Welcome, Baby Theo!

 

Theodore Joseph Daley arrived at 6:30am on Feb. 18 a little bit ahead of schedule. We were supposed to be at the hospital for a scheduled C-section at 5:30 am. But at 4am -- just a half-hour before our alarm went off -- my water broke. After that, I started having contractions just two minutes apart. We rushed to the hospital and there we discovered that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. The same thing happened with Nate, but it was unusual for it to be there for a baby that is early. We decided to go ahead with the C-section and my doctor was called in a little bit early to perform it. As the doctor on call said, "Dr. Barnes didn't want to miss it, but don't be surprised if she didn't have time to put her makeup on."

The surgery went well. I had less discomfort than last time and when they pulled Theo out, it seemed like everything was OK. When they pulled his head out, they suctioned his airway before delivering the rest of his body. Everyone in surgery kept saying how much hair he had -- even before they pulled him out. The first thing Chuck said is, "He looks just like Nate!" I heard him cry and they said his color was good and he was moving well. Chuck cut the umbilical cord, and they cleaned him up and brought him over to me, then Chuck and Theo headed back to our hospital room.

 

 Mommy meeting Theo for the first time.

Daddy holding Theo back in our hospital room.

It took another 20 minutes or so for them to sew me up and bring me back to the room. And by the time I got there, they'd taken Theo away to run some tests in the NICU because he inhaled the meconium. This is exactly what happened with Nate -- he was gone for about five hours after I delivered him and I hated that we didn't get a chance to bond immediately after his birth. With Nate, it was just to run tests and monitor him, but he was fine. With Theo, the x-rays showed that there actually was meconium deep in his lung and his breathing was labored because of it. I expected him back after a few hours, but the nurse practitioner came in and said that he was on oxygen and would be there for at least the next 24 hours and at worst, could be there for 2 weeks. They were monitoring him for infection as well, but since my water broke just a couple hours before delivery, there was  low chance of that.

Theo in the NICU. It's usually a no-no to put a baby on its tummy, but this position helps him cough up the fluid.

Since I was still in recovery and couldn't even move my feet, I couldn't go over there to see him, but Chuck did. I think we were both really sad that he was going to be in the NICU overnight, but we knew he would be OK. It was just frustrating to not be able to see or hold him. But later that night, the nurse asked if I could come over to hold and breastfeed Theo.

Mommy finally getting to hold Theo later that night in the NICU.

I was amazed at how much he looked like Nate, except with a lot more dark hair. And he's so little! He was just four ounces less than Nate was (and as we know, Nate has been in the 80-90th percentile his whole life), but holding a newborn again was just wonderful. He seemed so healthy and strong, so I had a good feeling that he would be discharged the next morning.

Theo came into our room around noon the next day and everything was great. We found out that he had a short frenulum, which is the piece of skin that holds the tongue to the floor of his mouth. It was so close to the tip of his tongue that he couldn't stick his tongue past his bottom teeth, let alone stick it out of his mouth. This could cause problems with breastfeeding and with speech later in life, so they cut it on Saturday. It's a fairly easy procedure and not a lot of pain, and he's been a champion nurser since then. 

We were discharged on Sunday around noon and were able to come home. Mary and Adam brought Nate over soon after and he's still getting used to his little brother. For the most part, he seems excited and wants to hold him and touch his hair and show us where his nose and ears are. But there have been a few bouts of jealousy, where he wants to sit on my lap at the same time I'm nursing Theo or will put a book he wants me to read directly on top of Theo's head. Chuck and I have been crazy busy with the two of them, but it's probably been easier than I thought. I forgot how much newborns sleep!

Toddler transition time

Nate has had to grow up fast in the past couple months. The biggest change is moving from his baby nursery and crib that he's slept in since he was born into a big-boy toddler bed (which is actually quite miniature and we're not even allowed to sit on it). We were dreading the big move because it meant that we could no longer count on his predictable sleep pattern -- which has been 7 pm to 6 am with a 2-3 hour nap at least since he turned 1.

We told him it was his "big boy bed" and his special room with a sheet with puppies, lions, elephants and monkeys on it. And most importantly, we showed him how to run down the hallway yelling at the top of our lungs and then collapse on the bed. OK, he started that but we encouraged it. There have been a couple instances of him simply walking out of his bedroom into the living room at 9pm, and he also tends to move his bed to the middle of the room if he isn't quite tired yet. And of course, he's fallen out of bed a few times, but he's super-tough and learning to sleep like a normal human being with his head at the top of the bed rather than rotating all over the place. Once Chuck actually found him standing at the side of the bed with his head on the pillow, totally asleep. But it's been three weeks, and I must say, it was SOOOO much easier than I expected. He has a new (and preferred, as far as I'm concerned) sleep schedule -- 8:30pm to 7:30am. That means I get to see more of him after I come home from work AND sleep in! And what is so funny is that in the morning, he'll just sit at the bottom of the bed with his legs between the slats and just babble or moan for me. He won't get up or come out of his room. Next item on the list: the paci. We'll wait until after Baby is home for a while, otherwise he'll just pluck the baby's paci right out of his mouth.

Speaking of Baby, he'll be here in just 13 days! In some ways, I feel like this pregnancy has flown by, but I'm also feeling the physical effects of pregnancy more than I did last time. That is what happens when you have to lift a 30 lb toddler at least 25 times a day. I'm pretty sure that this baby will be big like Nate, though he'll be 11 days earlier than Nate was so maybe he'll be more of a normal size. I'm guessing 8 lbs even. I brought down all of Nate's baby clothes last weekend and I can't believe how tiny they are! It makes me excited to have a newborn in the house again ... and also a little nostalgic because my first born is all grown up!