Owen is now 6 weeks old and we are getting into the swing of a great routine. So it's the perfect time to take advantage of a napping baby and reminisce/ share about Owen's arrival. Be prepared it's a tad long!
On the Monday before Owen made his debut we went to the hospital ready for a baby. I had been having contractions all night. But much to our dismay, once we arrived the contractions had stopped and little progress was made (still at 2 cm). After visiting with our doctor we made the "walk of shame" back down to our car and headed home. I was exhausted, bummed out, and sort of embarrassed. Later that day I met with the doctor again (at my scheduled appointment) and started planning an induction for the following week if he had not arrived on his own by then. But the doctor kept telling us that our baby would make his debut before an induction would be necessary.
That Monday night the contractions kept coming, nothing major though. I knew on Tuesday that things were still in motion, but continued on with my day. I knew there was no point in sitting around waiting. Throughout the day I had contractions- they got longer, a bit uncomfortable, but really just annoying at that point. By Tuesday night I knew I had to be in labor. I felt sick, more uncomfortable, but still no consistent contractions. So I ate some pizza with Josh, took a hot shower, and tried to head to bed. But silly me, baby had other plans :) I was up all night taking lots of hot baths and showers.
Around 5 am I woke Josh up and told him that I thought I should call the doctor and we should think about heading in. When we got to the hospital I asked the nurse to check me right away, because if I had to do the "Walk of Shame" I wanted to get it done quickly. She laughed, but agreed. When she said that I was 6.5 cm I was shocked. I'm not sure why. But I couldn't believe it was actually "go time". Josh and I continued to sit around, chat, and laugh. When the Dr got there I was 7.5cm.
At that point we did all sorts of fun (not!) medical stuff like IV, break my water, and put in the epidural. During this time we found out that there was a bunch of
meconium in the water. So it was likely that our little man was going to have to go to the NICU to be checked out. But even this plan was quick to change.
I then developed a fever and had to be put on antibiotics and pitocin (to hurry the labor along and get our little man out). At this point we were told that once he was delivered he was have to immediately go to the NICU and I wouldn't be able to see him for 4 hours after deliver (due to my unknown illness). This was a major blow. I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head. For some reason I wasn't scared for him or I about whatever was making us sick, because I knew we were in an amazing hospital with great doctors and nurses. I was upset because I wouldn't get to see him right away. I wanted to badly to hold him right away, to feed him, to start our bonding, and to simply hold him and love on him. But I had to let it go. This wasn't the time for emotions to be running a muck! It had to be done. And he needed to be delivered safely so we could be together as soon as possible.
Before I knew it, it was time for our little man to make his arrival. Little did we know that our story still had another twist for us. After pushing tirelessly for 2 hours it became apparent that our little man was getting stressed and that we needed to get him out. And quickly! So our plans quickly (very quickly) changed and we began prepping for a C-Section. There were so many doctors and nurses and people all around getting us ready. I got all sorts of medication, was given tons of information, and we were quickly on our way.
Once situated in the surgical suite Josh joined me and we anxiously waited to see how the rest of our story would unfold. Before we knew it our doctor said "Anna, I found the problem, " he chuckled as he continued, "you know how I have a big head... well your sons is bigger!" He then lifted up our sweet boy, and they whisked him off to get checked out. Josh went over to the baby's table side as they suctioned out the meconium and wrapped him up. Josh then brought the baby down to my eye level and I was able to see his sweet face and give him a quick kiss before the 2 of them hurried back to the NICU for further evaluation. (My mom took these pictures from a window into the surgical area. It was so nice that they let her sit there and wait for us! It was so nice that she was there to help me and support us during our changing plans!)
The process was so fast. From the time it was decided that a c-section was necessary to the time that Owen was born, only 30 minutes lapsed! Thirty Minutes! I am still in awe of how quickly the staff was able to get it all done.
I don't remember tons about the "recovery area"- except that I kept sending Josh to go back and check on Owen and to take pictures for me. But I do remember that in the recovery area is where I was told that Owen was in perfect health! And that he was a whopping 10 pounds and 22 inches long! My big ole' boy was the rockstar of the NICU and I would be seeing him in a few hours.
Those next few hours were killer! I felt like I was never going to get to see him. But soon enough I had my newest love in my arms. He locked eyes and were instantly falling more in love with one another.
This was certainly the best day of my life (aside from the day we got married). Being a family of 3 is far better than a family of 2. It seems like he was always meant to be with us. And God defiantly created this little man just for us. He fits in perfectly!
Sleep: 3-4 Hours at a time. Wakes to eat and the fast back to sleep. He prefers to sleep on my chest or on his tummy. But we put him in a Rock and Play Sleeper for nighttime (this is right next to our bed). Still napping frequently during the day. Typically 1-2 hours at a time. And he will nap just about anywhere: carseat, in your arms, in his bouncy chair... Just not flat on his back
Hair: We've still got it! It's constantly changing colors. These days it's got quite the red tint to it. Josh has his fingers crossed that he's not a full blown "Ginger" - but we'd love him even if he did :)
Things we couldn't live without: Zip up sleepers (none of those crazy snap ones), Rock and Play Sleeper, Pacifier (Soothies), and sweat pants (as jeans are to restricting but going pantless makes for a chilly boy).
