I totally meant to post before Levi was
born.. but honestly, the last few weeks really got away from me. We
scheduled my induction, had Thanksgiving, that weekend we prepared,
and then BOOM – on Monday he was here! That's how it seemed
anyways.
I was induced 2 days before my due date
with Brady and really liked it that way. People have plenty of fears
and negative things to say about inductions, but mine went pretty
well. I feel that if you are showing signs of being pretty close to
labor, you're full term, and your doctor gives the ok, then why not?
It was really nice to plan it out and spend all of my labor in the
hospital. I'm not interested in hours of labor at home.
Thank.you.very.much.
We checked into Christus (we decided to
go with the hospital where Brady was born) at 5 am Monday, December
2 and the pitocin was flowing by 6:15. I had a wonderful
nurse taking care of me. She upped the pitocin every 15 minutes. By 9
am I was 4 cm and completely effaced. Levi's head still hadn't
dropped completely. Dr. Doan came to check on me and said to get the
epidural before lunch because that's when she would break my water.
After that, the labor would go quickly. I set a goal to make it to 11
and then get the epidural. By 10, the contractions were really
getting more intense. Eric was asleep on the couch. Lol But, it's for
the best. For some reason, I cannot stand to hear ANYONE speak during
a contraction. I reminded him of that before going into the hospital,
so I'm sure he thought, “Great, I'll take a nap.” haha I prefer
to lay in my bed, silent, with my eyes closed. I don't want anyone
bothering me and I don't want to look like a wimp.
I made it until 10:45 and asked for
the anesthesiologist to come on down. I was disappointed that I asked early
(until later, when I realized how quickly things were moving). The
nurse checked me right before I got the epidural and I was 5 cm
dilated and she was pretty sure my water had broken on its own (It
had). Less than 45 minutes after receiving the epidural, I was laying
on my back and about to fall asleep. A different nurse came in my
room and quickly said, “Hi, I'm Diane. Your nurse is stuck in
another room, she needs me to check you..” she did, and then
started sounding off orders on her phone. “Call Dr. Doan now for
deliver.” What!? Levi was in position and ready to go! She asked if
I could feel the pressure. I said, “No, I was about to fall
asleep!” She rolled me onto my side, and holy mother of labor! I
could feel that he was certainly ready and I had the strongest urge
to push. I held my legs tightly together and prayed he would wait for
the doctor to get there!
From that point, everything went SO
FAST. I'm still in shock when I think about it. Those nurses are
incredible and move so quickly. By noon I was pushing. I was so
nervous, but gave it everything I had. My entire pregnancy, I knew
how important it was to stay in good shape so I could have a better
delivery. I didn't want an episiotomy (which Dr. Doan doesn't do
anyway), I didn't want suction used on him, and I didn't want to be a
pathetic mess while recovering either. I had that the first time
around and I wasn't going down without a serious fight this time.
Dr. Doan very seriously said, “He has
a big head...” Lol. Awesome. I knew he was going to be big. Another
incentive to keep myself healthy.. I pushed hard, and I could feel a
big difference this time around. Levi was born at 12:21 at 21 ¼
inches and 8 lbs 15.5 oz. Twenty minutes of pushing!! A nine pound
baby! All by myself! I was proud. Dr. Doan put him on my chest right
away (where he stayed for almost 2 hours!) and everyone kept saying
how big he was. But he looked small to me :) Eric sobbed, just like
he did with Brady. And I just kissed him and stared at him. He
struggled with breast feeding the whole time he was on my chest. I
was really scared that getting off to a rough start (again) would
keep us from being successful, but he had a great latch by the next
day.
I had a small tear and hemorrhoids, but
they healed very quickly. Eric and I were both amazed at how I was
moving around and just doing so well, so fast. Each day after Brady I
got worse :( But you live and learn! Tuesday night was a rough one.
Levi was awake the whole time and crying a lot. Eric really didn't
understand the whole waiting for the milk to come in thing. He
told me to just give Levi a bottle. Then one of Levi's nurses said,
“we may have to give him formula if he doesn't eat more often.”
and “we may have to give him formula if his blood sugar isn't high
enough” I had to remind myself that Eric had not been doing all the
research on breast feeding that I had, and the nurse was just letting
me know what was going on. Eric got on board and I stuck to my guns.
Levi will be 3 weeks old and he hasn't had any formula. For us, this
is huge! Brady had formula the day he was born. So every single day
we make it exclusively breast feeding is a big deal to us. If my baby
needs formula, I have no problem giving it to him. But only if it's
truly needed!
Brady did really well meeting his
brother. He came into our room and handed me a teddy bear and said
“It's for baby!” He gave Levi kisses and then went back to
playing with his cars. Since we got home, I noticed that Brady just
really keeps his distance from Levi. And me when I'm holding Levi :(
Which is a lot. Brady talks about the baby, asks for the baby, and
smiles at him. He even says “Peek a boo!” to Levi. But he doesn't
want to touch him or get close. This broke my heart at first, but I
kind of get it now. The baby is new and Brady is getting used to him.
I've been making sure I spend plenty of time with Brady and hold him
when I can.
Don't be fooled. Just because Eric can't
breastfeed, doesn't mean he isn't helping out a TON and feeling the
newborn exhaustion just as much as I am. He gets up, changes Levi's
diaper, and brings him to me in bed to nurse. Then takes him back to
bed. He's on paci duty a lot at night too. Plus, he's had to take
care of Brady when we tag team the boys :) Short of carrying,
delivering, and breast feeding, Eric does it all :)
Levi will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. He's
already had 3 doctor appointments! All for weight checks. As of
Friday, he was back up to birth weight and off the hook until 6
weeks. Thank goodness! It's too much work getting to the doctor to
have to go that often!
We had newborn pictures done and I
scrambled to get out Christmas cards and birth announcements. I'm
really looking forward to Christmas. Brady is at such a great age for
it. He is totally obsessed with all the presents under the tree. He
grabs each one and says, “It's for Brady?” Haha. Yes, most of
them are! He loves the lights and the tree too. He drags anyone he
can out the front door to go see our lights and I've had a tough time
keeping him away from my cozy coupe ornament. I am determined to make it to church for the Christmas Eve service. Wish us luck!
Levi has been the biggest blessing to our family. We are surely still adjusting, but when I look at his sweet little face I just tear up and feel so much love every time. I could burst! Thank you God for his chunky little butt :)
Brady laughing his butt off climbing in Levi's carseat
