My Thanksgiving baby (well, almost)
capulet
member
I had a repeat c/s scheduled for Nov. 29, but DS decided to come a few days early. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with DH's family and all went around the table to say what we were grateful for - among more sentimental things, I said I was grateful I was still pregnant (I had GD and was *really* looking forward to a cheat day for Thanksgiving dinner!). About an hour after dessert, around 8 PM, I felt something like a sharp kick (not actually what it was but that's what it felt like), and then moved a bit and realized my water had broken. Since I was planning a c/s, I called my OB office and was told to head straight for the hospital. I was surprised I had gone into labor on my own - I was only 38w4d; with DD I was induced with no progress at 41w3d. DH packed the rest of our hospital bag while I showered and changed, and we got to the hospital about an hour later.
It took a couple of hours to test to make sure my water had actually broken (it was obvious to me, but according to my nurse about half the women who come in thinking their water's broken have just leaked pee), assemble the surgical team, and get prepped for surgery. Meanwhile I went from very mild contractions that I only felt every five or ten minutes (according to the fetal monitor they were more frequent) to strong contractions every two minutes or so, though they weren't nearly as bad as they were with DD in early labor.
I hadn't met the OB who did my surgery until that night, but he's married to DD's pedi (it's a small town) and I knew he might be on call. Another OB from my practice whom I'd met a few times assisted. Everything went very smoothly, and DS was born at 12:06 AM on November 25, 7 lb. 3 oz. and 20" long. DH held him for a while, and then he had to go to the nursery for a while (blood testing since I had GD - fortunately he was totally fine). They brought him to me in my room about an hour after he was born, once I was all stitched up and fairly warm (I had awful shakes for a few hours after DD was born, but this time they took measures during surgery to make sure I didn't get too cold), and I was able to nurse him right away.
We came home on Sunday - I loved the hospital staff but I was ready to sleep in my own bed, as much sleep as I get with a newborn, anyway. DD adores her little brother and has been very sweet to him, and also good about bringing me the Boppy or other stuff I need when I'm nursing. I hope they are always this cute together.
Re: My Thanksgiving baby (well, almost)
Ella born 12/21/11
congrats!
I love the picture of your DD holding him - she looks so happy
LCT - 5.15.14 ~ 9lbs, 22.5 inches
Thanks everyone!
I appreciate hearing about older sister/younger brother relationships, especially with this large an age difference, because I don't know of very many such sibsets IRL. I just have one younger sister, no brothers. It will be interesting to see how they interact as they get older.