Blake's Birth

Well, lets just say it was no magical "It's a Baby Story" on TLC. After Leah's birth I was really hoping for a somewhat "magical delivery" - no stress, pulling out my crying baby and snuggling with my "icky looking baby" Maybe because I am NICU nurse I am a magnet for scary deliveries that require emergency cords and NICU staff... who knows what the answer is, but Blake's birth was more traumatic then Leah's. My delivery was called "precipitous" meaning it happens so fast that it can cause some stress to the baby and that;s exactly what happened. My water broke at 4am at home, we got to the hospital at 5am and I was 3cm. At 6:30, after I got my epidural I was 8cm...super fast progression. The pain hit me so fast in that hour and half. I was vomiting and shaking uncontrollably. The epidural was just able to help me relax, the shaking was terrible and scary. After shift change with the nurses, my day shift RN came in to acquaint herself with me and we started swapping war stories. After a few minutes she commented that the baby's heart rate sounded low so she was going to readjust his monitor. She readjusted and it did not fix the low sounding heart rate. She said it wasn't right and the baby was down, as she pulled the emergency cord. the next 10-15 minutes were a blur. A dozen or so L&D RN's came rushing in, threw me back and put oxygen on me. They pushed Mark out of the way and were trying to reassure me everything was fine, but I knew it wasn't. My OB had just finished up surgery and happened to be coming to say hi to me and let me know his partner would be delivering me. When he walked in he saw the baby's HR and everything going on. He threw on some gloves (non sterile, no gown or mask), sat down on the bed and told me we need to get him out.  At this point I was sobbing, thinking Baby Boy would would either be dead or have some serious complications. Dr. Cleary told me everything was fine and I needed to push. I pushed 4 times and Blake was born in the bed, the cord was around his neck(just like Leah) and with him dropping so fast and me progressing so fast his heart rate was down. They had to pull the emergency cord in NICU as well and my colleagues came rushing in. They swiftly took the baby who was clearly stunned and began working on him. It turns out he was breathing and heart rate jumped up He never did cry, which was similar to Leah. After about 20 mins I was assured he was perfectly fine and healthy and was just stunned. I know this happens, but being on the other side of things is terrible. I didn't get to hold my baby until after 20 minutes. I have to admit he was one of the cutest little people I have ever seen. Most newborns are not cute, but his blond little peach fuzz was to die for. He was born at 8:14, only 4 hours after my water broke. I'm already freaking out about baby #3 an how quick that will be.  This is why I will only deliver as a hospital equipped to handle emergencies if they happen. When I saw my OB walk in and saw the NICU team I did relax a bit amidst the chaos. I am so thankful for their expertise and taking good care of my little man.  As for his name Blake Henry...we decided a little bit after he was born. Blake had been on the radar for a few weeks and it fit him perfectly. Henry is after my grandpa and I just love the way it sounded. My blond little Blake or Blake the mistake as Mark calls him (parents of the year) is such a sweet baby. We went home about 48 hours later, he is nursing well and sleeping like a champ. Its taken a little while to process what happened and I'm scared more then ever to go through it again. As for now, I'm enjoying having a sweet little newborn again. Leah has adjusted just fine, she is fascinated with Blake. Likes to burp him, put his paci in, and try to gauge his eyes out... ahh sisterly love. Alright, time to try and get something donw during nap time. Pics to come soon!

A New Arrival

We are excited to introduce Blake Henry Franklin born December 13 at 8:14am. He weighed in at a solid 8lbs and 20.75 inches. It was a very quick labor and delivery (even though I think I had been in early stages of labor for a week or so). I am not in the mood to write out his delivery story right now, but lets just say it was just as if not more stressful then Leah's delivery. Full of emergency cord pulls and NICU teams rushing in. Regardless, Blake is healthy and I am just fine. We are home as a family of 4 now which just seems crazy! Leah hasn't really changed and is more interested in Blake then I thought she would be. Blake has been good, eating, sleeping and pooping...I will take it. This is all the energy I have to write now. Thank you to family and friends who have visited, prayed, sent food and well wishes. We are so thankful for you in our life.  And now for some crappy IPhone photos...

Look at that hair!

Waiting Game

I was re-reading some posts from when I was waiting for Leah to be born and they sound very similar to how I am feeling currently...only I feel like it is amplified right now. I suck at waiting for anything...it is this instant gratification world we live in and that I tend to get caught up in when I am tired and my will is weakening. Why can't it just be when I want it to be? HA! Because the world does not revolve aroun what I want...sometimes I hate that. Does that make me a bad person? But ususally when I take a step back I realize how lucky I am to carry a baby to term I can talk myself down from the going crazy ledge. It also helps to have Leah, I am clinging onto every last solo minute with her I have. I also wish I would have made it a few more weeks at work, it really does help to have some time using my brain, thinking about something else and seeing my work friends. I love my work friends and I miss them. Cue song "you can't always get what ya want, you can't always get what ya want" So there are my complaints, but please don't give me any sympathy because life is good currently and it's only going to get better when I get to meet my little man. (No we don't have a name yet) Now if I could just get Leah to sleep through the night consistently....

A few recent pictures of my girl...