There's a Baby! With a side of DRAMA!!

 

First of ALL, I'm going to need a vacation to recover from this vacation. I'm so tired. My "helping the new parents" plan went from being around to run the Kid to volleyball etc. and otherwise do my own stuff, to housing her for the week. The Kid was on an air mattress in my living room through Thursday night, we've been dining on McDonald's drive thru after 8 p.m. every night, etc. I'm craving plant based meals and sleep like you wouldn't believe.

I've heard of people who go on actual vacations and sit by the pool drinking fruity cocktails and stuff. That sounds nice, and I'd like to try it someday. I got the dogs groomed (they look adorable) and have been cleaning house and keeping and Ubering a tween. We'd thought it would just be for Tuesday night. The plan was for daughter to be induced on Tuesday morning, they'd do an overnight in the hospital and bring the baby home late Wednesday, or possibly Thursday. 

Yeah. That didn't happen. 

When we left our Tiny Hero last Friday, he'd had yet another ultrasound and stress test and had assumed the standard head-down birth position. Conditions were go for launch via induction on Tuesday. (He was being induced 3 weeks early because in recent weeks my daughter's normally perfect blood pressure was getting wonky and spiking, especially in the mornings. Apparently she really does hate mornings, because it would normalize later in the day, but her OB decided that birthing him a bit early was the way to go.)

So, on Tuesday morning they started the drugs to induce labor and...nothing happened. They tried the next drug. Nope, nada. No contractions, no nothing. After 24 hours of administering drugs and absolutely nothing happening, there was talk of further intervention to kick-start labor when my daughter called a halt to it and said she'd prefer a c-section at this point. She pointed out that at this point she hadn't slept in over 24 hours and even if they did manage to start labor eventually, she'd be too tired to push him out. And her intuition was telling her this was going to end with a c-section.

To her great credit, her OB listened, and the c-section was done Wednesday morning, and I'm convinced it may have saved the baby's life. (Her OB appears to think so too.)

Sometime between the Friday ultrasound showing him in launch position and Wednesday morning, the little guy had managed to flip into breech AND put a true knot in his umbilical cord. This was quite a feat for a 7 lb. 11 oz. 20.5 in. little chonker, but he did it. He's already athletic, obviously.

Had they proceeded with induction and a normal birth it wouldn't have worked, there would have been a c-section anyway when they realized he was breech, and due to the knotted cord, labor would have been very dangerous for the baby.  My daughter texted to say that when the doctor came to check on her the next morning, she told her that she and the baby are now legends in the OB practice, and again marveled about her instinct to call a halt to attempting labor. "I don't know what crazy intuition you have, but you made the right call."

After his dramatic entrance he initially had a bit of trouble adjusting to breathing on the outside (it wasn't HIS idea to be born Wednesday instead of Memorial Day weekend) and he's been in the NICU on oxygen, but the nurses told his daddy he was breathing fine and on just a hint more than "normal air" oxygen.  His parents were able to hold him and hang out with him in there, but his sister and I didn't get to meet him yet. As of Friday morning, they're planning to send my daughter home first and keep the baby another day or two, to be sure his oxygen level remains where it should be after he's unhooked from it and all the monitors and stuff, and to make sure he's eating.  As of Friday morning, they gave my daughter the option of staying another day to be with him, and he's doing very well with the feedings. If he does well on room air he can bunk with his mommy and daddy tonight and maybe go home Saturday - fingers are crossed.

I'm so tired, y'all. This has been a busy and stressful week, and not at all what I had in mind for a "vacation." Thank GOD I have more time to burn later this year, I'm gonna need it.

But he IS an adorable little chunk of cuteness. It does look like he'd like to speak to a manager.

His exhausted grandma needs a nap.