I’m Wesley, and I’m nearly a month old. And my mom is dressing me like an idiot – today she put me in a pair of pants that have a bear on the tush. Rumor is, my Aunt Katie bought this for me. When I’m older, I’ll get her for this one.
I’ll also get my mom for sharing this:
(Remember how I said he make “Man-Sized” noises? I meant it! This isn’t his very best work – he was a little camera shy. My favorite is how relaxed he looks at the end once he’s done his business…)
But since, really, life is pretty good for me right now – I can eat, sleep, and do my business wherever and whenever I want – I’ll keep my complaints to a minimum.
Except one thing – someone tell mom to lay off the Asparagus – I know it is the first fresh veggie of the year and all, but too much of it gives me a belly ache and keeps me up at night, which I know upsets mom since she brags that I am such a good sleeper.
Bye-bye for now,
Wes
(Side note from mom: have you heard of Elimination Communication, or the Diaper Free Movement? Basically, parents forgo diapers and use cues from their babies to get them to an acceptable place to do their business when the time comes. I really wonder how this is possible, since, in my experience, my wee ones usually do this either during or RIGHT after a meal – leaving little time to save them from soiling themselves (and me, and the couch or wherever I’m sitting…). But they claim it works…Oh, and Wes – got the memo about the Asparagus. I guess 1/2 pound (more of it?) a day is too much? I’ll scale back. )
We’re finally back home and settled in – and I’m so thankful! We actually got home yesterday afternoon, but I was too tired to do anything but eat cookies and cuddle with my boys.
All in all, Wesley’s birth experience was a positive one, but certainly had its ups and downs. I have fantastic friends and family, and their love and support was incredible through the ride. We snapped one last belly picture:
and were on our way…
Thursday Morning
I slept horribly Wednesday night, which is to be expected, I suppose. I had dreams all night long that we had a girl, and thus was fairly convinced as such heading into surgery. When I got up at 5:15, I quickly checked facebook, and was thrilled to see I had the little magic “32″ in the upper right hand corner – that many well wishes for our big day! It really put a smile on my face and helped settle my nerves. I love those little red circle on facebook, saying “somebody loves you…” but I digress.
Anyhow, we headed in and everything went as planned in the morning – check in, hook up to the monitor to make sure baby is OK, wait nervously for the anesthesiologist..
During and after my last C-section, I spent a fair bit of the day getting sick. Not so pleasant, so I was anxious to make sure the anesthesiologist knew of my problems with the medicine and hopeful that we could do something to make the experience a bit more pleasant this time. She assured me that they would keep on top of it – that probably I was reacting to the morphine pain drug and that she would keep it to the bare minimum so that my nausea wasn’t so bad. Although I wasn’t keen on the “bare minimum” of pain medication – if I have to be cut open and have a planned birth, I would like to at least reap the benefits of modern chemistry, but I suppose a bit more pain is preferable to upchucking all day.
Anyhow, all went as planned – I was rolled off into surgery, Lyndon changed into his scrubs to meet me later, and they hung up that “blue privacy sheet” that saves us from seeing my innards. The anesthetist had warned me that the nausea side-effect from administering the spinal block was something they couldn’t do much about, so I wasn’t surprised when the only a few seconds after the spinal took effect I was getting sick. Good news was, I felt much better afterwards, and they were prepared for it so I didn’t have to just puke on the side of the table (lyndon put his arm in it the first time – ewww….)
Lyndon came in, and they got to work. I was so anxious! But the procedure is so quick, and not a few minutes later, they said “Lots of pressure, lots of pressure….It’s a Boy! and he has a huge bottom!” I kid you not. The first descriptive words about our son weren’t “he’s perfect” or “ten fingers, ten toes” or “he’s so cute…” Poor kid – “he has a huge bottom!” were his welcome to the world. That, and his mother getting sick….again. It seems Wesley was “locked and loaded,” ready to come out on his own very soon, and so they really had to yank to get him out. All of that pressure made me get sick again, so as they were proclaiming the large size of our wee one’s bottom, I was simultaneously bawling and getting sick.
Lyndon was worried I was sad that he was a boy, and that was why I was crying. Not the case – I just felt so guilty that I was yacking as he entered the world! I was actually not at all surprised when they said “it’s a boy.” There are so many boys in the family (Wesley is the fifth boy on Lyndon’s side – no girls yet!,and the 11th of 14 on my side, and the sixth boy in our close group of friends – no girls yet). We were all relying on statistics to bring a girl into the picture, but I felt a flood of relief – somehow, a boy seems easier – so far, I know what to do, and we have all the clothes and toys and…well, Austin gets a brother!
Anyhow, after that was the worst part of all. Lyndon and Wesley were whisked away to go get Wes’s vitals and weight, etc…and I was left alone with the doctors. They fixed me up and got me into recovery, where I had to wait 30 or so VERY LONG minutes till I could get in with my family and hold the baby. It was horrible – I felt sick, I couldn’t stop crying, and I was alone with a nurse who couldn’t stop talking about how fantastic the Lord is. I know she was trying to make me feel better, but I just wanted her to shut up and take my blood pressure and get my back to my family. There were two highlights – first, one of the nurses (a male one, at that!) came in and said “Wow, you look so skinny!”, and then the OB nurse (at the prompting of my mom, who isn’t known for her patience) finally called down to say “get her back here, her baby is HUNGRY!). Thank you mom!
They finally decided I was recovered enough, and wheeled me back in, so we could take these pictures:
Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, baby, and Mama, in that order.
The rest of the day was a blur. The family all went home – to give me time to rest and to rest themselves, and to fetch Austin and my 98 year-old grandma to come up for visit #2. I still spent the afternoon getting sick, despite reduced pain meds and nausea medicine. Thankfully, I was feeling well during the visit of my grandma and Austin. The moment Austin met Wesley was precious – probably a highlight from the day:
Grandma loved him
Our good friends Jen and Dan, who have a son who was born the EXACT SAME DAY as Austin, also came up for a visit:
And that ends day one. I had a horrible night that night (really, all three nights, thus my exhaustion yesterday), but those are stories for another day. This is too long as it is! If you’ve made it this far, you’re a trooper.
This morning at 8:05am Janelle had our baby. His name is Wesley Lyndon, he weighed in at 7 pounds 4 1/2 oz and is 20 inches long. Everyone is healthy and happy! I will upload pictures tomorrow.
Austin is our little firecracker, born August of 2008. Lyndo is the loving dad, who hails from Australia but fits right in here. And we welcomed little Wesley on Earth Day 2010. I work full time at a fantastic non-profit, attempting to balance family, work, and life.
