For a few days before, I'd had some "symptoms" that made me think he would probably come within the next few days. My scheduled repeat c-section was Friday, February 1 but I was really hoping I wouldn't make it that long. I was just so miserable! So anyway, especially on Tuesday, January 22, I had some things happen that really made me convinced he was going to come that day or really soon. Chris had gone to school that night so Kylie and I went to my mom's house (next door). Right before we left to come back home, Kylie started running a fever so I gave her some Motrin, gave her a bath, and put her to bed. Chris got home at the same time we came back home and soon after, he went to bed. I did a couple things around the house (I was nesting like crazy!), and then I went to bed. I was laying in bed looking at Facebook on my phone and all of a sudden, my water broke. It was about 10:30 p.m. (I went into labor with both Kylie and Gunner on Tuesday nights, and they were both born early Wednesday mornings. Pretty cool, huh?!)
So, I was scrambling around the house trying to finish packing my bag for the hospital, calling my doctor's office, calling my mom, texting friends and family, etc. We got to the hospital about 11:00 p.m. and after wiping with an alcohol wipe and peeing in a cup, the nurse tested for amniotic fluid, and it came back negative. She told me she'd come back and test again in about 30 minutes. So I laid in the bed and by that point, I was having contractions 2-5 minutes apart...but for some reason she wasn't convinced I was in labor, even though I hadn't had a single contraction the whole pregnancy until my water broke. Anyway, she came back and tested me a second time and again, the test came back negative. I was so frustrated because I was sure that all of the amniotic fluid must have come out by then considering how much I lost at home over the span of about 30 minutes. Plus, what else would cause that much liquid to come out? She told me I could have peed on myself. HA! So she called the midwife from my doctor's office to come check me to see if I'd ruptured. I waited some more, and the midwife finally came to confirm my water had, in fact, broken. So then the nurse called my doctor, and we got the show on the road! When it came time to get the epidural when I got wheeled into the operating room, the anesthesiologist told me it would take him about 30-45 seconds to get the epidural in and working. Well, it took him 25 minutes and 4 sticks. Apparently something is funny about my spine at the bottom of the back so he had to stick me at a weird angle the last time to get it to work. My back is still sore, 10 days later! And man, bending over for 25 minutes sure takes a toll on your neck and back!
We were discharged from the hospital on Friday, January 25. After having been there since Tuesday night, I was beyond ready to go home! Plus, Kylie was SO SICK. Probably the sickest I've ever seen her. She was running a high fever, and a Tylenol and Motrin rotation every 4 hours was not working. She had some sort of bacterial infection and ended up getting an antibiotic shot and then an oral antibiotic. In the matter of 7 days, she went to the doctor 4 times! I felt so bad for her and for my mom, my sister, and Chris who were taking care of her and trying to visit Gunner and me in the hospital. I just wanted to be able to go home and cuddle with Kylie because she kept crying for me but because she was so sick, she couldn't really come visit me in the hospital. Even after we came home, she couldn't be around Gunner so it was really stressful and hard but she finally got the go-ahead from the doctor on Monday, and she was so ecstatic!
I took Gunner to his first doctor's appointment on Wednesday. When he was discharged from the hospital, he weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces (down 10 ounces from his birth weight) but he was back up to 7 pounds, 14 ounces at his 1-week check-up. The doctor said he looked great!
And now the part that really depresses me...again...breastfeeding. I've been breastfeeding him since right after he was born. After a couple days, I noticed he was "gulping" when I was feeding him, and I was ELATED. He would only gulp for a few swallows but I was still really excited. I tried everything to get milk after Kylie was born but I just never got it so I was cautiously hopeful I could breastfeed this time, especially since I was actually able to put him to breast immediately, where Kylie was almost 2 weeks old before I could do that with her. Anyway, I sent Chris to buy a pump and storage bags and when he got home, it was time for me to feed Gunner so I immediately pumped and got about 1/2 tablespoon of milk. I broke down and cried. I was so deflated. It was the exact same thing that happened with Kylie. I'm still breastfeeding him, mostly because he finds a lot of comfort in it but it's very frustrating that my body just refuses to produce breastmilk. I have done so much research, and I found somewhat of an answer a couple years ago but I still wasn't satisfied so I started doing research again, and I found that there is a real condition called Insufficient Glandular Tissue, and I fit every single criteria. Of course, that doesn't "diagnose" me but I am pretty sure that's my problem.
So, he is eating 3 ounces already! It seems like a lot but he gulps it right down. He eats every 3-4 hours. He has been sleeping great at night; he wakes up (or I wake him up) to eat, he eats, and then he goes right back to sleep. I put him to bed around 8:00 or 8:30 p.m., and I wake him up at 7:00 a.m. He gets up (or I get him up) twice during that time to eat. He has been a pretty easy baby so far so we'll see! I hope he continues to be an easy baby because Kylie sure was NOT! His umbilicial cord fell off during the night last night. Kylie was like 3 weeks old before hers fell off so I was a little surprised.
Kylie loves her baby brother. She wants to be around him all the time, and sometimes it's a little overwhelming but it's sweet. She has struggled with a little jealously, mostly because I can't do whatever she needs me to do as soon as she needs it done if I'm feeding or changing Gunner. She has had several potty accidents (thankfully only one poop!) since he came home but the last few days have been much better, thank goodness!
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