Belen Maria

I wrote the following thoughts about the birth of our daughter Belen Maria on February 09, 2010:

Today, at 9:17 am, Belen Maria was born. "Congratulations," the anesthesiologist gently informed Jen and I, immediately as Belen first entered into the room. These huge bright, round lights illuminated the room, but amazingly did not blind our sight. Jen's body was momentarily without feeling from her chest down as the doctors and nurses performed a c-section and brought Belen into our hearts.

A sheet kept Jen and I from viewing the operation, but a part of me was not in a hurry to witness this grand miracle orchestrate itself. I don't know if I would have collapsed or not had I witnessed Belen's arrival; you hear about the blood and the nasty gore that spills about; my mind was mostly aiming at keeping Jen comfortable and at bay. I could see the worry in Jen's face and the puffiness around her eyes told the story of a concerned mother.

They placed the tiny body on a special bassinett and the doctor and specialists immediately began taking care of Belen. Their goal was to bring Belen to breathe on her own. As tiny as she is and the early arrival is an obvious reason for her lungs to be fighting for air. Hearing the words, "good heartbeat," and "she's breathing now!" brought comfort to my soul.

Though they did succeed in getting Belen to breahte, they needed to place a breathing tube through her mouth so that it would assist her with the breathing. She is small and her lungs are not fully able to do all the breathing on their own. They will do as much as possible until her body gains the necessary strength. They will monitor Belen closely for the next month and do their best to prepare her to leave the hospital and into our humble abode.

The first glimpse towards Belen directed me to see her tiny feet. They were juggling around in thin air and my heart stopped beating for a moment. I turned to Jen and told her the small miracle that I had just witnessed. She choked for a moment then her eyes turned watery. I could see the love that she expressed toward Belen, our firstborn. "We are parents now," I lovingly said to her.

They took Belen to the NICU and Jen to the recovery room; I followed easefully behind Jen. We stayed there til about noon nearly three hours after Belen's birth. I was allowed to see Belen only from outside the NICU window, literally outside the building, because of the rare cold that I have, unfortunately, acquired. "Can you believe that I hardly ever get sick?" The time for this unfortunate cold to invade my body occurs only days before Belen's arrival and I am not happy about this unexpected virus, but since Belen's health is way more important than my miserable cold, I must sacrifice not being able to stand at her side and to hold my precious gift.

I can't believe how much I love her. This is simply unexplainable.

Among our guest today in order of their arrival:

Natasha Wunderlich- she totally went out of her way by showering Belen with multiple gifts and she even brought Jen a breast milk pump. We are truly blessed to have Natasha here at our side.

Mom, Dad and Gabriel. Mom and dad flew in from Dallas, yesterday, and arrived a day before Belen. I am very happy that they are here because it had been a very long time since I had seen them. I speak to them on the phone at least once a week, but it is simply great to have them here with us. Unfortunately, Belen will have to remain at the hospital for at least a month so they will not be able to see her at home. Mom and dad's trip here will be short lived because Ricky has already booked their flight tickets back to San Antonio.

Mom got Belen a "My First (pink)Teddy" bear and a baby stork carrying a baby bear. Very cute!
Yesterday, mom got us a porcelain angel being held by a set of hands. It is prety cool...

Gabriel, Adriana and the girls were here yesterday. Gabriel drove our parents over from his house today and he simply brings an amuzing spirit into our room. I love my brother.

Tucker, Melissa and McKenna Dowd. The Dowd's arrived shortly before 4pm. Tucker and I walked down to the NICU so that we could get a peek at Belen but we were not fortunate enough to see her. They moved her from the area where I had earlier stood and A rent-a-cop showed up and asked us not to be in this vicinity because the nurses did not like people hanging around outside and looking in at the tiny bodies. I did not want to make a big deal (Doctor Buxton had taken me to that exact area earlier so that I could see Belen, and she even said that I could bring people there) so Tucker and I headed back to room 341.

Tucker and Melissa brought us a load of goodies for my tummy, yesterday before noon.

Sarah Turner: Jen's visiting teacher stopped by for a few minutes. She brought Jen a crossword puzzle and a pocket held Tetris game. She offered a small and sincere prayer and as she did, I was reminded how great it is to have great friends and family amidst us. I enjoyed playing on Level 1 of the Tetris game for a short while.

Dale, Hannah and Joey: They brought me Quiznos. Yay! They stopped to see how we were all doing, as well.

We have been extremely blessed by our Father in Heaven. He has placed us at the right hospital and with the right staff. Everyone here at Kaiser-Roseville is totally amazing and we are fortunate to be here surrounded by their constant care.

Words cannot express how much I love Belen and I can't even begin to say enough about Jen. I never will, I'll never end but I will begin by saying that Jen is amazing.