Our week so far...

Well, he's here - finally! As Brandon posted earlier in the week Zachary Cole arrived Monday morning at 8:26. We got a call over the weekend letting us know the woman scheduled before me Monday morning had given birth so we could move up our time to 7:30 so we did.

Of course, Monday morning was the coldest of the year and we had to be at the hospital to check in at 5:30 - on our way to the hospital it was -15degrees and the high for the day was less than 10. Check in was smooth and we spent 2 hours doing pre-op prep - I had some contractions while I was on the monitor and if we hadn't been at the hospital I bet we would have been arriving shortly.

They rolled me back to the OR and had Brandon wait outside while they got the spinal done. Unfortunately it took 10 sticks for the anesthesiologist to find a space between my vertebrae but with the numbing meds I didn't feel a thing. Once my legs were asleep Brandon came in and they got started. Everthing else went smoothly and Zach made his appearance at 8:26. Brandon got to cut the cord again like with Avi and spent time watching Z get cleaned up and then brought him over to me so I could say hi and give him a kiss. B and Z headed back to the room for Z's first bath and the other assorted post-delivery activities. I stayed in the OR for them to tie my tubes and then they brought me back to my room.

I spent most of the morning recovering and then my mom brought Avelyn to see me. My legs were still asleep so I couldn't get up to say hi but she crawled in to bed with me to give me a hug. She was curious about Zachary but didn't really have an attention span for very long with so much else around my room to play with. Brandon took her home around 1 for a nap and they came back around 5 for a few hours. Mom and I just hung out in the room with Zach while my lesgs woke up. I tried to sit up a few times but got sick each time so the foley stayed in place and I was no longer allowed my clear liquid diet - ugh! I was so hungry and dry. My temp post-op was low so I had the warming blanket on me most of the day too - I had been in the OR for quiet a while so my temp was 95* initially. Zach did a good job of nursing all day and spent the night in the nursery since I couldn't get up.

Tuesday morning I got up early and they brought Zach to me around 6. He fed really well and I tried to sit up and was able to without any nausea or vomiting - finally! I ordered breakfast and ate eggs and pancakes. Brandon arrived around 8:30 after dropping Avi off at school and we hung out the rest of the morning and afternoon. Zach contined to feed really well and sleep really well. He had his circumcision around 9:30 and tolerated it as well as anyone can - I guess. :) He was pretty sleepy all day from the Tylenol. Brandon and Avi got back from school and then went our for pizza. Avi was full of energy and did a good job of holding her little brother but again it lasted for about 4 minutes until she realized she can't get up and play while she's holding him but she's very caring telling us to turn the lights off and talk quietly, etc. Mom, Brandon and Avi left around 8 for the night and Zach stayed with me until about 10 for his last feeding then headed to the nursery.

This morning I had his nurse bring him to me for his first morning feeding as my milk has already come in. So he was back in my room around 4:45 and fed really well then we both fell back asleep until about 7:30. I ordered breakfast and started moving around a bit more comfortably. Brandon came in around 8:30 and we've spent the day hanging out with our little man. We gave him a bath this morning and then went well. His circ looks great and he's pooping like a champ! My mom and John came in a while ago to change trucks and are now on their way to get Avi at school. Today is the day Santa came to Avi's school so mom took our camera in case Avi would sit with Santa again this season. :) They'll probably get here in the next 45-60 min and visit for a while and then head home for the last night without Zach and me. YEAH! Avi will go to school and then come home to find us home which will excite her for sure.

I'll post more once we're home and we'll put more pics on the web album sometime tomorrow once we're home. Thank you to all for the well-wishes - we're all happy and healthy and glad to have our little man and our family complete!

Chat soon!