a color ink cartridge and the wife a new mouse for her laptop. I drop them off and head to North Lansing to meet a client for some work to get done. After the meeting, I head back to get them. We have to then run to Kelly’s doctors to get a form signed, then head to her work to fax it in. We get done and head to the mall. I go to B&N and get the new Horrorhound magazine. Bots gets a disc in the FYE (natch). Then the wife says she don’t want to go home. I drive to downtown and stop by Clems to see if they have any Rachel Rising tradebooks. They do not. So we head East to Perry, MI to enjoy the drive and a nice chat together. We get back home around 7:30 and I check online stuff.
I decide after a bit that I want to go back out and possibly get the TNG season 1 Bluray set, so I head to Target solo. I get it in my hands and then talk myself out of it. I decide I could get other discs instead. Target is short on things I want, so I head to Walmart. I get there and score Jackie Brown and the new Total Recall on BR for cheap! Then some carpet cleaner. I stop off at Mcds for a shake and then head home. The wife has put bots to bed and she’s in bed too. I update blog and check online shit. Then I get to work on the business card gig and some additional drawing. I call in to the Bigfanboy Livecast and talk with Mark for a couple hours too. Finally around 2:30am I stop drawing and then hit the bed watching Twilight Zone.


9-7-12
I wake up at 9:30 and record a Morning Show/Upload it. My boss texts me to see if I will pick up a morning shift for tomorrow and I accept. I leave the house solo and hit the used DVD store and find Good, Bad and The Ugly on BR for $5. Then I get the bots a disc, natch. I get back and get the bots off the bus. We all get together and load up the Silver Surfer and head to town. We hit 21st Century Comics and I get a Rachel Rising trade, the new The Boys and Silk Spectre #3. Then we head to two different Walgreens to fax more forms for the wife’s doctor doings. We get back and I check online stuff and pull tons of reference for the Dracula cards I am behind on, and some adult and horror prints I am going to start working on. Then take some time to play with the bots. I chat with Shane, Mike and others about various Mayhem and doings for future art stuff.
I print some reference finally and then start working on sketch cards. Brian Maze calls and we talk for about an hour. Finally around 10am, bots passes out and I get back to the desk and draw some more. Then update the blog and take care of other minor things. I work on Dracula cards all night and then pass out around 3:30am.

9-8-12
I get up and head to work for my 10am-6pm shift. The wife keeps the car all day so her and bots can do shit. Its pretty uneventful and I get home around 6:30. Bots is cranky and moody as fuck, but lightens up after an hour or so. The wife lays down watching Man V Food and I watch some Netflix stuff on the couch, relaxing. She puts bots to bed and I get up and color Dracula cards. I get an email from Mike with the finished Mayhem cover and its DOPE! I suddenly remember that I haven’t drawn the art for Shane’s story yet, so I take an hour to do that, then scan it and add it to the cover. Finally its done. I upload it to the Kickstarter fund for the book and make some various announcements out on the web. I check the stats on downloads for the Morning Shows and its really high! Higher than what I thought it would be! I am flattered that I am appreciated that much!
I check online shit and then pass out to Netflix on my phone by 1:30am.

9-9-12                                                                       
I wake up at 10am and head to Walmart with the family to get game day snacks. Kelly’s parents call to say they are on their way. We get chips and soda and then we get some Mcds for lunch. We get back and I record a video for the Mayhem project. I edit it and upload it to Kickstarter and all the other sites promoting it. I shoot it to Shane and Mike and they write back saying they like it! The Lions season opener starts at 1pm vs. the St. Louis Rams and it’s a close game throughout. Kelly’s parents arrive and bring bots some cars and a dinosaur ramp for his birthday. Also two large packs of diapers and sleepers for the new baby that is coming in the morning.
We watch the game and the Lions pull of a major win! Kelly’s parents head back to their hotel and we watch the tail end of a couple other games going on. I edit together a bunch of videos that I have sitting around and get that done in time to catch the end of the Seahawks/Cardinals game. The Sunday Night Game of Steelers vs. Broncos (first Payton Manning Broncos game) begins. I watch till half time and then switch to catch up with the newest Doctor Who I missed the night before on ON DEMAND. Then get back to the game by the 4th quarter. I listen while updating the blog. I hit the pillow and pass out to Star Trek on Netflix by 1am.

9-10-12
The wife wakes me up at 4:45am, packing for the hospital trip. I get ready and load up the car. Her parents drive up and come inside. We take some pics and hit the road. I stop off for some breakfast but they ain’t taking credit card, which is all I have. Afraid I’ll not survive well on an empty stomach with the things to come, the wife offers the idea of dropping her off first and she can go inside to fill out paperwork and get ready, and I will go score food. I agree and head out after dropping her off. I get to the Frandor Mcds and get a couple muffin sammiches and a soda. I head back (eating in the car), park and go inside. She’s already in a gown and in the waiting/recovery room and being monitored. The nurses are very informative and kind the whole way through. We wait til around 8:30, anxious and nervous to get this whole process rolling along. I get put in scrubs and tweet/post pics of the events unfolding. Finally they come in and take us to the operating room. I am told to wait outside while they do the spinal and get her prepped for surgery. I stand outside and pace back and forth. At one point, an older man comes out and sits reading a newspaper. Then a younger and very large man comes out and says “She’s finally dialated to 10 inches so we can begin when she’s ready.” Then breaks down crying. The dude gets up to hug him, reassuring him that everything is okay. “I know, its just all emotional with this whole thing and I didn’t want to do this in there in front of everybody.” I am moved by the raw emotion of the moment. I remember what it was like the first time for me too, seeing your loved one go through pain and not being able to help. It was touching that he cared.
Finally my name gets called and I head in. Kelly is laid on the table, her arms stretched out like Jesus on the cross. She’s numb from the waist down and a huge blue sheet covering over the surgery area. They have already started to cut through the layers and get to the baby. I hold her hand and she just talk about how she can’t feel a thing and we just wait. It feels like 20 minutes but in reality it was about 5. Immediately I hear, “here’s the head, shoulders. And here he is!” Then instant baby crying. A good, loud cry! They take him to the table and dry him off. I sit there holding my wife’s hand, making sure she’s okay. I get the okay to stand up and go over. He’s got a good color and he’s quite healthy. They weigh him and he’s 9lbs, 3 oz with a 13” head measurement! So going with a C section was the right way to go! I am holding him a few seconds later and take him over to Kelly who is now getting her tubes tied and sewn shut. I resist temptation of turning around and looking, for fear of passing out. We sit there and marvel at his looks and he’s cooing and opening his eyes for us. It was an awesome moment. Now we’re parents of two kids. (I’m tearing up right now as I am typing this, recounting that moment) Our lives are now changed forever.
They wheel her back to recovery and I sit in the chair with the baby. They eventually try to get him to breastfeed a bit, but all he wants to do is sleep. I don’t blame him. Less than an hour alive and we’re already giving him a job to do with expectations? HA! I stay with her about another hour and a half and then leave to head back to get her parents. They are due to check out of the hotel by noon, so I have to get back to them before then so they can take care of their dog as well. I get back, show off pics to them and they head to the hotel. Bots is laying all quiet and calm. I upload the pics fo FB and answer some emails. I print off some pics for the parents and they come back to get me. We make plans for them to follow me back to the hospital. So they load up and follow me back downtown. Parking in the garage is FULL! We end up having to park at the top level near the helicopter pad and they open the windows for their poor dog who will now be stuck in the hot sun. We take the elevator down and take the long walk back. Kelly and James are now in the mother/baby room and trying to feed again. Still not too successful. The parents take a couple pics and then have to take off because of the dog. I draw them a map outta town and walk them back to the elevators downstairs. We get back to the room and spend some time with Kelly and the baby. Bots is being loud and sort of acting tired so I offer that we will leave and come back later. Besides, I need to go back home and get Kelly’s fan anyway.
Bots and I make the long trek back and get back home around 2:30. We hang out at the house till 4:30, then head back. We stay at the hospital till around 7:10. During that time, Scott bonds with baby James by sharing his beloved bear and kissing him repeatedly on the cheek. It was a touching moment and I got it all on video! Finally I am exhausted and can barely stay away so I load bots back up and we head back home. I catch up on emails and record a late morning show recounting the day’s events and upload it. Then clean the house up a bit. I notice that bots has the sniffles a lot at this point and is sneezing/coughing. I give him some cough medicine and rub vapo rub on his chest. No fever, but maybe a head cold? Around 9:30, I put bots down to bed and watch Penny-Arcade series online videos. I lay down to finish the videos and pass out myself but I hear bots freaking out in his room. Poor guy keeps waking himself up not being able to breathe normally thanks to the snot in his passages. So I lay with him in our bed and we watch AVGN. He passes out finally and so do I. He gets back up at 3:30am and wants to go to his bed. I take him there and lay with him until he passes back out. Then I go back and lay down and pass back out, a long day, to be sure!
(note) I was once told by a person I knew their beliefs of birth. That when we are born, we scream and do it loud to let the universe know that we are here. I like that concept, as it sounds almost Klingon! It’s a deep thought and probably not accurate to any degree whatsoever. But for what its worth, James had a great scream. So if the universe does indeed listen, he was for sure heard.

T

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