As most of you know, we welcomed Miles to our family on January 3rd. We have a book (that we took from Chris's parents) called the Secret Language of Birthdays. It is a really fun book and so far proved spot on with Jake (the day of the character), Brenden (the day of willfullness), and Rylan (the day of explosive power). Miles' birthday falls on the day of Total Involvement:
"Once a January 3 person commits to a person or project they are in 100%. Their involvement with practically any activity they take on is total, and rarely or ever will they seek to back out or quit. This can create problems for them (and for those with whom they are involved) when things are not working out, as those born on this day often cannot or will not acknowledge such a failure. When things are going well they are the most reliable individuals to have on the job-watchful, diligent, devoted. They do not get bored with even the simplest tasks, primarily because they have a strong sense of duty. Those born on this day will not shirk their responsibilities because they know that to do so is just to dump their work on someone else, and this will not do."
It seems Miles was ready to put this to the test from the get go....
If you've been keeping up with this blog you know that I have been VERY uncomfortable and emotional about when I would finally have Miles. The day before he was born the doctor and I made the plan to induce on January 7th if he wasn't out by then. As this gave me a huge sense of relief, I think it also helped me to relax enough to allow nature to take its course. That night I started to have stronger contractions that carried over into the next day. They would get stronger and closer together throughout the day every couple of hours before they eventually stopped all together. Then at about 5:30pm while I was getting the kids fed they started up again, strong and 5 minutes apart. As I went to track another one coming on I felt a strong kick/pop and knew instantly my water had broken and quickly got to the bathroom and called Chris (he was out at a training in Cincinnati). I managed to limit the mess and called the doctor and was instructed to come in to the hospital, Miles was coming!
While waiting for Chris to get home I enlisted the help of my wonderful neighbors with the kids. Jake and Brenden would go with Joelle who has a son the same age as Brenden. And Rylan would go with Stephanie and her girls next door. I am incredibly grateful for their help. They had both offered to help once I needed it and were right there willing to help any way they could. I feel so lucky to have moved next to such wonderful people - THANK YOU STEPHANIE & JOELLE!!!
Once we got the kids situated and Chris got home it was off to the hospital - only about 5 minutes away, thank goodness. We arrived at the hospital sometime around 6:30 - 6:45 pm. They were going to triage me first until I told them that my water had broke already so they decided to get me straight back to a room to get me settled. Once we got to the room and they were getting all of my information we told the nurses that I had a history of quick labors - I went from 5 cm to 10 cm with Brenden in about an hour and a half and did NOT get my epidural. At this point I was checked and at 4 cm. The nurses were great and got me hooked up to the IV ASAP so that I would be ready to go for the anesthesiologist. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist had just gone in for a C-section when I arrived so we had to wait for him to be done in there before he could get me hooked up.
The anesthesiologist made it to my room around 7:45p and at this point I was having long, painful, and close together contractions. He had me roll on my side and as he started to prep my back I could feel Miles, he was coming and wasn't going to wait for an epidural. Sure enough, the nurse checked me and I was "complete" as she said. At this point the doctor had been called, but was not there. This did not stop Miles, thus me from pushing. He was out in one push just as the doctor got to the room. It.Was. INSANE. Chris later told me that he thought he was going to have to catch Miles. This was all VERY similar to Brenden up to this point, but from here on it was much different.
I was having awful contractions still, the adrenaline running through me was making me shake uncontrollably, and the lidocaine did not work the first time around for the stitches. It was awful to put it mildly. If I had any doubts about being done, this experience certainly helped to close the door completely shut.
Throughout this they were also checking Miles, while he was on me and at the warming station. He was "grunting" lots and unable to get any real loud cries out or get his breathing under control. The nurse called in a specialty nurse to assess the situation and it was determined that they would take Miles to be monitored. They were concerned mainly about his oxygenation levels, but also they were concerned about fluid in his lungs that he could aspirate if I fed him before it was out which could lead to pneumonia. They took Miles and Chris went with them. He was gone for nearly 2 hours, but when they brought him back he was all fine and ready to eat :) They had us stay an additional night to monitor him for his breathing, but he has been fine ever since. Here's the video Chris took for me when he was being monitored:
Unfortunately this was not the only concern that has come up for him. When Miles had his hearing screen his left ear failed. Again they thought fluid might be the culprit. It seems on fast births there isn't a good "squeeze" to get excess fluid out of lungs, ears, etc. So they waited about 12 hours and repeated the test with another fail for his left ear. Its still possible that fluid could be in there or another non-serious issue, but he will need a more advanced assessment in order to determine if its nothing or something serious. I have an appointment scheduled January 29th with Cincinnati Children's hospital.
Everything else has been just fine. We came home Saturday afternoon. Miles was warmly welcomed by his brothers. They were very happy to see him and both wanted to hold him immediately. It was very sweet. Rylan was still napping, but once she got up she so was all smiles to see Miles for the first time. She just kept laughing at him and pointing saying baby :) I think she was as excited to have him out as I was.
We're still settling in to routines and the boys unfortunately have been struggling with fevers. We've been fortunate to have Chris's parents here this week for extra help, and believe me its been needed! Miles is a good sleeper and eater. When he is awake he's very chilled out and just takes it all in. It's been a lot of fun to watch him and guess who he looks like the most - Brenden is the current leader. I'm sure it'll take a lot of time to really get fully settled, but we're happy he's here and ready for the journey to begin!
Some pictures, ok a LOT of pictures from Miles's first few days:
No comments:
Post a Comment