What a day!

On Monday, March 26, 2012 Joe and I headed to Baylor Dallas. We left around 6:45am and actually arrived on time!! Yes, I will pause for your reaction. =) Love you Joe! Our family was there to keep us company. They first took Joe and I back to our labor and delivery room, I changed into the most awesome open-back gown, and Joe changed into dark blue scrubs. They hooked me and the baby up to a monitor, and I could actually see me contractions coming. Granted, they were only braxton hicks, but it was cool to see their intensity on the screen. We were also able to hear the baby's heartbeat in the background, it was music to my ears! Nurses came in and took my vitals, took my blood, and asked about my medical history. At 9:00am they walked me to the OR, and Joe followed close behind. We walked into the OR and it was all very fast paced from there. Everything started at 9:08am. They had me sit on the operating table, hug a pillow and inserted my epidural. Joe had his hands on my shoulders, and just looked into my eyes, and made sure I was okay. All the fluids they were giving me were cold, so it made me shiver, Joe helped to keep me still while they put the epidural in. Which, by the way, did not hurt. They layed me down, and quickly got to work. Joe held my hand the entire time, and made sure I was okay the entire time. I felt zero pressure, all I could feel was my body kind of being moved from side to side as they took the baby out. That first cry...wow! There is NOTHING like hearing that first cry! It was as if this wave of relief came over me, he was okay, he was breathing and everything was going to be okay. Joe's first words were, "He has hair!" I didn't want to have a bald baby, so hearing him say that made me laugh! After, (from what I can remember), they took the baby over to be weighed, had his foot stamped, Joe was able to put the first diaper on, and after what felt like an eternity...Joe came over and introduced me to our son. He was born at 9:36am, weighed 7lbs 7ozs and was 20 1/4 inches long. He was gorgeous! The most precious baby that I have ever layed eyes on. After, all that, I was able to sit up and hold him as they moved us to the recovery room. We were in there for a couple of hours, and our mom's were able to come back and meet their grandson. Around 12:30pm, we were moved to our room, where we camped out for four days. Joe was amazing! Since I couldn't get up, he changed every wet and dirty diaper. On Thursday, we were able to leave and go home. The nurses at Baylor are awesome!!! So awesome that I didn't want to leave, and when we got home I was super sad that they didn't get to come with me. Note--when we left, Joseph weighed 6lbs 12 ozs...I will get to that part later.

Okay, so now the good stuff. I am not going to sugar coat this...this is something every expectant mother should at least know or be prepared for...as I was not! We got home Thursday, and that evening, Joseph cried for literally two hours straight! We tried everything to calm him down. Swaddling him, skin to skin on me, skin to skin on Joe, "trying" to breastfeed him, and changing his diaper. Nothing would calm this child down. I finally told Joe, maybe we should bring the swing out and try him in that. What do you know...it worked! We were finally able to sleep for at least 3 hours! It has definitely been an adjustment. Nothing can prepare you for this! I am running on hardly any sleep, recovering from surgery, and just trying to remember to take a shower. I literally cried the first 4 days when we got home. Your hormones are on overload, and hearing your child cry, or should I say scream...hurts your heart! I am trying to deal with hearing him scream and not get emotional every time.

On Saturday, we had our first pediatric appointment. The pediatrician at Baylor had suggested we see our doctor to look over Joseph's weight, and his jaundice. He weighed 6lbs 11ozs. They say the norm when leaving the hospital is less than 10%. He had lost a little over 10%, so they suggested giving him an extra ounce of formula at every other feeding since my milk had still not come in. They also heel pricked him to test his jaundice, omg...I balled! His poor cry, wasn't even a cry, it was like he couldn't catch his breath, and when he finally did...the most awful cry came out. We had a follow-up appointment that Monday, and Joseph had gained 5 ozs! Weighing in at 7lbs! They also had to another heel prick, but I left the room this time. Although, I could still hear his screams, and almost lost it again. It's crazy how much you want to protect that little boy and take whatever pain they are feeling away.

As of today, we are slowly getting adjusted to having a new roommate. We ventured out on our first dinner date as a family this past Tuesday to Tupinamba's...and baby J slept the whole time! We also made our first trip to Northpark on Wednesday. I didn't get to introduce him to the Coach store yet...but that will come soon! I also wanted to add that Joe has been amazing! He continues to sleep downstairs with me since our bed is too high and I am still recovering from surgery. He wakes up for every feeding with me, he fixes me lunch and dinner, he helps me with anything I may need. He is an awesome dad and and a great husband...I couldn't ask for a better person to share this experience with!

I will post pics of our newest addition soon as I am typing this blog with one hand and holding the baby in the other. =)