THE little THINGS IN LIFE: And Then There Were Four

He is here!

Elias Finn arrived Monday the 4th at 10:59 in the morning. He was 8 pounds, 6.9 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long.

It is rather surreal to set your alarm to make sure that you get up in time to have your baby. :P

Monday, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and started getting ready. I couldn't eat breakfast or even drink water, but I wanted a nice, long luxurious shower before I was confined to a hospital bed. Kieran woke up at 7:00 and was rather clingy when Grandma and Grandpa showed up to take him to McDonald's for breakfast. I think he knew something was up. :)

We were on our way by 7:30, giving us an extra 15 minutes to get there--which we used up in a traffic jam! I asked Jordan what happens when you don't show up to have your baby...but I never remembered to ask at the hospital. Once we arrived, we got all checked in and they slowly began the process of prepping me for the surgery scheduled to begin two hours later. Everything went really smoothly, besides that continual feeling of "is this really about to happen?" When the doctor came in to meet me just before the surgery, I have to admit that I started to get nervous. It's something akin to that feeling you get after waiting in a really long line for a rather intimidating roller coaster, and you have just reached the front of the line.

After we walked down to the operating room, they made Jordan wait outside for about 15 minutes while they prepped me and gave me the anesthesia. Later on, Jordan told me that he was praying for me, and I am so glad that he did. Because, while logically I knew that this was something that I had already experienced and that I was one of several c-sections scheduled for the day, I was scared. It was becoming very real, very fast. And my experience going into the last one was much different, so I was very distracted and hadn't had much time to think on what was going on. This time, I probably had too much time. I did cry a little bit, and a couple of the staff asked me if I was alright. I said I was...but it was a little overwhelming.

However, having said all of that, once I was actually prepped and Jordan was able to join me, I felt very focused. Our anesthesiologist was a real jokester and kept trying to get us to laugh, but I just closed my eyes most of the time and waited for my baby to come. Let me tell you, it is really weird not to know what is going on on the other side of that drape, but I'm sure I wouldn't really want to know. All I could feel was the pressure as they tried to push the baby out by pushing on the top of my womb. They did have to use the vacuum once to help get him out, as apparently he was big and I am small. But 25 minutes or so after they started, he was here!

They had asked Jordan ahead of time if he wanted to peek over the drape and announce the gender. But that is what he had done with Kieran, and this time he wanted us to be able to find out at the same time. So the doctor announced that we had a baby boy, and we were thrilled!

They also asked Jordan if he wanted to cut the cord (which he did not get to do with Kieran), and he agreed to it, although he wasn't very excited about it. The cord had already been cut and then clamped, and they brought him over to a warming tray, so I guess he just got to cut it short, and he said it was a pretty underwhelming experience. :) Either way, it was such a blessing for me to be able to see Elias get wiped down and weighed and measured, since I only got to see Kieran briefly before he was whisked away for his assessment.

This time, he got to go back to the room with us, then Jordan went with him for his assessment, and it was a much shorter time period before I finally got to hold my baby in my arms.

Elias has been the perfect second baby! Our very first nursing session, I did not even have to teach him what to do--he was totally instinctual. He has been a very good feeder; I thought that Kieran was good, but I now realize that I was not the only one who had a learning curve. I also had to teach him how to properly latch. But this one is a natural!

It was so fun to introduce Kieran to his baby brother. You could tell that he was rather confused when Grandma and Grandpa brought him to the hospital. "What's going on?" "Why are Mommy and Daddy here?" He was interested in Elias and petted his head, but when we tried to get him to let Elias rest in his lap, he said, "Nooo..." and tried to push him away--not before we got this photo, however. :)

I love my boys! They are so adorable, and Kieran is starting to "claim" Elias, as Jordan would put it. We are still trying to teach him gentleness, and he has definitely been more boisterous and clingy, but I believe he is starting to acclimate to the changes at home.

Daddy is proud of his new boy.