Today my sweet baby boy is ten days old young. Words cannot even describe what the last week and a half has been like for Guy and I. We are in constant amazement of our son.
Already I am feeling a bit sad at how fast he is changing and how time is flying. I know, crazy - he was just born. I'm SO excited for his future, but I feel this overwhelming need to remember/record/document every little thing that happens. I don't want to forget a single memory.
So, here are the highlights:
Driving to the hospital last Sunday night was surreal. It didn't seem real to me that I was about to have a BABY. I was excited, but I was also really nervous. I had gone to the ER a few times as a kiddo, but thankfully I have never had major surgery or medical issues.
When we checked in I had the NICEST nurse. I only had her for one night, but she really made me feel at ease. In fact, the entire 5 days that we were at the hospital I was surrounded by the most professional, patient, sweet, and sensitive people - everyone from the cleaning ladies to the nursing staff to the ladies who brought me meals (I will elaborate on hospital food later).
Contractions SUCK. Big time. They started around midnight Sunday night and lasted until the sweet relief of the Epidural came around noon the next day. That anesthesiologist was my best friend. I had been in tears from the pain and was completely relying on Guy to get me through it.
A catheter is kinda gross, but it was my other best friend too. Preggo ladies go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME. Really, I could have used the catheter the last few months of my pregnancy and been pretty cool with it.
I will never forget hearing his first cry. It was just a couple of quick, soft cries. Mind you, this was all over the Britney Spears and Fergie music that the doctors were jamming out to....seriously?!? I listened to Guy and the doctors talking about him - surprised at his small size, Guy saying he had a cone head (it went away after a few hours), there were a few extra twists in the umbilical cord. All the while I was dying to meet him.
Soon we were wheeled off to the recovery room. There were bouquets of flowers waiting for us, which was so sweet. After doing some measurements and a quick clean up, they laid him on my chest and he started to nurse. Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats the skin to skin contact of a baby on your chest. I swear that feeling is better than any other experience in the world.
Our little peanut weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19.25 inches long. We had been expecting a much bigger baby! In so many ways he has surprised us.
While all of this was going on, everyone was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet Beckett. They finally had the chance when we were wheeled from the recovery room to our new hospital room.
Shortly after Beckett had his first bath. He didn't mind too much.
Ok, I was patient up to a point....now bath time should be over!
Happy now that bath time is over and everyone is lovin' on me.
Between a million visits from nurses and doctors, our family and friends coming for visits, and
all of the drugs they were giving me, five days in the hospital actually flew by. We had the best time getting to know our little man. A few things we quickly learned - he LOVES to suck his fingers or anything else that can get into his mouth, he sleeps on his side and not on his back, and he is a good eater and sleeper, he has one little dimple on the right side of his mouth, and he scrunches up his forehead for most of his expressions.
He also does not enjoy dress up.
In the hospital, Guy changed ALL of the diapers. He didn't gag once! Guy got lots of practice because Beckett had 23 dirty diapers in his first day and a half of life. The nurses were very impressed.
We were fortunate to have many family and friends come to visit us in the hospital. Beckett finally got to meet his future wife, Hadley!
Our first family picture.
Isn't he handsome???
Our hospital stay was actually pretty enjoyable. On several occasions Guy and I said that we almost didn't want to go home. We loved being in "baby land" and just enjoying getting to know our son and being a family of three. The outside world seemed very distant! In fact, there were severe storms with tornadoes and hail in our area and in Oklahoma City/Norman on Tuesday. Guy is a complete weather NERD and didn't even realize this until I mentioned that I saw something about it on Facebook. Of course after that he had the laptop and TV on constantly to watch the news!
Back to the hospital food - Due to the c-section I wasn't allowed to eat until I passed gas. Yes, you read that right. Never have I been more anxious for that to happen! We ate a delicious dinner Sunday night and I didn't get to eat a real meal until Tuesday afternoon. I could only eat popsicles and juice :(. When the big moment finally arrived and I was presented with my celebration meal, it was a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Sick! They followed that up with some nasty meatloaf concoction. I will give them credit for making a mean dinner roll, but that is about it. Not surprisingly, my husband gobbled up almost all of my hospital meals.
On Thursday it was finally time to take our little man home. Guy was more than a little anxious to get checked out. We tried to put him in his tuxedo, but it was WAY too big :(.
We are finally home and things are going great! Right now, Life on Autumn Trail is pretty darn good :).
So happy for you all Missy! Enjoy that precious little bundle. It does go by so fast, treasure each moment. He is just adorable! Please take care of yourself... A C-section takes some time - don't rush it. You'll be back to normal in no time!
ReplyDeleteLaura