The Arrival of Peanut

On Wednesday, September 10th at 8:03 AM, Vincent Lucas made his worldly debut at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long (via c-section). I can not describe the whirlwind of emotions leading up to that first face-to-face introduction. I will forever remember the smells of the operating room, the patterns of lights and ceiling tiles above me, the tugging feeling in my abdomen and the sound of Edwin's voice telling the world "it's a boy!". Our little boy.

Vincent was then presented to me like a stuffed burrito with a hat. I gave him a kiss and immediately noticed his round cheeks and long eye-lashes. I couldn't believe this perfect bundle of life was growing inside me - that Edwin and I created this little human being. That this little guy looked exactly like Edwin! It was glorious.

Interestingly enough, the world must of sensed the new addition and decided to counter-balance this miracle with a perfect storm - Hurricane Ike. Vincent was born on Wednesday morning - Hurricane Ike made landfall on Saturday morning. I remember telling Edwin, "This is actually working out well - what better place to be during a natural disaster than the hospital?" ...

Then the electricity went out.

Then the hospital's emergency generators did not power the air conditioning systems.

Then the water went out.

NUTSHELL: Saturday - Edwin and I were getting to know our three-day old, we had no air conditioning or water at the hospital, we had no power or water at our house. I was going on four days without a shower after a major operation, and Edwin was sleeping on a pull-out chair the size of a small coffee table. After being discharged the following day, our only option was to drive two hours to the nearest hotel that had electricity;
with a four-day old,
a post-op mother,
a new dad,
and the thought of not being able to return to our house for days.

We arrived at Peanut's first road-trip destination - the illustrious Seguin, Texas: Home of a Gas Station, and a Comfort Inn. It was tremendously hard not to break down and cry. Our new family was at the mercy of mother nature and we had no control over the situation. It felt as though we were thrown into a Parenting: 101 class. You realize your heart has swollen to the size of a grapefruit with love for your child, and you don't want to see them hurt or uncomfortable and you try and make their world perfect. And here I was crying in the back seat of our Pathfinder trying to breastfeed our new-born in a Walgreens parking lot a hundred miles away from home.

Thankfully our luck started to change the following day. Jason and Kim called to let us know they had their power restored and offered to have us stay with them until we regained power. It felt so much better being in a familiar environment with little Peanut. The poor guy still had his hospital tags on - and hadn't had a bath until then.

Vincent had his one-week appointment with the doctor on Wednesday. As Edwin and I were at home picking up last minute items for another night with Jason and Kim, Edwin opened a window in our kitchen and something magical happened: the lights came on. I gasped and he jumped from confusion at my outburst, "We have power! Oh my God! Don't close the window! We have power!". It was another moment of bliss - we could finally start our family routines at our own home. I could finally relax.

Now we are finally settling into our new life as parents here in our own house.