 |
| Before leaving for the hospital |
 |
| Getting my epidural! |
Wow, how time flies! My pregnancy went by so slow in the beginning and the end seemed to just fly by. I was hoping to go into labor on my own, but that never happened. Two days before I was going to be induced (39 weeks) I had my membranes stripped. It was very painful and I started cramping, but I didn't go into labor. On the morning I was going to be induced, the hospital was supposed to call me to come in. I was up bright and early, but they didn't call until 10:00am so we left right away when they called. We were so thankful that Scott's mom could come and stay with our kids while we were in the hospital. My mom and dad met us at the hospital and were going to be there for the delivery. The only hitch, my dad had to leave for work work at 3:35pm. So, we were hoping the baby came before then! After I got an IV (extremely painful), they let me know I couldn't get an epidural until the anesthesiologist got out of a surgery. They turned the pitocin on low, broke my water and I started having pretty strong contractions. I had to get antibiotics through my IV and it started hurting a ton. My arm was aching and burning like crazy. I might have had a little meltdown, I could not get the epidural fast enough! Thankfully, a short time later I finally got it. I finally could relax! Then, it was just a waiting game. Around 3:00 we starting getting nervous my dad would miss the birth. I started rolling side to side ( a trick they told me with Eli) and about 15 minutes later, I felt pressure and the nurse confirmed it was time to push! The baby was born at 3:25 and my dad was able to make it work on time! He was 7 pounds 3 ounces, 19 inches and came screaming into the world! He looked exactly like Eli to me. He had a ton of dark hair, just like both of my kids. This boy captured our hearts from the moment he was born. The delivery went well and we are so grateful he was healthy!
 |
| Best daddy in the world! |
 |
| Proud papa |
 |
| Hello Grandma! |
 |
| Getting checked out |
Having a newborn is just the sweetest thing. It has filled our hearts and home with so much love & joy. We knew having baby #3 would be a challenge, but we were up for it. When we left the hospital after Ezra was born, his bilirubin levels were high and we had to test him each morning after we left for the hospital.We really wanted to avoid treatment for it since it was so hard with Eli & Lucy. We decided early on that we would formula feed & nurse until my milk came in. The positive outcome was that he did not have to be treated for jaundice, such a huge victory for us. The negative was that we were off track with nursing. It was really tricky for a long time. Ezra did not take naturally to nursing, he had an extremely hard time latching. I thought that after nursing two children successfully that nursing Ezra would be a piece of cake, boy was I dead wrong. We struggled so hard for so long. I saw a lactation nurse when he was 6 days old and she helped to get him to latch okay, but not great. I started nursing, pumping, supplementing..basically all of the above. I saw another lactation specialist when he was 3 weeks old and we were still struggling. I really wanted to find a solution to the problem, but there was no easy fix. There were so many moments when I felt hopeless and really defeated. The lactation specialist helped me get back on track. It was still really difficult, nursing him was a full-time job. It got a tiny bit easier and I'm so grateful for that. Scott got to stay home with us for two weeks after Ezra was born and that was my saving grace. Scott was super supportive and tried to help with whatever he could.
It's like you forget about the sleepless night until you're thrown right
into it. The first month we basically just tried to survive. We took
turns staying up with baby, although I had to still pump every few hours
so sleep was not plentiful for me.We mostly played musical beds around the house. We tried different things, but mostly he wasn't sleeping that great through the night the first month. I got the most sleep when I slept with him right on my chest, I know...not the most safe or popular thing, but I sure did love that time with him. When he got a little older and starting moving a little more and sleeping on his own, I really really missed those days of sleeping with him on me. He slept great during the day though (of course!) and is such a sweetie, not fussy at all. Despite the struggles & ups & downs the first month, I tried to enjoy every second with my rainbow baby. We all just love this little guy so much and words cannot describe the joy I feel being with my little family.
