Thomas Kenzo Hood

The last few weeks have been full of ups and downs, but they've taught me once again, just how perfect the Lord's timing is. Just a few days ago, I was so uncertain about our baby and how/when s/he was going to be born. Thursday morning, the date that I had originally scheduled (then canceled) the c-section, came and went uneventfully. Friday was more of the same - I accompanied my last beginning ballet class at OU, went to a friends house to sew some "last minute" baby projects (thanks, Amie!), and had anothor appointment with the OB to talk about a different date for the section. She checked me and said that I was at about 1. 5 cm and still "really thick" - meaning not very effaced. She seemed pretty convinced that I wouldn't go into labor any time soon, if I went on my own at all. I still didn't know about which day I wanted to choose for the section, but the OB told me to call her back on Monday and we would make the final appointment. As it turned out, that phone call wasn't necessary. There was a very unexpected turn of events for us.

Friday was our last day working at the temple together. Kenta and I decided that in the best interest of my swelling feet, we would only stay until 7:30 and then go out on a little date for the last time as "single" parents. Little did we know that it would actually be one of the very last things we did together until the baby came.

As we were leaving the temple, I started to feel a little crampy - nothing too strong, but definitely stronger than the Braxton Hicks contractions that I had been having for months. I entertained the thought of "hey, this could be...naaaaaahh....". Of course, the logical thing to do when you think you might possibly be starting labor is call a friend and make plans to eat brunch at IHOP the following morning (Andrea - sorry! I swear I had no idea that it was "the real thing".) Anyway, so as soon as I made plans and hung up, I started having pretty regular contractions, anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart. They were bearable, but I got extremely uncomfortable sitting in the booth at Charleston's. I couldn't find a comfortable position to sit in and I started to feel a little uneasy. Kenta noticed and decided to pack his hospital bag as soon a we got home. I got a piece of paper, a pen, and a watch and started timing the contractions. They got progressively stronger through the night, but stayed mostly 5-7 minutes apart. I climbed into the bathtub on three different occasions for relief. Finally, around 5:30, I couldn't take it on my own any longer and woke Kenta up to help me. He gave me great backrubs just when I needed them and helped me through the last few hours that I had to labor. We got to the hospital a little before 8:00 a.m. Around 8:30 a.m. a nurse checked me out and said that I was 5 cm and fully effaced. I couldn't go in to the operating room for another two hours because a another lady in labor with a breech baby had walked into the hospital literally three minutes before us and was first in line. So I waited with Kenta. He was absolutely wonderful. Even though I had known the baby was breech and could have skipped over the entire labor process with a scheduled section, I am so glad that I was able to experience at least some of it. It gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to be able to deliver naturally with another baby - if the little stinker isn't breech like big brother Thomas was :)

When it was FINALLY my turn to go to the operating room, I was ready. The contractions were painful and unfortunately were doing nothing to help my labor progress since I had to have a section. The room was FREEZING cold, but I tried to focus on the positive - like the fact that they were listening to a classic rock station that was playing Led Zeppelin (my favorite band) when I was wheeled in. They separated Kenta and I for a few minutes while he got his gear on. When he came into the room I almost didn't recognize him. Until I saw his eyebrows.

Operation Retrieve Baby Hood got underway. Kenta wisely chose not to watch, so the doctors gave us the play by play: "There are the little feet...and the bum. Wow, this little guy is holding onto his momma's hips. He doesn't want to let go. What a big head!!!" They didn't really wait for the "It's a BOY!!!" moment to tell us what he was. They just started saying "his" this and "his" that - we caught on pretty quickly that we were having a little boy. But in all honesty - there is nothing little about this boy

Thomas Kenzo Hood arrived at 10:29 a.m. - about the time that I thought I would be at IHOP biting into a pancake drenched in butter pecan syrup. I was shocked when they announced that he was 9lbs. even. People had been telling me all that week that I didn't look like I was going to deliver a baby any time soon. And that whole "my husband was big, so all of our babies will be big" argument - I don't buy into that at all. Kenta was a 6 1/2 lb. baby and I was 6 lb. 14 oz. How did we end up with such a big boy? I don't know, but I do wonder what pushing out that head would have been like.

I guess that's the mystery of why baby Thomas stayed breech. He was just a very big boy that got comfy with his head and feet in the wrong place. When we tried to turn him, there just wasn't enough room. He was just supposed to come that way and I am so glad that he made it here safely. And he's so cute. I wish I could freeze time so he wouldn't get any bigger. Enough of my blabber - let's meet baby Thomas:

I hadn't seen Thomas yet at this point. Kenta's description of him was "He's a little purple with dark hair that's short on top and long in the back." My initial reaction was, "Oh my gosh. I just gave birth to an oxygen -deprived child with a mullet." I was relieved to see that Kenta's description and, consequently, my assumption were not completely accurate.

Large and in charge - our little babe was, as one nurse described, "a little sumo wrestler" - she had no idea he was 1/4 Japanese.

His ear reminded me of a certain elf...

Kenta knows I have a crush on Legolas but he wasn't concerned enough to ask for a paternity test

Father Hood

Mother Hood. I've never felt so loopy - I had just pulled my first all-nighter EVER. And those pain meds were serious stuff.

Kenta changing the first of Thomas's FOUR messy diapers in the first 24 hrs. That boy had a lot of junk in his trunk.

Cousin Kristin and Aunt Shelly come for a visit.

Not what you think. Apparently Rika had put a chocolate truffle in her pocket and forgot about it.....until Thomas warmed her lap up and melted it.

Obaachan (Grandma) with akachan (baby). Holding her second (and newest) grandson. We are so lucky to have Ojiichan and Obaachan living close by. Thomas's middle name, Kenzo, is a tribute to his Japanese heritage (and it just so happens to sound like "Enzo" as in "Enzo Ferrari" - one of his daddy's fantasy cars).

So that's our little guy. We are so happy and blessed. I keep looking at him and stroking his head and thinking "Is he really ours?" I had no idea I could love someone so much. It's amazing how your love for your spouse increases, too, when you start having children. I always suspected that Kenta would be a great dad - and my suspicions have been confirmed. Thanks to all of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers these past few weeks. We didn't know how it would all play out, and what happened was a far cry from what I had planned. But the end result was just what we hoped for - a beautiful, healthy, and perfect baby.