Our little bundle of joy was due Christmas eve, but once we moved from Nashville to Edmond and had to change doctors, the date changed. This is the first time I've had a female OBGYN and after much talking to her about my first birth and several questions later, she suggested to do a planned c- section for the 18th. I felt a bit relieved knowing that I probaby would never experince contractions and maybe not be as sore as I was with my first birth (where I tried vaginally first, then turned into an emergency C-section) . Boy! was I sore for almost a month. This time, I told myself it would be so much easier. I knew what was coming and was prepared....but I was scared out of my mind.
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| being born sucks |
The day came, showed up at 5:30am at the hospital (literally 2 mi from our apartment), checked in to room #201, only to realize that the Dr. would be late. This only added to my anxiety. The baby was extremely active that morning and since I had to lay on my back, it was a bit painful. I was starting to have bad contractions. They felt different this time. I've been having braxton hicks since week 20, so I knew those. Those aren't painful, just a bit uncomfortable when walking. These were different- more on my lower back. Either way, the dr showed up at 7:30 am, they rolled me out to operating room #4, gave me the spinal (kind of like the epidural but there is no catherer, it's one shot to numb you from chest to toes). They told my husband to wait outside until the spinal kicked in- about 5 min. There's something so weird about getting naked from the waist down in front of strangers- even though you know they see that everyday. They put a blanket/curtain between my face and chest, so I could not see what was going on. But Chance, the CRNA, was giving me a play by play. All I felt was tugging and pulling. Spencer was allowed in just before the first incision. He didn't take video,which makes me mad, but they are a lot of pictures.
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| straight out of the womb |
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| all cleaned up |
Surgery probably took about 15 min. They broke my water- didn't feel it at all and my husband witnessed it all. They took our baby boy out with a perfectly round head and I saw him through the small blanket/curtain window. My first thought was "um, he looks a bit chunkier than Dom did". The first thing the d.r said was "look at those broad shoulders". He got cleaned and measured- a whopping 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 in long (head circumference of 13.5 in). I can't believe I even considered VBAC. I couldn't get Dom out at 7lbs 14 oz and they wanted me to push out a nine pounder with broad shoulder??? He would have snapped me like a twig haha. And again, my child has a small head and super long. There was no 3rd trimester ultrasound to measure him like we did with Dom, so the weight really took us by surprise.
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| proud papa |
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| family pic minus one (Dom couldn't be there) |
Once he was cleaned, he immediately was laid on my chest for skin to skin contact. And as soon as he was laid on m,e he was looking for milk. It was the oddest and funniest thing ever. Dom never did that, thats probabaly why it took us so long and it was so hard to breastfeed him.
But Ethan... He had it down, he knew exactly what to do. And to this day, he's only had a couple of formula ounces, most of his diet has been my milk. It's awesome, but super exhausting- every two hours, soreness, a little bit of bleeding. I never said it was going to easy, but its well wortht it. The human body is just full of surprises. I never thought in a million years that I would birth a nine pounder. I was literally all baby- I was 20lbs heavier with Dom. So far, I've only lost about 15 lbs- and nine of them were baby haha. Its a very slow process but I will get there... eventually. For now, I'm trying to enjoy every moment- something I didn't do with Dom.
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| 1st night at hospital |
We were in the hospital Dec 18-20 until noon. You are supposed to stay 72 hours and the nurses wanted me to stay until the 21st but I was so bored of being there. My husband had stayed wih me the entire time as well and he was tired of being inside. All the IVs and monitors had already been turned off the night of the 19th, so really I was hooked up to nothing. Besides, I felt fine- so much better than my last birth. I think the early breastfeeding really helped with the faster healing. And you gotta love oxicodin. Man, that stuff works wonders. As long as I take it, I can lift a cow haha. I don't like knowing that its going in my milk so I try taking half a dose when the pain gets unbearable. I can't just stop taking it, cause I think I would fall apart. After all, I only have inside stitches, the outside skin is GLUED together...GLUED...how crazy is that? I am super glued, and hoping my intestines don't fall out. Angela and Jamie (my favorite nurses) gave me a girdle at the hospital to keep it all together...and boy it worked. Once I got home, I've been wearing one of these. If you haven't tried one...it's well worth it. It really helps your stuff come back together and for back support. I really like it, and not painful at all. Especially when breastfeeding...you tend to bend a little too much doing that.
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| Sibling bonding time |
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| The men in my life |
So far, having two kids has been ok. Dom loves Ethan. He loves to kiss his face and feet and Ethan is not fazed by it. I think their personalities will be okay together and they will drive me crazy together. But that's okay. There's no greater gift than a sibling right? Right now, he is having a hard time with the crying. Ethan barely cries- except diaper changes and when he's hungry. Dom usually covers his head with his blanket and goes to his room. Sometimes he'll say "Ethan, no crying".
Just yesterday, he saw me breastfeeding Ethan for the first time, and he immediately said "ETHAN....no eating mommy" LOL....he's such a doll. He also likes put the pacifier in Ethan's mouth- Ethan does not like that very much, but he'll get used to it. Sorry kid, you've got an older brother that loves you, suck it up kid.
So, there you go, that's the story of how our little family grew by two feet this Christmas Eve...
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