After six days of anticipation, 12 hours of flying, a sleepless night in an airport and a short drive from the airport to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, U.S. Army Spc. Carlos Maldonado held his newborn son for the first time.
A wide smile spread across Maldonado’s face as he walked into his son’s room in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Wednesday afternoon. He kissed his wife, Leila Maldonado, and scooped little Romeo Javier Maldonado into his arms.
“He’s amazing,” said Carlos, 25.
Carlos stroked the cheek of the newborn. “Hey, little man,” he cooed.
“There’s nothing I can compare it to,” he said. “There’s nothing like it.”
Carlos’ arrival capped an eventful and stressful week for Leila.
Leila, 25, was taken to the emergency department after experiencing contractions May 21. Doctors learned Romeo’s umbilical cord was wrapped around his feet and legs. The next morning, Leila delivered Romeo via cesarean section.
Romeo arrived at 9:56 a.m. May 22 — about four weeks ahead of his June 17 due date. He weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and measured 19 1/4 inches.
Throughout the ordeal, Leila and her mom were texting Carlos, a helicopter mechanic stationed in Germany. He was at work when he got the news that his wife was going into labor.
“I was really worried at first,” he said, especially after seeing photos of Romeo with tubes connected to machines.
Carlos calmed down when he learned his wife delivered a healthy baby boy. Leila sent an American Red Cross request to Carlos’ unit, and he was granted two weeks’ leave to meet his son. Carlos landed in Portland at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and headed straight to the hospital.
“It feels amazing,” Carlos said as he held Romeo. “It feels like that’s what life is about, having a family.
“I wish I could have been here for the birth,” he added.
Carlos and Leila had been living together at Joint Base Lewis-McChord until early April, when Carlos was relocated to Germany. Leila was set to follow Carlos, but the paperwork wasn’t processed until after her doctor’s May 6 cutoff for flying. Carlos was arranging a scheduled leave so he could be in town closer to the baby’s due date, but Romeo had other plans.
About a week ago, Leila came down to her parents’ Vancouver home to spend time with her grandmother, who was receiving hospice care. After a long day by her grandmother’s bedside, Leila went into labor. Leila’s grandmother died two days after Romeo was born.
“He came at the perfect time,” Leila said. “He’s helped our family heal from the loss.”
Although born prematurely, Romeo is healthy and doing well, Leila said. Romeo has passed many of the tests necessary to leave the NICU. The only thing he still needs to conquer is eating. Romeo needs to go two days without the feeding tube that’s supplementing what he eats on his own, Leila said.
Carlos and Leila, who have been married three years, hope to take Romeo home in a few days. Carlos’ parents are flying in from Puerto Rico on June 9 to meet their first grandson.
Leila hopes she and Romeo will be able to follow Carlos to Germany in the coming months. Before that can happen, though, they have to acquire all of the necessary military and travel documents for Romeo.
In the meantime, the family will spend as much time together as possible before Carlos has to leave.
“It’s a sacrifice,” Carlos said, “being away from her, being away from my baby.”
