2 1/2 weeks Postpartum

So it has been a little while since Lex made his arrival and I've had major surgery and I wanted to update as to how we are both doing. Lex is growing like a weed, and at his last appointment (1 week old), he had gained 3 ounces in 2 days!! Amazing! My milk has come in strong, since the day after we were discharged, and I've been able to pump every day, as to have a stash for when I go back to work. I think Lex is past the 7 pound mark now, he seems so much heavier. He also looks like a baby now, not a newborn. He is a pro sleeper, and only has the occasional night where he wakes up more than twice. His usual sleeping pattern is once he's down for the night, he will sleep between 4-6 hours straight, then wakes up to get changed, eat, and then he's down again for at least another 2 hours. Then he wakes up, gets changed, eats, and has another major nap, usually 2-3 hours. It's been so nice, for both Ken and I. There have only been a few times since Lex has been born that Ken and I have have been baffled and stressed about his crying. He really is a wonderful, calm baby, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I am so in love with my son!
As for myself, I am doing very well. The surgery was scary obviously, and I'm glad we were given an extra day at the hospital. Moving anything at all hurt, and something as simple as turning over in bed was difficult. It made me very upset one night, while Ken was asleep (he had been up for too long and couldn't keep his eyes open), and Lex was in his bassinet, and started to cry. I couldn't get out of bed to answer his cry... I had to rely on the nurse to give him to me so I could comfort him. And it made me so sad, to know that at that moment, I couldn't take care of my own baby.
Since we've been home, I have been much better. I haven't had to take anything stronger than ibuprofen since like day 3 home, and getting around has become much easier. I've been able to not only take care of Lex, but also somewhat take care of my home as well. At my follow up appointment to check my incision, Dr Dickson was very pleased and said I will barely have any scar at all, that I'm healing very well. I do have some nerve damage obviously, so part of my tummy near the incision is numb. The numbness has improved in the last week or so, but it is still a dulled sensation. I hope to get most of it back, but I guess we will see.
I had my mother in law here from California for a week (she arrived right after we were home) , which was a huge help. It was nice not to worry about making dinner, or dishes being done, or the floor being dirty, at least for a little while. We hadn't seen her in 3 years, so it was nice to be able to visit again and hear how Ken's family is doing.
Ken has been also amazing, and is the best daddy to my son I could ever ask for. He goes back to work tomorrow night, and I'm not ready. Granted, he had a lot more time off than we both thought he would, but it will still be hard without him here. And on that note, I am dreading going back to work, only because I know it will be so hard for me to leave him, even if it is on the other side of the wall and with a coworker I trust completely. It will take some getting used to not only getting myself ready but Lex ready as well. It will be ok, just takes practice. Here is one of Lex's first pictures:

Birth Story

Well, Lex is currently napping, so I figured I would take the time to update. Lex is obviously here, and made his grand entrance on Sept 4th. So here goes the story:

Woke up early on the 3rd in order to get to the hospital at 8 am. Was admitted with only a little wait, and had Ken and my mom all set up to wait out my labor with me. By 8:30 or so, Dr Dickson came in and decided the best way to start the induction was to break my water, and moniter my contractions and Lex's heartbeat. Breaking my water hurt a little, but the result was pretty gross, I'm sorry. Feeling like you're peeing your pants every time you move even slightly got old, very quickly. The nurses were great though, and definitely made me feel better about what was going on.
I started to feel contractions soon after, although they were very mild. Lex was still doing great. It was pretty easy until around 6 pm or so, even though I wasn't progressing very fast. I believe at that point, I was still at like a 3cm and Lex was still a -2. Lex was tuned wrong (sunny side up), so there was a lot of back pain when I did have a contraction, and they progressively snaked around to my tummy area. By 6 or so, I was pretty tired, and the contractions, while not overly painful yet, were making me exhausted. I requested some type of pain management, and was given a shot of fentynol, just to take the edge off. We were all able to catch a little bit of sleep, which felt awesome.
Contractions came on very strong and often after the shot wore off. I guess because Lex was turned wrong as well, my contractions came up as a wave pattern, called coupling. I didn't get a break in between each contraction, so I could have 3 or 4 stacked on top of each other. Ken as amazing though, and stayed by my side the entire time, helping me stay focused with breathing and hand squeezing.
Some friends came in around 8:30, to visit (or so I thought). They even brought grapes, crackers, and juice for mom and Ken. It was nice to see them and visit, although it was right in the middle of my strongest contractions, so they really got to see the labor process haha. I thought they had come just to see how I was doing, and would return when Lex was born. But they had decided they were camping out, and not leaving until he was born. I have the best friends! The nurses even let them stay in a postpartum room to hang out and sleep while I was laboring.
The pain was getting very intense, and I asked for a epidural, which was a heaven send. That allowed Ken, myself, and my mom some rest, since it looked like we were in for the long haul. It was coming up on midnight and I was still only at 5 cm, and thankfully Lex had moved to a -1 station. Not a whole lot though for being in labor about 16 hours already.
I drifted in and out of sleep, Ken was sleeping like a log on the daddy bed, and my mom was trying to rest in an armchair, while listening to Lex's heart monitor. Around 2:45ish in the morning (while I'm still half asleep) I hear my mom yell "BABY IS IN DISTRESS!!!" and my room gets flooded with nurses. They have me flip on my side, then try to get on my hands and knees (which was impossible having being numb from the waist down) and then flip on my other side. I guess Lex's heart rate had dropped very suddenly from the 140's into the 60's. Obviously something was wrong.
5 minutes after that, my nurse said that Dr Dickson was calling it, and they were going to prep me for an emergency c-section. The one thing I didn't want to happen, was happening. My mom was crying, which made me cry, and I was trying my best to stay calm to keep Lex from having more trouble. Within 15 minutes or less, I was being wheeled out of my room and into the OR, completely numb from the chest down. I am so thankful that my friends were there camping out, they helped my mom be ok instead of being by herself while I was in surgery.
I said a short prayer as they were getting ready, I had an awful feeling about the surgery and was obviously very scared about myself and about Lex. Ken came in shortly after and held my hand the entire time. I ended up throwing up several times during the surgery, and it was scary as well, because I was so numb, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I know the feeling already from my asthma, but it was 20 times worse. Very scary. I was also so very sleepy, it was so hard to keep focused and keep my eyes open. I'm not sure if it was a reaction from the medication or just the temperature in the OR, but on top of all that, I had uncontrollable shaking.  My jaw and mouth started to hurt from my teeth chattering.
Lex was born at 335 am on the 4th, and hearing his first cry was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Ken kept talking to me about his crying, and I couldn't help but cry. They had Ken go with Lex soon after, and had him change his first diaper and get his weight. 6 pounds, 14 ounces. So small! Stitching me up took longer than I expected, and all I wanted as to see my baby. Ken was able to bring him to me and hold him next to my head, and that made me start crying all over again. He was absolutely beautiful! As soon as I was stitched up, they wheeled me into recovery and I was able to see Lex fully and look at all his little details. They warmed me up and made sure I was ok, then they layed Lex on my chest for skin on skin and first time breastfeeding. Lex took to feeding like a pro, and the nurse was surprised, she made the comment "You could teach other babies to do this!".    
Soon after, around 5:30 or so, we were wheeled into postpartum, where my friends and mom were waiting. My mom was first, and 4 of my friends got to hold Lex within hours of him being born, which was so very special. My mom ended up staying a few more hours after my friends left (around 6:30 am) to let Ken and I sleep, which was a huge blessing. She also got to bond with Lex, which I know is so important to her, although she was up for over 28 hours at that point.
We ended up staying at the hospital until friday night, just to make sure Lex and I were both ok. You never know how much you use your stomach muscles until you can't anymore!
Lex is perfectly healthy, and although his entrance to the world was long and a bit scary, he is here and I am so in love, I can't believe it. He is perfect!

Next time I have some time, I will update about our hospital stay and how my healing is going.

41 weeks

Well, obviously little Lex is not here yet. Currently overdue by a week, and Ken and I have decided that if he doesn't decide to come on his own by Tuesday, we're going ahead with an induction. I wish I could give him more time, but being in FMLA kind of limits the timeline of him getting here and me being able to take as much time as I want and being comfortable going back to work.
I am officially on maternity leave, and it's nice to know that I have dinners in the freezer ready to go, and laundry can wait for a while if I need it to, since neither Ken or I need work uniforms for at least 2 weeks. I've been working on cleaning the house from top to bottom. One, to help me stay active and encourage labor to start, and two, if we do have to induce, I want to come home to a clean house and not stress about dishes or a dirty carpet. Which I know I will unless I do everything now.
I wish we had a few more things for Lex, but honestly they can wait, at least a little longer. I wanted to have a new changing pad and covers (the one I had in the garage is kind of torn up, it will suffice but new would be better, and I have no covers for it), and I wanted to have a hamper in his room too. The hamper can wait though, I know.

My appetite sure have improved this last week though, I can't stop eating! If anyone know me personally at all, they know I can eat 3-4 bites of dinner and be stuffed. Normal for me. So when I get home from work, and can eat a hamburger, an english muffin, strawberries, a small bowl of cereal, a glass of juice, and 3 glasses of water on top of it within 2-3 hour span... yeah. I think Lex is growing!! It's been like this for over a week now, I feel like I'm back in the second trimester.

It's kind of surreal at this point, to know that by Tuesday, for sure, this little boy will be here. Not just here, but like HERE. Out of me and like a real life baby. Oh my GOSH!! It blows my mind! Can't wait!