While Cooper's conception was easy, the pregnancy was harder. I feel a little guilty when I say it was difficult, because compared to some women, who have to be on bed rest or what not, it wasn't that bad ... but it was the worst thus far. Enough that we thought this baby might be a girl, with how different it felt. The ultrasound revealed another boy though.
While I never actually passed out, like I did when pregnant with Callahan, I came close several times. Again, I could recognize the signs, and would have just enough time to get into a safe position laying down. Sitting seemed to be the primary culprit, and after some close calls at church, and while driving, I didn't didn't dare go out much. I'd open up the curtains to let the light in, as I felt some depression coming on. I'd have pins and needles in my legs which would drive me crazy, and there were times when I was so uncomfortable I couldn't sleep, for days at a time, which would leave me emotionally on edge. I was ready to have this baby out of me!
My SIL Amy was scheduled for a c-section of Aug27, and we were scheduled to be induced then too. The hospital called and said "don't come, we're full" so we waited until the next morning, but were still told there was no room. It was a little frustrating as Grayson had taken off work and we'd made arrangements for my dad to watch the kids while my mom came to the hospital. It was a waiting game. In the afternoon we got the call that we could come in ... but they were still full, so I was put into a recovery room to start, double booked with another pregnant patient. At this point I really regretted coming in and wished I'd just waited longer at home for things to happen on their own.
We finally were able to move into a birthing room, which was more comfortable for me, my mom and Gray. They broke my water around 4:00 and the contractions started coming hard and painful and the anesthesiologist was backed up, so I had to wait a while and was pretty miserable (or just a wimp). Finally the guy arrived (Grayson said he recognized him, the same anesthesiologist from the other three births, I didn't really care what he looked like) and the epidural made me sick to my stomach. I threw up over and over. Finally I was feeling a bit better, and not feeling the painful contractions. Alicia came in the evening, as well as Pammy, Ana and Olivia. Around 9:00 it was finally time. The baby was posterior, which made it a little harder. I had to push a LOT, but we finally got our little guy. He was a good crier (like Callahan) and weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces (like Callahan).
It was late when everyone left and Gray and Grandma returned to the house to relieve Grandpa there with the three boys, and apparently half the neighborhood had been there late as well. We stayed in the hospital on Friday, and returned home on Saturday. The grandparents were gone, and Gray left to run some errands, and I was a little overwhelmed being home alone with the new baby, the three boys, and several neighborhood friends. With my pre-birth depression, my doctor had been fairly concerned about post-partum depression, but that wasn't really an issue. I did struggle some with painful nursing/mastitis, which finally resolved.
The bigger boys loved their baby brother and were good little helpers. Cooper was a momma's boy, especially as he got a little older. I ended up working (mostly from home, a project with Creating Keepsakes/IMP) and it was hard to leave him when I had meetings, as he wasn't really a bottle boy. I'd learned my lesson with the other boys, and had made several blanket "auggies" that I'd switch out (although he still managed to have a favorite). As he got a little older, unlike other kids, he never crawled. He did this super cute bum scoot, and would wear out the seat of his pants. But because he wasn't crawling, he wouldn't approach furniture in the same way, and would also never pull himself up into a standing position, so this slowed down his walking a lot. He was over 18-months before he walked.
No comments:
Post a Comment