Benjamin's birth story

This was originally titled "Welcome to the world Benjamin (and his birth story), but since he is now 6 months old, I think we can assume you all know he is here by now!  I laugh every time I hear someone say "I have so much more time since quarantine."  How do I get that life?  Both Marc and I have way less free time since COVID quarantine.  

Here is how life is going...I started this blog post on April 25th.  APRIL 25TH!  That was 26+ weeks ago and my sweet new baby is now much much bigger and there is certainly a lot more to share. Having a baby during a global pandemic?  I do not recommend it!  Don't worry for all you moms getting ready to have babies, there are good parts to be had, but there are also losses for sure.  

Where to start? 

Well, I guess with this...we have a son!  We welcomed Benjamin into the world on April 15th at 8:21 am via a scheduled c-section.  He came out screaming at a sweet petite 6 pounds, but a mighty 19 inches long.  This took us a little by surprise because my ultrasound just 2 days prior predicted a 7lb 9 oz baby, not so much!  

So to start, you should know my birth history.  My sweet Olivia made her grand entrance into the world 11 weeks 3 days before her due date.  This put me in the "high risk" category going into a second pregnancy.  Pair that with my AMA (advanced maternal age) and you get a patient that basically spends 2-4 hours at the hospital every week after 28 weeks.  I had daily blood pressure checks (which actually were great most of the time), meetings with my OB, meetings with my MFM doctor (maternal fetal medicine), and lots and lots of meds--baby aspirin, blood pressure pills, prenatals, and two medicines for nausea because what else is better in an already scary pregnancy where you are trying to work full time and be a full time mom--let's add in lots and lots of nausea for a looooong time.  I was throwing up 3-7 times every day from week 6 to week 24, that is 4 months of intense vomitting--and that is with two medicines to help combat nausea.  FUN!  

But is was all worth it, you know why....cause of this guy here:

Let's skip forward weeks and weeks.  At 35 weeks gestation, I went to my MFM appointment and found out my fluid levels were low.  My MFM doctor did not seem super concerned, but following that appointment I went down to my OB's office where she seemed super concerned.  She asked me to come back two days later for another fluid check.  I went to that ultrasound and she said my fluid was back up--great news!  No hospital stay today!  Boy was I wrong.  After seeing my OB, she informed me that my fluid was back up where it should be but now my BP was high, so she automatically admitted me for labs and tests.  There is no better way to raise my blood pressure than to tell me you are admitting me (this played similar to my birth with Olivia).  Well after 6 long hours (and no food) at the hospital, my labs finally came back and everything was fine and my BP had stablized so I was able to go home.  The following week, I went to another routine OB appointment.  By this time I was doing weekly appointments with my OB (by myself, of course cause with COVID, Marc was not allowed to come with me) with a plan to deliver at 38 weeks gestation via a scheduled c-section.  Well at my 36 week appointment, I knew my BP was controlled on meds, but they did a NST (non-stress test) and could not get enough counts on the baby, so once again I was admitted.  I was furious--more labs and after hours upon hours of being hooked up to the monitors, we just found out that baby was napping a bit earlier.  So yet again, I was sent home.  This time I was so eager to go home (because as I had told Marc, there is no way they could keep me this time--everything is checking out fine--famous last words), that I walked right out of Labor and Delivery and almost out the front door before realizing that my IV was still stuck in my hand.  UGH!  So after discharge, my doctor said let's push the delivery up one week, meaning having him at 37 weeks vs 38 weeks, Marc and I were on board, with my BP slowing creeping up neither of us wanted a repeat of our first pregnancy and ACOG recommends delivery with gestational hypertension at 37 weeks to avoid worse outcomes. So on Monday, April 13th, I went in for my last ultrasound, I packed a bag knowing if anything showed up, I would be admitted for delivery immediately, so I came prepared and everyone--me and baby both looked fine.  Our ultrasound showed a healthy baby boy measuring at 7lbs 9 oz.  We got our instructions to arrive at 5:30am on Wednesday, April 15th for our sweet boys arrival.  Here we are ready to go have a baby:

Fast forward to April 15th, we arrived at the hospital before the sun was up and went to register before heading to labor and delivery.  The nurses tried to get an IV started, but after FIVE--yes FIVE attempts, they finally called in the anesthesiologist to get the IV going and he was able to get it but in my left forearm--not ideal placement, but we were ready, here is a picture of me showing off all my battle scars from the multiple IV attempts:

Marc all geared up ready for the operating room for delivery:

Since the time leading up to his birth was so eventful, it makes it easy that his birth was quite uneventful.  Benjamin Thomas came into the world screaming at 8:21am on 4/15/20.  As soon as the doctor pulled him out, we both looked at each other like that isn't an almost 8 pound baby.  She yelled out, let me get a weight on him, and so it was, our big headed baby was actually quite petite at just 6 pounds even.  Here is our first family photo:

Soaking in the daddy snuggles:

Recovery from a c-section the second time around was a little bit harder, and more painful, but still I seem to have an easier time than most.  I seem to have issues with the epidural, so both times, I have struggled with intense nausea and vomiting for about 24 hours after delivery while my body flushes the meds out.  Nothing is quite as great as lactation coming in to help you breastfeed and having to throw up while she is there.  Ever the professional, she asked if she could continue to work with Benjamin on my breast while I continued to throw up--Sure lady!  What would we do without nurses and doctors and lactation help?  Throwing up after abdominal surgery--I do not recommend it!  But all things come to an end and after about a day, I was feeling back to normal and was able to get up and walk the halls.  As chance would have it, one of my friends had a baby the day before we did, so we were able to introduce our sweet babies while in the hospital.  There were definitely some joyful moments, but the hospital halls felt quiet and lonely.  Though we could not have family around to share in our joy, we were joined by some of our NICU family to welcome sweet Benjamin--two of our nurses--Emily and Angela were both able to meet him before we headed home.  In fact Angela requested to be our nurse the day of discharge so she could help us out.  We were given the option to go home after 2 days and we took it, figuring we would probably sleep just as bad at home but we would at least be in our own bed and it was the right call for us--we enjoyed the big sister snuggles and time to be back together as a family of 4.  

Nurse Angela helping us get discharged:

Leaving the hospital:

Back at home, Olivia took to being a big sister quite well and has not stopped since.  She loves her baby brother with a passion and they have a bond that I hope will last forever.  

Thanks for your patience, as I worked through many many months to get this post published, FINALLY!  Hope you enjoy reading along and I will try to update soon on the months since Benjamin's birth and how our sweeet baby boy has tripled his birth weight in 6 months!