Carson graced us with his arrival on the afternoon of February 4, 2015 at 1:19 PM.
He weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long, with a head circumference was 14.5".
Every ache, every pain, every annoying pregnancy 'side effect' was utterly and completely worth it. This little boy is our newest little love.
Carson, only a couple of hours old
It's hard to believe two and a half weeks have already passed since we brought this little guy home... it's a lot busier with three :) It seems there is always someone who needs me, something to clean up, and something to do other than sit down and focus on my thoughts... but today my singular goal is to get this blog updated. I don't want another day to go by, risking my memories beginning to fade of these beautiful first weeks as a family of five.
The Big Day:
At my 38 week OB appointment, Dr. Weinrich suggested that if we wanted to 'get the show on the road' that we could schedule an induction. In his words, my labor and delivery would be a 'slam dunk' since I was again dilated to 5 cm and both of my first two labors went quickly. He knew my biggest worry was that labor was going to go really fast. I was very anxious and a little scared about the possibility of getting to the hospital too late for a smooth and hopefully painless delivery. (Ya right!). I also tested GBS positive, meaning I would need ideally 4 hours of antibiotics to ensure baby wouldn't pick up the bacteria on the way out. I was not even at the hospital for 4 hours before Izzy was born, so I was nervous. So, we scheduled for the following Wednesday, one day past the 39 week mark, to arrive at the hospital, receive antibiotics, have my water broken, and see what happened.
That was the longest, weirdest week. Having a week to think, worry, and wonder, was almost too much for me :) I was excited, don't get me wrong, but it gave me a little too much time to think and worry. But that Tuesday night, as I left school for the last time for nearly 7 months, I had a huge smile on my face.
We decided not to tell Cooper and Izzy, for fear that something would not go according to plan and the baby wouldn't actually arrive that next day. Also, Cooper would have not been able to think or talk about anything else, so we wanted to spare Kris, our daycare provider, the long day that could have been! Before bed, we got a couple pictures with my baby belly, Cooper and Izzy gave the baby a few last kisses, and I snuggled my two babies into bed. We dropped them off at daycare the next morning and headed to Waconia to meet our new little baby.
The morning of Carson's Birthday... 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant
We arrived at the hospital and were in for a little surprise... apparently in the hour before we arrived, four other women had arrived, thinking they were in labor. So we were told there was a chance my induction would be cancelled if, in fact, all of these women would be in actual labor. So we waited. And waited. We tried not to imagine driving home, me still pregnant, no baby in the back seat, and still waiting. We sat for about a half hour, which felt like an eternity, before another nurse came and told us they were not going to send us home, and that they wanted to get me admitted before all the rooms filled up (I swear the look she gave me said she knew how we were feeling!!). Plus, she was pretty certain all those other women were going to be sent home. So, thankfully, we headed back for the tied-for-first best day of our lives :)
By 8:30, the best nurse on the planet, Tammy, had my antibiotic started, and we had the game plan decided. My doctor would be back at 10:30 to break my water, and we'd go from there. Dr. Weinrich joked that he needed me to avoid giving birth between 2:30 and 4:00, because he had a meeting for his son at school, and that was the only hour or so that he couldn't be with us. It was the joke of the day... and surprisingly, Baby #3 came with more than enough time to spare!! For the two hours, we watched TV, talked, and debated our boy names. We still weren't 100% sure what Baby's name would be if he was a boy. The girl name we'd had locked up for months. 10:30 came, the doctor broke my water, and we waiting some more. By 11:00, I was getting antsy to get out of bed and walk around--I wanted to get things moving! So I got out of bed, and in just a few 'laps' around the birthing wing, my contractions were coming on pretty strong. I wanted to do some laboring on my own, and I didn't want an epidural to potentially stall things out, so I tried to be as tough as I could for a while... The point I knew I was ready for the epidural was when I was kneeling on the floor, leaning on the bed. The contractions were coming pretty strong. The nurse paged the anesthesiologist (the one with the reputation for taking FOREVER to get to his patients), and it was determined that I was just past 7 cm. I got the epidural, and kept waiting for it to really kick in. Well, it never did. I ended up with one numb leg and a numb side of my stomach. Not exactly what I had hoped for.
After some painful contractions and about fifteen minutes of pushing, we met our little miracle at 1:19 PM. I was surprised that Jeremy didn't immediately announce whether it was a boy or girl, but he said afterward that he was so wrapped up in making sure everything looked healthy and was in the right places, that he wasn't even thinking to check right away. But, it only took a few seconds to realize it was a BOY! The doctor put him on my chest, and it was love at first sight. Jeremy cut the cord and I just snuggled our baby boy. We noticed right away that he had big hands and long fingers. He also had a full head of downy blonde hair. He took a while to 'pink' up, so his picture debut looks a little blue. But after warming up, he had a perfect and healthy pink complexion. He was quiet, only crying for a few seconds until he heard our voices and felt my snuggles. He made lots of soft grunts and groans in that first hour :) After a while, the nurse weighed, measured and checked him over. There was a little concern about his blood sugar levels, being that he was 9 lbs 2 oz and only 39 weeks, but after the first 12 hours, there was nothing to worry about. We decided his name would be Carson Henry. Carson is the name we'd had on our minds for the previous few weeks, and we thought it sounded great with Cooper and Isabelle. Henry is a special middle name because it's my grandpa's name. I can just imagine the smile Grandpa Henry would have had if he'd have had the chance to meet our kids.
I was thrilled to have another little guy in my life. I was surprised how excited I felt. It was a feeling unlike I felt with either Cooper or Izzy. With Cooper, I felt anticipation and joy, and with Izzy, I felt relief and calm peace. With Carson, I felt almost giddy. I guess I was excited to finally have him, excited to have survived his birth without the epidural I had hoped for, excited for his brother and sister to meet him, excited to have a third healthy baby, and excited for the wild ride that was just beginning. I just couldn't stop smiling. Jeremy was a proud and attentive dad, making sure I was okay, and taking lots of pictures of Carson as he was being checked over. My favorite picture from the labor and delivery room is the one of Jeremy holding Carson for the first time.
Anxiously waiting...
He's here!!!
Hello, little man!
Already looking like a smartie :)
9 lbs. 2 oz. One big little guy!!
Ahhh... excitement and relief... snuggles with mommy!
Carson's First Hour... my little snuggler :)
Proud daddy
We made our phone calls, enjoyed some time alone with our new baby, and made sure Isabelle and Cooper were the first to meet him:
For all the waiting we did to start the day, the rest of the afternoon and evening FLEW by! We had a few visitors that first night after Cooper and Izzy came, and the rest of our family came by the next day. It was a very relaxing stay at the hospital, and visitors stayed for only a little while... probably because they could see just how tired I was :) Jeremy spent Thursday with the big kids, so I spent much of the daytime alone with Carson, snuggling, snoozing, and getting to know him. It struck me as kind of funny... that this was how it was going to be for a while, at least until Carson gets a little older... me with the baby, and dad with the big kids. I don't mind, though. It just reminds me I'll need to make a special effort to get quality time in with Izzy and Cooper.
Our new family of Five!!
Cooper was very excited to hold and kiss Carson. Izzy wasn't... she took a bit longer to warm up!
From the start, Carson was a calm and content little guy. He took to nursing right away, making it very easy. His favorite way to be held was up on my chest. I think my heart beat calmed him down.
One more night in the hospital... rest up for home!
First night snuggling with dad
Enjoying their gifts from their little brother
Mommy's boy!
Big Guy!
Not so sure he likes the seat...
By the middle of the day on Friday, we were headed home with our third little bundle of joy!! We were excited and anxious to get started with the rest of our lives together :)
Here we go, little guy --- are you ready for real life to begin?!?!?
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