Hospital Stay

The hospital stay was a blur of nurses, doctors, pain, and very little rest/sleep.  I honestly thought this go 'round would kind of be a "breeze" since we knew what to expect...and since I was on my feet, showering, putting on makeup, etc. by day two with Reid.  Not so... It was extremely painful and frustrating this time.  There seemed to be zero "down time."   But as each day goes by, I block out more of the negative and am even that much more thankful for the positive.  No wonder we never take pictures of the bad stuff--we don't want to remember that part!

 

 

We loved our visitors in the hospital (and thankfully, they came on day one, when I felt great since the epidural was still in!) and couldn't wait for everyone to meet Carter.

Aunt Lala (I know one of these days, I'll have to actually say Aunt Laura, but I love how Reid calls her Lala!) and the Frenches were waiting in the lobby and were our first visitors once we were finally wheeled into our permanent room.  Meeting Aunt Lala for the first time:

Then Mamere...

Aunt Kristen...

And Papa!

This little guy slept through it all.  No one was quite sure what color his eyes were (and even now...not positive!  They seem to be a dark steel grey with a little bit of green in them...but I guess we'll see!)

Three generations of fine French men!

The French side of the family...  They were so sweet to come up on Sunday so they could be ready for "D day" and drove back soon after meeting the newest French.  So glad they could come!!

I had really great nurses the entire stay, but I think my favorites were on the first day.  Here's my nurse (who had taught a class we took when I was pregnant with Reid, then the Big Siblings class we took Reid to in February) and Carter's nurse (who we had twice!).

When Laura dropped Reid off at Holli's that morning, she told him that he'd get to meet baby brother after nap time.  As she was leaving, he was telling Holli, "I can't wait to take a nap!"  (words we'd never normally hear, lol!)  That afternoon, it was Reid's first time to meet baby brother.  I was really, really nervous about how he would react when he saw me holding Carter because for years, anytime another kid hugs me (or if I hold a baby), he gets very jealous and says, "No!!!  That's MY Mommy!"  Not that you'd be able to tell he loved me normally, lol, because for the first 3 years of his life, I kind of wondered if he even liked me ;)  But he handled it beautifully and surprisingly, he was most concerned about when I was coming home from the hospital, not that we had a new member of the family.  Oddly enough, I think his attachment to me grew a lot last month when Jason had the flu and we couldn't be around him.  Each of the nurses had their own advice as to what was the best way to introduce baby brother:  have the baby in the bassinet so it's not threatening, have Daddy holding the baby, etc.  But when it came time for him to arrive, I was already holding Carter (Oops! The one thing they didn't recommend...)  Surprisingly, Reid did great!!

And one of my very favorite pictures of the entire week...

 

On Wednesday, my folks came up from Houston.  They coordinated plans with Laura so that Grumpy could ride home with her on Thursday, keeping them from having two cars here unnecessarily.  Grammy meeting Carter for the first time:

Grammy also got Laura to show her the ropes around our house.  Laura had come up on Sunday and was a tremendous help in getting Reid to Holli's, to school, and staying with me at the hospital for a little sister time while Jason took Reid to "Desserts with Dad" at his preschool on Tuesday night.  This, of course, is Jason's busiest time of the year, so having help here enabled him to work two days that week so that he wasn't swamped the following Monday.  Even on his days "off," he's never really off and continues to get phone calls, meeting appointments, etc. so this really was ideal.  Plus, it gave Laura and me the chance for some good sister time!  It meant the world to me that she took over half a week away from her own kids to come hang out and be there when Carter was born.  :) 

Here's a cute photo of the Shepherd side of the family...

Meeting Grumpy for the first time...

And having a little fun on Mommy's bed "that goes up and down!"  He was (once again) enthralled by the balloons they'd brought on day one.  He tangled his Dusty Crophopper plane in all the curly ribbon "so that Dusty can fly!" (with the mylar balloon)

Carter also got his first test while in the hospital...the newborn hearing screener.  He passed-whew!

And I love this picture because you can see the crib decoration Reid got to make for Carter at the Big Siblings class...  A picture of himself (decorated in crayon) with "I'm a Big Brother!" wording.

I know Jason was exhausted, working two full days and spending the others at the hospital/coming home.  You can see the fatigue in this one.  And of all days to be stuck in traffic, it happened to be the last night I was in the hospital--when we got our steak and lobster celebration dinner.  But it was still delicious, even lukewarm and eating one handed (Carter has a sixth sense about knowing when mealtimes are--not sure I've eaten any meals with two hands since he arrived!).

Our little cutie

Thursday arrived and checkout was a whirlwind.  My staples were removed, all the discharge paperwork was thrown at us, we packed everything, and it was time to bring our little man home.  Welcome to the world, Carter Graham French!!  We love you and can't wait to see what God has planned for your life!

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart ..." Jeremiah 1:5  (NLT)

 

Happy Birthday to Carter!!!

Carter's birth day arrived bright and early.  Jason and I got up around 4:45 and I was set to check in at the hospital at 5:30am.  They checked my vitals and attempted to put in my IV (on my left arm, they rolled and burst two veins...still have the ugly bruise to prove it) and finally put one in my right arm.  Fortunately, that was not indicative of how the day would go.  My doctor arrived at about 6:30 and checked in with us.  The waiting was probably the hardest part because I really started getting nervous when they wheeled me back!  I just kept praying...

Then, it was go time!  Eek!!  It was a different experience, going in knowing you'd have a c-section this time.  I actually walked to the O.R., hopped up onto the table, and then they gave me my epidural.  That probably freaked me out more than anything because I was worried it wouldn't kick in quickly enough.  Of course, the doctors and nurses all do this every day...so of course they know what they're doing!  Everyone was very nice and knowledgeable.  I loved the anesthesiologist practitioner (I think that was his title?) because he kept making sure I was indeed warm enough.  Last time, I shook violently the entire time (which worried me...would it affect the cutting, stitching, etc?) and they kept laying hot towels on me.  This time, they had a great little heater they put under the blanket that covered my upper body, so I was nice and toasty warm the whole time.  I think he was a little surprised that I never got too hot :) 

7:56am.  The first glimpse of Baby Carter! 

 I couldn't see anything but a curtain, but I could sure hear when he came out!  Boy...does this baby boy have a great set of lungs!  He had an initial gurgly cry, then "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

His vitals all checked out nicely.

Big boy!  8 lbs., 3.7oz. and 19" long.  No wonder my ribs hurt that last month!!

First diaper.  Daddy lucked out and didn't have to put it on this time :)  

They did a few more things, put Carter's footprints on Daddy's scrub shirt, and Carter cried, cried, and cried some more.  Look at that pouty lip!

I swear he came out hungry.  Check out that tongue!  This kid has been an absolute chow hound from day one.  

Mommy's first glimpse!  Jason had been snapping pictures and keeping me posted up until this point, so I breathed a sigh of relief to find that he had all ten fingers and toes.  I got to kiss my newest little guy and was one happy Mommy.

3/4 of our family of four

I began the uncontrollable shaking the moment they turned off my heater, which made me giggle a bit.  I was scared I'd drop Carter because I was shaking so hard, so was quite relieved when they had Jason wheel Carter in the bassinet behind me.  Once in recovery, they attempted to bring my body temp back up with hot towels, but as soon as they handed me Carter, I quit.  The nurse said that usually calms down baby and Mommy. 

 After a couple of hours in recovery, we were wheeled down the hall to my room.  Happy Mommy, happy Daddy, happy baby! 

We are so excited for our 2/24/14 baby.  (Pretty cool date, huh?)  We thank the Lord that everything went smoothly and Carter is a healthy baby boy!! 

Hospital Photo Shoot

So I know you're all waiting on the big story and hospital pics...  But some little guy is keeping me quite busy.  He eats all day (and night) long.  So here's a little sneak peek at what little man Carter looked like in the hospital.  :)

Our Last Week as a Family of Three

Last week, my final week of work, I totally struggled.  I was past the stress (although I did want to be sure I left everything in order for my long term sub) and ecstatic everyone seemed to finally be well in our family, but I was exhausted (sleep was a thing of the past between tinkle breaks on the hour and contractions all night most nights), I hurt from being on my feet all day, we had a few special events (translation...wild kids and several days off of our normal schedule), and as the week went on, I was swelling more each day.  I just wanted to meet this little guy, but at the same time I did hope he stayed in there as long as he needed.  Reid kept asking when baby brother was coming out (even though we had a countdown going) and I'd say, "Next Monday, or whenever God is ready for him to!" He was ready, too!!  The week got the best of me, so I finally decided to take Friday off so Reid and I could have a nice day to ourselves.  I was so glad, too, because my legs felt like tree trunks pretty much as soon as I rolled out of bed that morning.  We enjoyed watching Planes, reading books, looking at part of Reid's baby book, eating at Sonic (Reid's request), and a much needed carwash.  It was even warm enough to play at the park for a little while that afternoon.  Reid didn't seem to mind that all I could do was sit there--he still had fun.  At the carwash:

On Saturday, we went on a wild goose hunt for a Planes plane, Rochelle.  Unless you want to pay $40 on Amazon, the only place she is advertised is Toys 'R Us or Target.  We went to several, but no luck.  Lunch was in order (and I still couldn't have the good sushi/sashimi), so we opted for a meal similar to this one, minus the laksa.  With everyone planning on coming in Monday and my doctor performing the c-section, I opted out of the spicy laksa...just in case it sent me into labor.  A little bit came with the prata-like bread anyways, and I had to have the Mee Goreng noodles.  Jason enjoyed the Hianese chicken rice and Reid surprised us by trying most of the dishes.  I was sad I didn't take a picture of my delicious, huge mango snow ice (similar to an ice kachang, which I fell in love with in Singapore and have never found in the States).  It was big enough for this pregnant lady and her husband...and Reid enjoyed a few bites of the ice cream part.  

It's been so hard for me to lean over the tub lately that Jason has taken over bath time.  We let Reid pick who reads bedtime books, but 99% of the time, it's Mommy.  Poor guy, though, because Mommy's belly takes up the whole chair!  Reid didn't seem to mind until the last week...when he literally didn't have any room.  "Mommy, I'm squished!"

 

Silly boy still doesn't like to take pictures, as you can see...

 

I also realized I never posted any pictures from the shower my class threw me a few weeks ago.  The kids were so excited--it was precious.  I was blown away by the generosity of them, too, and we got some really neat items and outfits.  There were presents, of course...

 A super cute outfit, complete with hat, sweater, and little corduroys.

This adorable little nap mat/tummy time mat is a super soft blue puppy dog.  I didn't realized until later that it has Carter's name monogrammed on it...his first "own" official item.

We also played games.  The kids were excited about estimating Mrs. French's belly size, then measuring to see how they did.  A couple of them actually got exactly the circumference!  A few were ridiculously big, and a sweet few made me super skinny.  We also got to play the "guess the baby food" game.  There were snickers, giggles, "eeew!"s, and fake gags as they passed the jars around.  You could totally tell who had a baby brother/sister at home, though, because they guessed many of them correctly.  It was a fun time with my class and I think they enjoyed it even more than I did.  I was excited to share this special time with them, yet felt a wee bit guilty that I'd be gone for nine weeks (which figures...this is the best class I've had in about seven years!).  But my long term sub is fabulous, has good experience, and is very sweet, so I am not worried :)