Friday, March 28, 2014

Blake One Month!

Blake is a whole month old! I'm so tired! He generally eats every three hours. He seems to have a hard time with gas and pooping. He's a very noisy baby too! He doesn't sleep nearly as much as Violet did. He doesn't really like being swaddled either.
When he came home from the hospital, he was blowing out of the Huggies diapers the hospital started us off with. So I switched to Luvs and haven't had a problem since! He is in size one diapers now and is just now moving to the 0-3 month clothes. He is growing soooo fast! He loves to eat!
There is a huge difference between the two babies.




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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

He's Here!

Blake Logan McDonnell has made his appearance. He is currently in the NICU, so I have a little bit of time to write up my birth story before I get super busy. :)

On Tues, Feb 25, 2014, I got up at 3 AM. Most of the time, that is when I'm going to bed. It was insane! Anyway, after a quick shower, Greg, my dad and I left for the hospital. I thought I knew where I was going, but apparently, I was wrong! I paid for it too! We parked in a parking garage and headed to the building I thought I was supposed to be in. Every single door was locked! We walked around the entire outside of the building. By then my calves were killing me and I was pretty sure I had a couple of contractions. We finally found our way inside the building, but there wasn't a person to be found! Dad offered me a wheelchair, but I thought surely we would be where we were supposed to be soon, so I declined. We finally found a security guard and she was kind enough to unlock one of the doors for us to get out and she directed us to the right building. We arrived at 4:30, but I didn't get a chance to check in until 5ish! I sure did get my exercise.

After they admitted me, they let the guys back into the pre-op/recovery room with me. I was terrified this time around. With Violet, it was easier on me to just wake up and be told I'd had the baby. This time I had all the nervousness and anticipation. It was definitely easier on the guys this time. They were freaked out last time with Violet's arrival. Anyway, I managed to get prepped for surgery. They wheeled me into the OR and there was a flurry of movement. Lots of people, each doing a specific job. The OR looked nothing like I had imagined it. Probably because I had only seen the ones on tv. It was basically a large hospital room with solid walls and lots of equipment...very sterile. They had me walk into the room and sit on the side of a bed/table. That's when they started doing a spinal block. The pinch made me shy away until they told me not to move. After that, I started going numb. While they were doing it, I was probably the most scared I've ever been. I really started second guessing myself. I started praying in earnest then. I was pretty terrified. They positioned me where they wanted me. Then tested the spinal with a cold, round metal piece. They put up the blue drape and started wiping me down with antiseptic. That's when my doc came in. I felt more peaceful as soon as he was there. I love my doc! He put me at ease about what was going to happen. Then he went ahead and started the incision while a nurse went and got my dad. Greg decided he didn't want to be in the OR with me and Dad loves that kind of thing, so Dad was to be my support. He was disappointed that the drape was pinned up so high. lol He said he could see a little from the reflection of one of the lights.

The doc said there would be lots of pressure and then the baby would be out. So they started pushing on me and then we heard the baby cry. They lowered the drape and I caught a quick glance of him. They put the drape back up. The plan was to do delayed cord clamping for as long as possible. They did it for a little bit, but then the baby started showing signs of respiratory failure. The doc quickly squeezed the rest of the blood into the baby and the nurses took him off. While the doc was sewing me up, the ped came and explained that they were trying to suck the fluid out of the baby's lungs, but he was having a hard time. She asked if dad wanted to stay with me or go with the baby. I told dad he could go. There was no point in staying with me. All I wanted to do was nap. So he left and got to see some of the "action" of sewing me up as he was going.

I was pretty comfortable at this point. My doc told me that I had beautiful looking tubes and ovaries! LOL Definitely the strangest compliment I've ever received, but it was memorable! They told me that the baby weighed in at 7lbs 4oz. I didn't get his length until much later, but it was 21 inches! He's a big baby for my little family! They finished up with me at 8:30am and wheeled me back to the recovery room. My cousin Stephanie and Greg were there waiting on me.

I was pretty sad that things didn't go according to plan. As if my pregnancies ever do! The baby was supposed to be with me and skin to skin right away. Instead, the ped doc came in the room and told me that they were going to have to take the baby to the NICU. He had a lot of trouble breathing and had bubbles coming out of his mouth which indicated fluid in the lungs. They wheeled the isolette in and opened the little window. I could touch his little hand for a few seconds. Then they had to go. So at least this time around I saw him briefly in the first day. Dad was able to tell me how strong the little man was. He was the only one who had held the baby while they were working on him. He said how Blake would push his legs down and arch his back off the table, screaming all the time.

Anyway, Blake was in the NICU from Tues morning until Thurs around 11am. He's doing well and growing like a weed! He and I went home on Friday afternoon. I will say the recovery was a bit more painful than I remembered. Probably because I was up and moving a lot more. Learning how to breastfeed was/is a hard lesson for me! I was on painkillers for about 8 or 9 days this time around. We managed to take Blake to church the Sunday after we got out of the hospital. Probably not something I would advise, but we got to show him off a little.Two weeks out, I feel much better. I can lift Violet with ease and drive with no problems. Overall, it was a good experience. I honestly don't know if I would have chosen a c-section again knowing my little man would have to go to the NICU, but I did choose it and all is well.

Here are some pics of my handsome little man.

Getting ready to go to the OR.




























Going home!


























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