Carter's Birth Story and Newborn Pictures

Well, our little guy is almost 6 weeks old! He's the perfect addition to our family. Yes, things have been a bit crazy adjusting to life with a newbie again...but hey NOT complaining :) Everyday I have to pinch myself that I have TWO kids...the kids I cried for....prayed for....

I'll have to give the quick version of Carter's birth story since I am sooo exhausted and don't have much time to type! But I wanted to document the day.

We were originally scheduled for our c-section on May 21st. Although, a few weeks prior things started to go south. My blood pressure was increasing and I generally wasn't feeling good. And to add to the mix I had GD again with this pregnancy and I was having this strange leg pain (which I will get to more later in the story!) that was making me limp around. The OB sent me for two blood clot scans to make sure the pain in my leg wasn't a blood clot. Which thankfully it wasn't. They thought the pain was from swelling. But it was really painful. As the days passed, I just started to swell more and more. My bloodwork started to show signs of preclampsia again. So finally, the OB decided to admit me to the hospital on the 13th. I was 37 weeks. The baby seemed to being doing fine. But I wasn't and we were okay with him being delivered at 37 weeks! Since Samantha was born at 32 weeks...37 weeks was like hitting the jackpot! So we went to the hospital hoping to be delivered. But after checking me out they decided I could wait until the following morning. They scheduled me for 11:30 am on the 14th. We actually stayed in the exact same room that my water broke in with Samantha! Crazy! And if you've never read Sam's birth story I recommend checking it out! So much more dramatic! haha We were pretty excited that the end was in sight and that the next morning our baby boy would be here! The next morning they came in and told us we were being moved up to 9am. But then an hour later they cancelled that and put us back to around 11. I have to say strangely this time was a little more stressful than Samantha's birth! Of course, having her be in the NICU for a month was horrible. But with her birth everything had to happen so fast that I didnt have time to think!! With Carter's birth I had a lot of time to think and there was a lot of waiting and anxiety over the c-section! Finally our time came and I found myself walking to the ER and looking back at my husband and Mom who were waiting. I couldn't believe in a little while our SON would be here. It's so crazy too but I dont remember a whole lot from Samantha's section. Probably because I was doped up on magnesium for my BP. But this time I was more aware of everything and it made it kind of scary. Thankfully everyone in the OR were SUPER nice to me. Then at 11:09 our little guy arrived! Exactly 38 weeks!  Turns out the nurse said he had a true knot in his cord and that he was a very lucky little boy that he was delivered then because it could have been dangerous!!!
It was so wonderful to see our healthy chunky baby boy 7lbs 3oz 18 inches! The recovery afterwards was much harder than with Samantha's. Time in recovery was painful and that whole night. But then strangely the next day I was up and walking around and didnt feel any pain. And then the truck hit me. The following days were torture. Not to mention my leg still hurt and they were poking me day and night with meds for my BP and GD!
Something else that was really tough was being away from Samantha :( We were in the hospital for 4 days and she stayed with my inlaws and my parents. Even though we knew she was happy there, it was our first time being away from her so much.  The hospital wouldn't let children under 12 come visit because they still considered it flu season! My heart broke thinking that she was wondering where we were or why we left her. When I saw her for the first time she jumped off her bike and came running to me and we hugged each other so hard. And I just started sobbing! Im sobbing again as I type this!!!! Ugh it was so tough. But overall Sam has been great. She loves her little bro and is very protective. Of course, she's two and has her jealous days but really overall she has been great.
When we got home from the hospital I was hurtin'. My incision was painful and my leg hurt. This combo is tough when you are trying to chase a toddler and care for a newborn! And now I'll go back to the leg pain situation. Sooo it wasn't getting better. It was getting worse. The day after we got home I was reading  a book to Sam on the floor and when I carefully got up off the floor I heard a crack and a pop in my leg and it hurt REALLY bad. But I didnt think too much of it. Four days passed and we decided it was time to go to the ortho urgent care. And guess what? My leg is BROKEN. Yup...my leg was broken! Crazy. The fibula in my right leg. They gave me a boot to wear and I was to follow up with bone doc. I didnt need a real cast because it wasnt a weight bearing bone. So I went to the bone doc and he believes the break started way before I heard the crack because it was already starting to calcify of something and he said that wouldnt happen within a few days. SO the big mystery is HOW I broke it. Nothing happened that would make me think I did! So for over a month while pregnant I limped around with a broken leg!!! The bone doc said that hormones in pregnancy can weaken bone density...but still SO crazy that this happened. Thankfully, it is healing. Still sore...but definitely better. I go back to the bone doc this week!
And that's about it friends...
Life is definitely busier but fuller!!!!! Carter is doing great! Sleeps ok at night...gives us 3 hour stretches! Is a bit colicky but we are working on that!! He's a pretty cute little dude...I have proof..with these gorgeous newbie pics we had done :)