Ethan Andrew -- Born March 9, 2012

Ethan Andrew was born on Friday, March 9, 2012 (39 weeks) at 9:54 a.m. at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C.  Ethan weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21" long.  His Apgar score was 8/9.  He has brown hair with light blond hair already peaking out under it and dark blue eyes right now.  As with the girls, we expect that his hair will turn blond and given his eye color now, he may have blue eyes like Natalie.  I actually think he looks a lot like Claire. (Claire and Ethan also have the same numbers in their birthday (12/03/09 and 03/09/12), and all three of our children have a 3 in their birthday.)  Holding our little guy was such a wonderful feeling; it made this difficult pregnancy worth every minute.  We're in love for the third time.

We left for the hospital at 7 a.m.  The girls weren't up yet but Nana, Grandpa and Oma were up to see us off.  Our parents came up to the hospital to wait after our nanny, Allison, came to watch the girls. 

We only had to wait about 10 minutes to be admitted to triage.  In triage, they hooked me up to an IV, checked my vitals, listened to his heart rate for 20 minutes, and had me drink a medicine to help with nausea during surgery.  Dr. Gaines came by to see how I was doing.

They were actually able to get me into the OR a little earlier than planned so I headed in about 9:30 a.m.  Emile went into the support person's room to get scrubs put on.  While he was doing that, I was in the OR having my spinal put in.  They had me sit on the side of the table while they washed off my back and stuck in the needle.  The spinal takes affect pretty quickly and so I had to lay down right away.  As with the last time, I started bawling during the procedure and got pretty shaky.  The nurse holding me still for the anesthesiologist was very good about trying to comfort and calm me down.  I was very nervous about the whole c-section process again and still disappointed that I won't ever get to experience a vaginal birth but the most important thing is that he arrives safely.  Once I laid on the table, they quickly got me prepped for the surgery.  They put the curtain up after the antibacterial solution they rubbed on my belly dried (they had to wait exactly 3 minutes).  The spinal did make me nauseous again.  This time I told the anesthesiology nurse how I was feeling and she was able to give me something else to help make it go away so thankfully I didn't throw up this time.  I was much less anxious about trying to move my feet and not being able to.  I tried to focus on looking around the room.

Emile joined me in the room and held my hand during the surgery.  I could feel a lot of intense pressure after they cut me open and pushed on my belly to get Ethan out.  Then there was his beautiful cry and Dr. Gaines saying "it's a boy".  They quickly showed Ethan to me over the curtain and he and Emile left the room for Ethan to get cleaned up. 

While Emile was with Ethan, Dr. Gaines tied my tubes and injected my incision with a stronger steroid than last time in hopes of avoiding a keloid scar this time.  I felt much more aware and less anxious during this c-section than my previous two.  It felt like it went pretty quick.  Thankfully everything went smoothly and both Ethan and I did great.  They did bring Ethan back in to see me while they sewed me up which they didn't do with the girls.  The nurse actually suspended Ethan over my face for me to get a good look at him and to give him kisses (my arms were strapped down for the surgery).  He is absolutely the most handsome little guy out there!

After surgery, I met Emile and Ethan in the recovery room.  My spinal started wearing off and over the course of an hour I could feel my entire body again.  During that time, they finished cleaning up Ethan and I got to hold him for the first time.  I immediately tried nursing him but as with most c-section babies, he wasn't interested in nursing (can take up to 12 hours with a c-section baby before they start nursing -- it took Ethan 10 hours).  It was such a wonderful feeling to finally be holding him.  Having a third child was definitely the right decision and our family now feels complete.  Emile got to hold him while they were cleaning him up when I was still in surgery but unfortunately none of the nurses took a photo of him in his scrubs with Ethan.  While we waited for my spinal to wear off, Emile went out to the lobby to tell our parents of Ethan's arrival.  They were overjoyed and excited to meet him. It was nice having family waiting in the lobby for his delivery; we didn't have family in town during my actual labor/c-sections for Natalie and Claire, although they arrived either later that day or a few days later.

Once I could feel my body again, they moved Ethan and I up to our hospital stay room.  I tried nursing again and Emile went down to get our parents.  They were so thrilled to get to hold him and see the latest Velthuisen.  After they spent some time with Ethan, they all went home to give me sometime to rest and to pick up the girls.  Natalie and Claire came up later that afternoon.  It was so fun seeing how they reacted to seeing their new little brother.  They both immediately came over to see me and Ethan.  Claire was a little more hesitant and unsure than Natalie but both did great with meeting him.  We got the girls each a boy Cabbage Patch Kid doll as gifts from Ethan.  The girls had gone with our parents to get Ethan some gifts the day before -- a football, Easter bib, and Taggy blanket.  It was cute watching them open the gifts for them and from Ethan.  Both girls tried holding Ethan with some help from Emile and gave him lots of kisses.

While in the hospital, Ethan spent the majority of the time in the room with me.  For part of the two nights I was there, I did have Ethan go to the nursery for a few hours so I could get some sleep but other than that he slept either in my arms or next to me in his bassinet.  They didn't give him an additional bath while in the nursery other than the first bath he got right after delivery.  Later the first night his weight dropped to 8 lb. 6 oz.  The next day, they checked his hearing (which was great), gave him his hepatitis B shot, and weighed him again (down to 8 lbs.).  Because of my blood type (O-) and his blood type (B+), his doctor (Dr. Pepper) was concerned about jaundice; he had a slight case of it when born. They checked his bili levels daily and by the time we left they were comfortable with sending us home without him needing additional treatment for jaundice.

I had some issues with gas that was settling in my shoulder.  It was incredibly painful and took a lot of walking and ginger tea to get it to clear.  By Sunday, we were both ready to go home. 

Ethan is the sweetest and most adorable little boy.  He's very calm so far and very snugly.  As with Claire, I've grown another heart to cover all the feelings I have my little boy.  I could not imagine life without him now.  I can't wait to see how his personality forms compared to the girls.  They're already such great big sisters to him; I can only imagine that wonderful relationship they hopefully all have together in the years to come.

Week 39 (or 38 w 6 d)

In a few hours I'll be 39 weeks.  I'm also heading into L&D early tomorrow morning for my scheduled c-section.  Crazy to think that the day we meet our little guy is already here.  I thought I'd get one more belly photo in. 

On Tuesday, I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Gaines.  He did another internal exam (still no progress), checked his heart rate (~150 bpm) and measured my belly (measuring 40 weeks).  We talked about what to expect with the c-section but given I've done this two times before, it was more to make sure I didn't have any new questions.  We also talked about how I'm having a hard time sleeping due to loosing circulation in my arms and hands.  He said that's normal and not to worry about it but unfortunately, I can't do much about it except reposition while sleeping.  I've resorted this week to sleeping some nights sitting up on the couch.  Not the most comfortable position and I really only get a few hours of sleep a night.  It's been exhausting this week.  Dr. Gaines took longer getting in for my appointment and during the time I was waiting, I started getting a little panicy thinking about going through a c-section again. 

Tuesday was also my last day at work.  I got to spend Wednesday morning with Claire and then my parents arrived.  Claire was thrilled to see them at the door and Natalie was very excited when they came with to pick her up from school.  Riet arrived this afternoon.  This will be the only delivery where family will be in town for the actual delivery which is a nice change.

Today I had my pre-surgery appointment at Rex Hospital; my mom came with me.  The nurse took blood, went through paper work with me, talked about the c-section and tubal ligation, and then the anesthesiologist came in to talk about my spinal and what to expect with being on the OR tale.  The nurse put my check-in wrist band on which I have to keep on now until I'm released from the hospital.  It was overwhelming again talking about having a c-section.  I'm very excited to met our little guy but very nervous and anxious about having major abdominal surgery again.  I hope I hold it together on the OR table. 

Most of the lanugo is gone as the baby prepares for its final womb days. The lungs are maturing and surfactant production is increasing. Our baby can't move too much anymore as his womb space has become very crowded. The average size baby is over seven pounds at this point.  The girls were 7 lb 9 oz and 7 lb 7 oz; I think he'll be closer to 8 lbs.

This time tomorrow I should be holding our little guy!

Week 38

I'm so glad the little guy waited to March for his arrival.  Now all our kids will have birthday's with a 3 in the date (5/30, 12/3, and 3/?) plus our anniversary is 5/13.  But now that it's March, I'm ready for him to arrive.  I'm exhausted and in a lot of pain still.  Not to keep complaining but it's very uncomfortable.  I keep losing circulation in my arms while I sleep which keeps me up most of the night (plus having to pee a five or six times each night).  My swelling has increased.  My feet and ankles are unrecognizable at night and my hands are very puffy.  I feel a lot like he's pushing on my crotch.  I'm ready to meet him and for the uncomfortableness be replaced by sleepless nights nursing our little guy!

I had an appointment with Dr. Placide today.  My last weekly appointment.  Baby's heart beat was measuring about 130 bpm.  I'm measuring 40 weeks instead of 38 which he said could be because I'm swollen or because he's going to be bigger than the girls.  We'll see soon.  He also did an internal exam, my last check whether my body is starting labor on its own.  I'm still closed up, no progress.  I suppose that's better for having a repeat c-section since it's better to not labor beforehand.  But I'd still love for my body to do some laboring since this is my last shot at it.

Everything is ready for the little guy to arrive.  I found our newborn cloth diapers and went through the girls clothes to see if anything could be used for this guy.  Pretty much it's just some white onesies and the Vikings onesies.  I also cleaned the car seat, bouncer and swing covers.  We're ready!

The baby may be gaining an ounce a day now. His/her intestines are accumulating lots of meconium (baby's first bowel movement). The circumference of the head and the baby's abdomen are about the same size.  Our little boy probably weighs about 6 3/4 pounds with a crown-to-rump length still about 14 inches.