Johnny's Arrival

I am happy to say that I am finally a mom. After 10 days of enduring motherhood I finally have the time to sit down and write about how Johnny came into our lives. I decided that it would be best instead of writing a big paragraph story to break it up into parts and highlights the different events that took place around July 6th. Enjoy!

A Premonition
On July 4th I had a feeling that I would go into labor. Even though I was at 36 weeks I thought that he could come early since all that had been happening. I stopped taking my medicine to stop labor per doctor's order on July 4th and sure enough it had been working. For some reason I just thought that it could happen and I kept singing the "Born on the 4th of July" song in my head. Brian and I didn't make any plans that day and so we just laid around and watched tv. I had been really tired since the day before so it was nice nap and snuggle with Sonny. I also had noticed that Sonny had been super clingy which was a tiny bit different than his normal behavior. That night we went to dinner at the Barking Frog in Woodinville and I started having these back pains and some stomach pains. At one point I had to get up from the table and walk around because it hurt so bad. I didn't think too much of it and thought maybe from sitting my back was hurting but I also had in the back of my head that it could be labor. Sure enough it was the start of labor.

The First Sign
We went to bed the night of July 4th to surrounding sounds making it feel like we were in Iraq. At 4:30 I woke up and felt like something was a little weird "down there" and so I went to the bathroom. Sure enough I was bleeding. I didn't panic at all which was strange for me and told Brian that I was bleeding. I called labor and delivery and they said that I should come in so they could check it out. We were both so tired that we wanted to go back to sleep but I knew that bleeding was a normal sign of pregnancy so I packed my bag and we headed to Overlake in Bellevue.

Is It Really Happening?
We get to Overlake with Sonny in tow and are immediately sent to the oasis (triage room). They hooked me up to see what was going on and did a test to see if the blood had amniotic fluid in it. When they checked me they couldn't really find my cervix as it was super posterior so we thought okay good sign maybe this isn't labor and we get to go home. Poor Brian was not feeling very well from too many cocktails the night before and so going back home sounded really nice. However the test came back positive that one of my bags of water had started leaking and they were going to admit me. I asked "so are we having a baby today?" and they said yes. At that point it started to sink in for me however Brian was still completely oblivious to what was happening which I understand.

Early Stages of Labor
We were admitted into labor and delivery at 7am and the first people we called were my parents. They weren't answering their phone so Brian drove to their house to drop off Sonny and to tell them the news. While he was away they hooked me up to various machines and got me settled into my room. My mom came to the hospital and spend the next 12 hours with us going through what you would call the early stages of labor. Pretty early on Johnny's heart rate was not doing what the doctor's wanted and so they were a little worried that they would need to take me into do a C-section that afternoon. I told them I didn't care how he came out but to just get him out when necessary. They appreciated my openness to delivery and I felt safe that they would take care of things. The only problem with this is they would not let me eat. Ugh I was sooo hungry.

Pre- Labor
The time was passing by super fast and nothing was really happening. I was having a ton of contractions but they didn't really hurt and I was only dialated to a 2. The doctor broke my other back of water around 2pm and finished the other one that was leaking and that is when Brian finally came to realize that we were having this baby and started to text and call people which I had done hours ago. Finally by about 7pm I believe they allowed me to eat a turkey sandwich and some popsicles because they were going to start the petocin. It was the best sandwich I have ever had seriously. Contractions didn't really kick back up until about 10pm which is when labor stared to really happen.

Give Me An Epidural
My contractions picked up but were not out of control so my mom left so we could try and sleep. Poor Brian was super sick with a cold of some sort and was hungover and so he needed to rest if we were going to make it through the night. I needed him to be alert and feel okay once the baby came so they rolled in a cot for him. Below is a picture of what he looked like that afternoon when he was having a chills attack. Around midnight is when the big contractions started to kick in and the nurse wanted me to try and last as long as I could so that we could see if they could get things progressing faster. From 12-2am I was in hell with the worst back labor contractions ever. I moved around from the ball to the rocking chair to try and get through them. Finally at 2am the nurse looked at me and said I am calling the anesthesiologist. She stopped the pain and I fell asleep.



















The Decision
At 4am the nurse work me up to let me know that Johnny was not responding well to the contractions and so she had to stop the petocin. She also checked me and I was only at a 4 which meant that things were not progressing and they didn't think I would do anything more on my own. They called the doctor and the decision was made to do a C-section. I was fine with it and just wanted Johnny to be okay. Brian and I got ready and they wheeled me into the OR.

The C-Section
I will be quite frank and say that I didn't like the surgery. I was so numb that I could not swallow and I wanted to move my legs for some reason. They had numbed me so much that I didn't feel pressure or anything and had to ask Brian if they had started cutting yet. He said yes and was having a hard time watching even though he got some great pics and captured the moment. The surgery took about 10 minutes and a crying Johnny was shuffled to get cleaned up. I remember watching Brian's face which was pure shock. I was so drugged that to be honest I didn't really have any emotion then. I remember asking "is he cute" and seeing his conehead and Brian was like yeah. I don't think he could register that he had arrived.


















We got to hold Johnny for a minute or so and meet him before they had to take him to the NICU for 6 hours. We were told before that since he was born at 36 weeks that it is protocol for him to have to go to the NICU for 6 hours and so we were prepared. It did give us some time to recover and sleep after the surgery but we started getting really anxious to be with our little son.


















Meeting Johnny
I ended up growing impatient to being with Johnny so I told Brian to go to the NICU and take picture of him. He took the camera and got a ton of shots of our little man getting taken care of. Turns out he was perfectly healthy and passed all the tests. Below is a picture of him chillin which is definetely one of his popular poses. He loves his arms and uses them all the time. My favorite is when he takes his hands and puts them over both of his eyes like he is trying to count to 10 or something. When Johnny came down finally at 11:15am we were so happy to be with him. Brian started to cry and we definetely had the emotions we expected.

Recovering

I have to say that I loved my hospital stay and getting taken care of by the nurses. They also took such great care of Johnny that I didn't want to leave. We stayed from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon and hung out, learned how to nurse, visited with friends and family and the best part of getting to take a shower after two days. Nothing felt better than cleaning up after childbirth. When it was time to leave I broke down and cried as it was reality that I needed to take care of this perfect little baby at home without all this help. Plus I had fallen in love with him and had this overwhelming emotion come over me that I could only get out with crying. Seems to be a common theme these days for me.

Going Home

We arrived home and after about 2 hours I broke down and decided that I needed my mom to come over and help me. Brian was amazing but due to my condition of having to lay low and recover from the surgery I was getting nervous that I was going to over do it and starting to buzz around the house to get it organized. The last thing I needed was to have a crabby husband that I was bossing around and a house that was a mess that I felt I always wanted to have in order. So my mom came over to take care of the household so Brian and I could focus on the baby and Sonny. My mom has been the best blessing for us and she comes over each day to help out with things when Brian isn't around. He only got Friday and Monday off after we got home from the hospital so it was important for me to have support. Since my doctor told me I could not go up and down the stairs more than once a day we decided to set up a "baby center" downstairs in the family room. We sleep on the couch which is actually really comfortable and have everything from the changing table to the breastfeeding/pumping station. Since Johnny is so young we are on a strict feeding plan which entails nursing, bottle feeding breast milk and pumping. I have been told it is temporary but super draining and can't wait for it to get easier. It is the best for Johnny though so hoping he keeps gaining weight. Nursing exclusively is my ultimate goal for us. I am happy that he takes a bottle, nurses and takes the binky though. He just rolls with the flow and takes whatever he gets.

Where We Are At

At this point we are 10 days in and the sleep deprivation is kicking in. I think the first week you are so hyped up on adrenaline and you don't feel sleepy for some reason. Now I can see that sleep is a thing of the past. Johnny is back up to his birth weight and we have another weigh in next week so hopefully he keeps on gaining. He sleeps all the time and we have to wake him up for the feeding and changing sessions since he is so young. The doctors tell us this is normal for a pre-term baby. He has some jaundice as well which is why his skin is orange/yellow and so much more tired but with time and feeding it was go away. He is super strong and moves his arms and legs like crazy. He hates being swaddled with this arms down at his side so we make sure to keep them out so he can mash them on his face and play with them. He also makes the cutest sounds and faces. We are very much in love with him and can't believe that he is finally here. Sonny also loves him and we let him sniff and lick his hands so he can give him love too. We have had a lot of visitors and they all say the same thing. He has great hair and he looks like Brian which I agree with. Brian and Johnny have the exact same hairline and cowlick which I think is adorable. He is our little man and even though I want time to stop I am also so excited to see him grow and develop into a little boy. Never have I felt this type of love before and I am loving every minute of it.