Baby Steps

I thought that "Baby Steps" would be an appropriate title for this entry for many reasons...

1. We obviously HAD a baby. :)
2. Life is moving along at that pace.
3. I can't walk much faster than that right now.


We'll start with #1.

So Max was born at 11:42 am on Monday, December 8th. He weighed in at 9 pounds 13 ounces and was 22 inches long. So far he's dropped about 12 ounces, but my milk just came in, so I'm hoping to "fatten" him up again soon. He currently has jaundice and his billi levels are a little elevated so we have to put him under these weird lights and get his lab work done each day, but other than that, he's great. All fingers and toes are present. He's a big boy and doesn't look fragile. Many people comment on how he doesn't even look like a newborn. :) That's okay by me. In my mind, he's the most beautiful baby in the world. He's going to be People's Sexiest Man Alive some day. I mean, look at his father. :)

The actual c-section was just as terrifying in some ways as I thought it would be and in others not at all. I was pretty much in denial on Monday until they came in and made me get naked. Until you have to take all your clothes off and put on nothing but a hospital gown, it's not really "real". Then the mean nurse stuck me with the IV. That sucked. And that's about when i started crying and having mini melt downs. I had to answer a lot of questions. And get poked and prodded and hooked up to about a million different machines.

Many of you have not had a c-section, so I wanted to at least give the "highlights" without getting too long here....

They let Kendall stay with me when the nurse anesthetist gave me my epidural only because she heard that Kendall was a doctor. Totally worth the student loans for that moment alone. After they got me prepped in the room, they had me walk to the O.R. That was terrifying. I barely remember walking there I was so panicked. But what was I going to do? Turn and run out the door? Maybe.....

They had me climb up on the table and then they gave my my spinal/epidural. I totally blew it out of proportion in my head. All I felt was a stick from the numbing medication. And then a zing down my left leg when she gave me the medication. It worked VERY quickly. It started as just a cold feeling and quickly worked it's way to becoming a paralytic. That was a little scary not being able to move everything. The prep work was scarier than the actual surgery. LOTS draping and scrubbing and counting and things I couldn't see. Kendall was amazing and kept me calm. I asked them to NOT tell me what they were doing because I didn't want to know. The worst part was when they pushed on my stomach to get him out (he didn't want to cooperate) and then he was out! Disappointingly, I did not get to see him all gooey. I will regret that for the rest of my life. VERY upsetting. The screen they had up was just too high and the doctor was in a rush.

All of the nurses started gushing about how big he was and how much hair he had. My amazing husband didn't budge. He knew I was terrified. He just kept holding my hand. And then I sucked it up and told him to go be with his son. It took multiple coaxings on my part that I would be okay and then he ran over with the camera. I could cry right now thinking how excited Kendall's face looked. It really is the BEST moment of your life. Kendall ran back with some pictures on the camera and I got to see him for the first time. And then my kid peed all over the OR floor. LOL! The nurses just laughed and let him do it. Kendall got to see it. I didn't. But I'm sure it's a moment he'll never forget. And then, before I knew it, he was bringing him over to me and I gave him his first kiss. And it was over. :)

Recovery could take up a whole other blog entry. If you really want to know, email me or call. The least gruesome thing to tell you is that I have like 40 staples in my gut. Ask Karen, she saw them (because that's what good friends do, show each other their battle scars). And even four days later they still itch and burn sometimes. And what they say about childbirth is true for c-sections too, you have NO SHAME afterwards. You don't care what people do to you. And you don't care because you got the prize. :)

I'll try to write again tomorrow to talk about #2 and #3. :) I think this is enough to absorb for now. Plus, my kid is laying on my newly flatter stomach and isn't getting enough kisses from his mommy. So I have to go. :)