Dec. 27, 2008

Copied older post:

So I had this thought that I would start a blog back in 2007 (as you can see from my archive dates) and log on and write at least once a week. I always thought it would be a great way to get all the chatter out of my head and journal events in my life. I haven't done a very good job up to this point but because I am now a stay at home mom, I am going to make an effort to do better and try to log on and write a couple of times a week.

Since the last time I wrote, I had my baby boy. Xander Douglas Vest was born on November 21st at 8:15 a.m. He weighed 9 pounds 9 ounces (big boy - but we knew he would be) and was 19 3/4 inches long. He was born by c-section because he got so big. The doctor did an amniocentesis on Thursday the 20th to check the maturity of his lungs to determine whether they would do a c-section the next day. His lungs were in good shape so we went to the hospital the next day at 5:45 a.m. They had to do an IV before I went in for the surgery and it took them 6 tries before they got it! The first two hurt so bad that I cried and the next four didn't hurt as bad. After they finally got the IV going, we had to wait a little bit because there was an emergency c-section happening before mine. Once we were in the operating room, they gave me the spinal which didn't hurt at all. I was really nervous that it would hurt really bad but I didn't feel anything. Once they got me on the operating table, Xander was out in about 15 minutes. It was so quick! They showed him to me really quick and then cleaned him up, weighed him and took him to the nursery. Todd went with them so I was a little lonely for a little while. When they were stitching me up, they kept pushing on my stomach and it made me sick. Once I was done there, they moved me to a recovery room and asked me a bunch of questions and the nurse kept checking my uterus. After a short time, I was in a lot of pain. Because of how much I could feel the contractions, they gave me a bunch of pain medicine so by the time I got to my room, I was a little woozy from all the drugs. But once I got to my room, I finally got to hold my son for the first time! Again, I was really drugged but it was awesome! I got to see Todd again too - it had been almost an hour and a half since I had seen either of them. I wanted to feed Xander, but I was still in a lot of pain, so they wouldn't let me until I was more comfortable. It was probably about 5 or 6 hours after he was born until I got to feed him. The next few hours were a blur. We had my parents and Todd's parents come visit and we also got moved to a bigger room which ended up being the room we were in for the next 3 days. The whole thing was such a surreal experience!

Having a c-section was more painful than I thought it would be when it came to the recovery. It really only hurt for about the first week, mostly the first 4-5 days. After that, I could walk normal and do normal things without being in much pain, if any. I did take pain pills for the first week and a half and was afraid when I went off them that I would be in a lot of pain, but I was surprised how quickly the pain went away. I didn't mind overall having a c-section though and was willing to do whatever it took to get my little boy here safely.

Yesterday, Xander was 5 weeks old already! I can't believe he is here and that he is healthy! He actually had jaundice pretty bad when he was first born and ended up back in the hospital for a day the day after we got home. He had to be under special lights to help get rid of his jaundice. He has been healthy since then but as of today, I seem to be coming down with a cold, so hopefully Xander doesn't get it from me! Being a stay at home mom is great so far. I think it will get even better because right now, Xander doesn't sleep all that well some nights. I am looking forward to when he sleeps through the night for good. Right now he goes back and forth between sleeping well and sleeping terribly. He had one night already that he slept almost 7 hours without a feeding. Last night he slept from about 2-8 a.m. Even though we got to bed late (he was awake and crying for a while before that) it was nice to get the 6 hours in a row of uninterrupted sleep. Most nights he only sleeps 4 hours in a row and most nights we get to bed later than I would like. I think once I get better sleep, being a stay at home mom will be so much fun. I really want to be able to cook and clean and organize our house. Even though I am perpetually sleep deprived right now, it is so fun to have this adorable little boy with me all day and I think he is so cute and sweet. I know that this baby phase will go so fast so I am trying to enjoy the little moments with him while they last. He is so tiny and it is going to be fun to see him grow bigger! I love him so much already and can't imagine life without him! Todd and I feel so lucky and blessed to have Xander as part of our family and look forward to each and every day with him!