Bennett's Birth Story--Part Two

If you haven't already, read Part One here.


After his surprise entrance, Bennett headed to the nursery with Ryan and one of the nurses so he could be weighed, cleaned up and evaluated.

The nurses rounded up to an even 9 pounds and measured him at 19.75 inches.  Big boy!

It seemed like it took forever to get me sewed up and ready to head to recovery.  The doctor had warned me it would take a bit longer this time because of scar tissue, but I watched the clock as almost an hour passed before I finally heard the doctor talking about placing sterie strips on my incision.  I knew it was almost time, and I reminded her I'd had an allergic reaction to the strips with my first c-section.  She and the nurses insisted they wouldn't be on long enough to cause a problem, and if they did, they'd remove them right away.

Wide awake, waiting for Mommy to come to the recovery room.

They finished up, and I headed to recovery where Bennett was more than ready to nurse.  He shook his head side to side, mouth agape like a little shark and latched on right away.  The one thing I was most worried about before delivery is that he wouldn't be as good of a nurser as Gavin, but he proved me wrong right away.  


We spent the next hour in recovery together before we headed to our hospital room, and by the time we got in and settled, it was almost 5 AM.  My mom came in to meet her new grandson and then headed home so we could try and get some sleep after being up all night.


We only got about two hours before excited visitors started showing up, ready to meet our newest little man.  I was most excited about seeing Gavin, and watching him meet his baby brother for the first time, but I was anxious about it, too.  We'd tried everything we knew to prepare him, but this was the real deal now and I wasn't sure how he'd react.  But I know my boy, and I should've known how over the moon he would be for his brother right from the start.  Deep down I think I always knew.

Gavin's first look at Bennett.  "Hi, Baby Doc!" he said.

"Can I hold him?"

My two boys.  Probably the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

What I wasn't prepared for was the giant boy who walked through that hospital door.  The smart, capable, walking, talking, joking boy who would never again look like a baby to me.  Ryan and I both cried like the big saps we are.  It was just too much seeing our two boys together after such a long wait, too much when we thought about how blessed we'll be to watch these boys love each other, fight with each other and hopefully, become the best of friends.


I also wasn't prepared for how terrified Gavin would be of me.  The IV, the hospital bed, the leg compression cuffs...it was all a little too much for him and he wouldn't come near me.  Broke my heart the tiniest bit, but I got my hugs and kisses soon enough after they unhooked me from all the machines and I could get up and out of bed.

We spent the rest of the day alternating between catnaps and entertaining visitors.  It didn't take long before I started getting a little itchy and wondering if I was having another reaction to the sterie strips.  By the next morning when my regular doctor came in to check on me, I already had a blistery reaction and she ordered the strips to be taken off immediately.  I was pissed, and wishing I'd been more adamant with the doctor on call.  Lesson learned!


Poor Bennett had a reaction, too to the eye ointment and ended up with red, swollen eyes his second day of life.  It also didn't take us long to notice he was becoming jaundiced.  No surprise to us considering it runs in Ryan's family and we'd experienced it with Gavin, too.

Poor baby!  Swollen red eyes and yellow skin.

By the third day, Bennett's jaundice levels had reached 14 and the pediatrician ordered him under light therapy, something we hadn't had to worry about with Gavin.  It was a miserably exhausting and emotional day.  My milk hadn't come in yet and Bennett was nursing every hour, desperate for something to eat.  He was only content to be in my arms, which made putting him under the light very difficult.  Even Ryan, my usually calm and collected hubby, ended up yelling at one of the nurses when she insisted our screaming newborn "just needed to get used to the machine."

Sucking on Daddy's finger while in the light therapy machine.

Lounging and napping, with feet up.

Thankfully, we were able to calm Bennett down enough to be in the machine most of the day, and used a portable device called a wallaby the rest of the time.  My milk came in that evening, and once his belly was full, he zonked out enough to sleep in the machine between feedings the rest of the night.  By the next morning, he was looking like a normal baby again and his level was down to an 11, which meant he was able to go home when we were discharged later that day.

Bennett in his coming home outfit, ready to go.

Bright-eyed and calm the whole car ride home.

I, however, am still healing from the reaction I had to the sterie strips.  Even after a major abdominal surgery, I ended up using more benadryl and other "anti-itch" medications than I did pain medication.  I did feel a little satisfaction though when I went in for a check up and saw the doctor who'd done the surgery.  She took one look at my rash and apologized profusely, saying "she itched for me."  My guess is she'll listen better to her patients in the future.


Even with all the pain and frustration (and itching), our new little man is indescribably awesome, and I couldn't be more in love.  I wasn't sure how there was going to be room in my heart for another child, but everyone was right...my heart grew the instant I saw him.  It's like there was always a place there, just waiting to be filled up by him.