Welcome to our world!
I can't be witty about it, so just let me be a stereotypical new mom, okay? CALEB ZAKAI FASHBAUGH has arrived, and he is the most exquisite little man in the world! I don't need to tell you how beautiful he is, because if you've read this, you've more than likely seen the pictures yourself, but let me tell you something you can't get from the pictures. He is so soft!
Here's the brief rundown of his arrival through today ~ trust me, you don't want the lengthier one. This is heavily edited:
If you read my earlier posts, you know that my doc said as of Thursday that I needed to be done with work. This makes a workaholic like me nervous. What if Caleb took another *ugh* month to make an appearance? Plus it seemed like a shame to not go to work on Monday, because I felt so fantastic! But blood pressure concerns took precedence, and who am I to argue with the esteemed members of the medical profession?
So at my appointment on Monday, I figured the blood pressure would be down without the additional stresses of work. Apparently, not working was even more stressful, because this doc said she would check out how ready I was to have a baby, and if my blood pressure didn't come down within a set amount of time, they were going to induce. Well! I was more ready than we knew, and the blood pressure went even higher, so they arranged for me to go to the hospital to get the party started.
The best thing was calling Jonathan from the doctor's office. (I called on my cell phone, a big no-no. Shh, don't tell.) It was so funny because he had offered to take off work to go with me, and I had said that I didn't anticipate any major decisions or anything. So I got ahold of him, and asked if he could come home because it was time to go to the hospital. His reaction was so classic. He was so excited and nervous that I was actually a little nervous about having him drive home.
Unfortunately, we hadn't been overly prepared for the arrival of our son - we kept telling ourselves we had plenty of time. So we didn't have any bags packed or any kind of plan for how to get things done quickly. It took us an hour to get out of the house. Plus, Jonathan is such a hypoglycemic guy that we had to stop for dinner for him on the way. Oy! So by the time we got to the hospital, it was five o'clock, and we thought we were having a baby in the next few hours.
Guess again! They didn't put me on the pitocin until after ten! Megan and my parents had come to spend the early labor time with us, and Alisa had come by at 8:30, under the impression that she might have a nephew any minute. By the time I actually started to have contractions, it seemed to have been a VERY long day.
Oh, the contractions! Granted, I hadn't expected to be on the pitocin, which makes them stronger and closer together and unpredictable, but I had to laugh at my naivete at thinking that I could have lasted very long without an epidural. Because baby, as soon as those bad boys kicked in, I begged for the anesthesiologist to pay me a little visit. But she was there pretty quickly, and I only had to do about thirty or forty minutes of actual labor without pain relief. That's enough for me.
Anyway, about 5:30 the next morning, I felt like it might be time to push, and we got going. The nurse I started pushing with was off at seven, and they switched out with the impression that I'd be ready to deliver in the next twenty minutes. They were even worried because my doctor couldn't be there until 7:15. Alas, 7:30 came and went, and as 8:00 approached, they started threatening a c-section. But then they realized that the pitocin had been turned off VERY early in the morning - 1:00-ish. And none of these nurses or doctors had realized it, so they thought I was just being lazy or something. But Caleb and I were working HARD; it was my uterus being uncooperative.
Finally, at 8:25 on Tuesday morning, the little man was able to breathe the free air of the outside world. He started crying right away on his own, and they immediately threw him on my tummy and started to towel him off. Yeah, that's the grossest part of the process that I saw. But Jonathan saw the whole sordid thing - and came through like a CHAMP! He even cut the cord! He and I just put our heads together and cried as we looked at this tiny little gross thing that had completely captivated us already.
His head was not huge, but it was pretty cone-shaped for a while since he'd spent so much time in the birth canal. However, I'm pleased to report that it's now a normal shape, and the bruising is almost gone as well. He's a hairy little thing, though!
Anyway, the hospital stay was pretty amazing. However, I'd heard that you lose all modesty and sense of personal dignity in hospitals, and it's NO LIE! I don't even want to get into it.
Thursday was our discharge day, and we were supposed to leave by eleven, but then Caleb ended up with some fairly serious jaundice, and my blood pressure popped up at the same time. So the little man had to stick around for another test in the afternoon, and they wanted to see if my bp would drop. Both the jaundice and the blood pressure got worse as the day continued, so I ended up with meds, and he ended up with a bilirubin belt being installed at home.
We went back to the hospital this morning for another blood test for him, and his numbers were even higher, so we had to keep him on the belt all day, and we'll go back in the morning for another test. The only thing we can be doing to help him is just feed him CONSTANTLY to flush all the crud out of his tiny little system.
My parents have been here since yesterday - they cleaned up our house to prepare for the arrival home of the boy, and have been preparing meals and taking care of us in general. I would say that they're doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, but they have ulterior motives: they get to spend time with that precious little Caleb and soak up his adorable-ness. (He's got an AWFUL lot to spare!)
Anyway, that's what's going on with us. It's been such an incredible and humbling experience to become parents. I know that God has big plans for this little bubba, and his first four days have given us a good taste of what we have in front of us - overwhelming and awe-inspiring, and completely conquerable with His grace...
posted by Amanda @ 7:11 PM
Yep, this is Grammy Becky, and he is the most gorgeous little man in the world. And I think I would think that even if he weren't my grand baby, although every one accuses me of being biased! This mommy and daddy are wonderful parents and Grampa Gene and I are mighty proud of them!!!!
Amanda,
Reading your birth story has brough tears to my eyes and I do this for a living! I am so glad that Caleb is here and so healthy. I wish I could have been your nurse and made your birth experience even better, but oh well! I can't wait to see him in person. know that Kyle and I are so happy for you three. Have you checked your email lately????
I'm so glad you posted, I was wondering how the 3 of you were doing! Lotsa prayers comin your way!
Gotta take care of my own little (screaming at the moment)munchkin!
Wendy
He is SO precious!! I can't wait to meet him in person. (I might get the chance as we are coming to Denver in June for a missions trip with our teens. Yay!) I am so happy for you two! You are going to have so much fun with him. Love you!