This morning, I dropped Eli off at school and as we were giving high 3's through the window he said, "mama, I forgot something". When I opened the classroom door to see what it was he told me, "I want to give my baby brother a high 5." Call it hormones, but I nearly lost it. He is so excited to have a little brother that there is not shortage of conversation around what Eli will teach him. This morning, there was a strong focus on Eli teaching his brother how to paint. I think it's because I like to do arts and crafts and that usually involves paint in some way:)
While I know it will be a challenge to have a new little one in the house, I am so lucky to have a son who can't be more excited to have someone else to share his toys with. He's excited to rock his brother, help feed him and there was even mention of changing diapers.
I'm not sure what I managed to do to be so incredibly blessed to have the most amazing and supportive husband and a son who amazes me every waking minute, but going into the next phase of our life is going to be the most exciting adventure yet. Now....a name. It's finally a short list:
Wyatt Joseph
Lincoln Joseph
Lochlan Joseph
Finn (Finnley, Finnegan, etc.) Jospeh ~ We are still trying to figure out what the long name would be
Henry Joseph (although I would NOT want him to be called Hank for short)
It's always possible to have a last minute entry, since that's what happened with Eli, but we'll see!
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This is a slightly different topic, but with having only one day left, I've been reflecting how different this experience is than my last one. Let me take you back 3 years on a normal Friday morning. I went in for a regular checkup and my doctor (Eaton-McFarland) let us know we were going to the hospital, but it was going to be a long time before we had our baby. I had a "slow leak" and it was a small reason for concern. With having only a half bowl of cereal that morning and planning on stopping for a bagel after our appointment, I was told I was not allowed to eat from 9am on. YUCK.
We got to the hospital around 11am and got all settled into our room and within a hour, Ben went on a mission to find himself some lunch. I had gotten up to use the restroom and within a minute of climbing back in bed, I had no less than 12 people rushing into my room and telling me to move this way and that. Apparently, Eli had laid on his umbilical cord and his heart rate was dropping drastically. That was in my first hour of being there!
I had to have a cervidile to start the induction process, but was notified that it was at minimum a 12 hour process. 14 hours later, they removed it and I finally got to eat! Yep, at 4am, I had a tuna sub from subway only to finish scarfing it down and have the nurse tell me that's what her last patient had and that it was not pleasant to throw back up. GREAT!
After my hour break, they started me on pitocin, the devil drug that furthers induction. Over the course of 20+ hours, I was unable to really get out of bed for fear of little E's heart rate dropping again and me being in manageable pain, it was decided that after I spiked a fever, it was go time. Off to the OR we went for a c-section. I recall nothing from this surgery other than Ben continuing to tell me to wake up. Apparently it's not a pretty sight when your wife is cut wide open and I'm laying there with my eyes closed.
But, at the end of this amazingly awful experience, I got to hold my little baby Eli at 6 pounds 7 ounces and 18.5 inches long. That lasted for a good 3 hours, got to recovery and sent that little man to the nursery. Judge me....I'm OK with it. It was the best decision for me given I had next to no sleep for 30 + hours.
I'm remembering this because as I'm talking with my doctor the other day, she said to me, "ok, head to the hospital and noon and I'll see you there." Wait, I just show up and two hours later I get to meet my baby? That's crazy and some may say taking the easy way out, but after what I went through with Eli and to only have the doctor who delivered him (Dr. Jody Jones) tell me, "he was never coming out naturally" I'm on board with the "easy" way out.
So....here's to a small hiatus and as soon as I'm ready, I'll once again share my birth story and of course thousands of pictures!
