The Colter has landed

Well, it's taken forever, I know. I'm finally getting around to writing the story of how Colter came into the world, and I apologize for how poorly I've been updating on events and such. I use Facebook so freaking much that I feel like people may already be rife with too much information about me as it is. Maybe I'll start updating my blog with all my facebook status updates, that way it's way more up to date.

Well, as of today, at 4:18 pm, Colter Bryan will officially be 2 weeks and 6 days old. He came to us on 8/21/09, coming in at 6 lbs, 10 ozs.

We went in that afternoon after waiting and waiting and waiting for enough people to be discharged so that a room would open up. We were originally scheduled for 12:30, but got pushed back quite a few times. Not nice to do to a woman who hasn't eaten since midnight.

I was really surprised by my abject terror when they started wheeling me to the OR. I thought, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready (a la Spongebob) and then I realize, "I'M GOING TO BE IN PAIN AFTER THIS IS OVER!". But they got me on the table, got the spinal done, and got me laid down, and I had no options as for freaking out or running out of the room.

They put all the stuff up and around me, and got started, and Thad came in and started holding my hand and watching the procedure. Thad REALLY likes watching this crap, for some reason, and doesn't get grossed out. So I'm less freaked out by the time they get started, and I hear suction and the doctors talking, and then they are pulling out his head and commenting on how much hair he has (a bunch) and then he's crying. The doctor tells him "You aren't even born yet, you shouldn't be crying already" and then with an allie-oop he's in the room. And he is LOUD. So loud, the kid is just wailing.

So as they are cleaning me up and getting me closed up Thad is still watching and decides to start asking questions, which doctors are not really used to. Fathers are normally pinned to their wives' side, not watching over the curtain as their wives are being pieced back together. So he asks, "What is that that you have in your hand?", and the doctor says "What, the towel?" and he says "No, the other hand", and the doctor replies "The UTERUS". Apparently they pull the entire uterus out of the body to get it stitched back up before placing it back in. GROSS.

So the other big difference was that I was expecting the anesthesia to wear off as soon as I got back to my room, like with Elora. What a huge difference between scheduled c-section and "emergency" c-section. Rather than an epidural, the spinal block lasts and lasts, and you can totally get the pain medication situation under control before you can even feel your feet again.

Nursing was a struggle to begin with. He was just so sleepy, and waking him up was pretty difficult during our hospital stay, even using wet washcloths and undressing him wasn't really effective. They also didn't have lactation consultants in on the weekend, which I have been very vocal about since my stay there, expressing my displeasure with this to every doctor and nurse that will listen. Hopefully they make some changes there because it would have been so helpful to get some guidance. But he's been eating and pooping and eating really well since we left the hospital and met with one of the consultants after our first doctors appointment.

Thad and I also just celebrated our 6th anniversary a week after Colter arrived. Since we weren't really able to afford any gifts for each other we realized that the best gift we could have given each other was the little family we have created. And that was perfectly enough.

Here are some pictures of the little pooper, who is currently 2 weeks and 6 days old. These were from our hospital stay, or very soon thereafter.





There has been little to no jealousy of her brother on Elora's part. She still gets snuggled and loved on, but is totally in love with her brother. I get to use him as a bargaining chip to enlist her to do things like: get dressed, brush her teeth, brush her hair, put her toys away, etc. I will milk this for as long as I can. She looks at him and says "AWWWWWW, HE'S CUTE!", and it is the sweetest thing I've ever heard.



Well, I'm going to close this up with saying that we are the most blessed, happy little unit right now. I go back to work the first full week of October, which is quickly approaching, and I'm really enjoying my time at home right now. I've been watching movies, listening to audio books, watching the news (I hate the news) and just loving on my kids. Today I'm going to get some zucchini shredded up to make zucchini bread tomorrow, and then we may head to Colstrip for the weekend.

Thanks for reading, everyone!