The story begins on Monday, October 1st when my water broke at 4:45 am. I was crying and frantic because I was only 36 weeks and 3 days along. All I could think of was to pray that he would be healthy. The crazy thing is that we just had our last ultrasound that past Friday. The sonogram tech estimated his weight at that time to be 5 lbs 14 oz which is pretty accurate and impressive! Most of you know that I had planned on giving birth at Celebration Hospital. However, I asked the doctor that Friday about a back up plan in case I went into labor early. Celebration Hospital has a fantastic maternity ward but is only a level 1 facility in regards to being able to handle high risk deliveries and the doctor said that Celebration was equipped to handle 37 weeks and above. He advised me to go to Winnie Palmer if I went into labor at 36 weeks. How crazy is that I had a mother's intution to ask that question? Also, we just installed the car seat that past Saturday and on Sunday we bought his take home outfit. We did not have the hospital bag packed. Todd was wonderful. He packed it very calmly and methodically even though I was so upset. His calmness made me feel much better and he kept reminding me that Ethan was only considered 4 days away from being considered "full term."
I considered posting my labor story to have it documented but decided against it. Just seems like a personal story to share on the internet. If anyone is interested, please email me because I do enjoy telling it. haha. Let's just say I was in labor for 28 hours, the epidural didn't really work, and I ended up with a fever halfway through. A few emotions came over me once I pushed him out. Well, for starters, the pure physical exhaustion after 28 hours and finally feeling the mental relief of knowing the hardest part was over. Then, the next emotion was worry as it took a minute to clear his lungs and all I wanted to do was hear him cry. Once I heard him cry (another sigh of relief from mama) and they brought him over to Todd and I, all I could do was cry and cry from pure happiness and love filling my heart. Todd and I are just filled to the brim with love and when they weighed him and said "5 lbs 12 oz", I knew that our late preterm baby (that is the classification for babies born in the 36 week mark) was going to be okay. What a good weight!! If I went full term, he would have been around 8 lbs. Also, I was shocked at how much hair he had with his early arrival.
The second day at the hospital was a little stressful. The doctor told us he had jaundice and not to worry because it was very common in newborns. I was okay and knew that he would be fine. By the time we took him home on Thursday, his bilrubin levels had dropped and he was cleared to be discharged. Then, on Friday, when we had our 1st peditrician appointment, the lab work came back that the levels spiked again. This past Monday, the lab work came back and the levels are back down and Ethan is now "in the clear" according to the doctor. :)
Recovering from the labor was harder than I thought. I had the impression that since I didn't have a ceaserean that I would be ready to go back to my room and start doing exercises. haha. Nope. Things are all out of whack and laying on that bed for so many hours really takes a toll on your body. When we got to our recovery room, the nurse wanted to help me get on the bed and I told her that I didn't even want to look at a bed and couldn't wait to sit on the chair. It is amazing the little things that make you happy after a long labor. There was a decent murphy bed in the room for Todd as well. Another thing that happens when you have a baby is the closeness it brings between you and your husband. Modesty goes out the window and to see your husband step up to the plate in a way you have never witnessed before is just an emotion that is hard to put into words. Todd is the most wonderful man any woman can ask for and Ethan is going to be one lucky little guy to have him as his dad. We are so excited to be parents and to make his life a wonderful one. I am so blessed to be able to be at home with him and can't wait for all the fun things we can do together.
On another note, it has been so cute to see our dog Marianne react to Ethan. When we first took him home and put the car seat on the ground, she circled around it and then went to lick him. It was adorable. Another thing we noticed is that she is guarding him. For example - if we put him into the bassinett, she will lay down right next to it. Also, when she barked Ethan did not even flinch. We think it is because Ethan must have heard that bark in the womb and is not even phased by it. We also think she is a little jealous because normally she doesn't sleep in the bed with us all night and goes to her doggie bed. However, now she is staying in the bed with us all night and right on top of us. Overall we are very happy on how she is adjusting and is very calm near the baby. See video at the bottom.
Stay tuned for the next post about his first week at home.....
It was awesome holding my grandson for the first time... it was love at first sight. It was also GREAT watching the three of you together! You are a WONDERFUL family and very blessed to have each other! I love each one of you very much!
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