Keenan's first walk outside with mom--yay for Virginia's wacky warm winters!Everyone told me that any and all free-time would basically disappear once the little man arrived, and everyone was right! It seems that as soon as I'm done feeding, changing a diaper, and maybe folding a load of laundry or shoving some food in my mouth, it's time to feed Keenan again.
Little Keenan has a voracious appetite. . .we think he's compensating for the three extra weeks he missed in the womb to bulk himself up :) He's doing a great job of packing on the pounds so far. . .currently tipping the scales at a whopping 7 pounds, 5 ounces of pure cuteness. The docs are quite proud of him for surpassing his birth weight after two weeks.
Ben and I are still adjusting to having the little guy around, but at the same time, it's already hard to remember or imagine life without him. All the hard work that comes along with his arrival is all made worth it when he gazes at us with his big dark blue eyes and makes some of the most adorable little noises I've ever heard. Watching him change and grow is fascinating, even after only two weeks, and we can only guess that the next 18 years will continue to fascinate us!
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Ben promised that I would give a play-by-play account of the labor and delivery for those who haven't heard it from the horse's mouth, so here it is:
Thursday, January 17th: I had a doctor's appointment and was told that there was no sign of cervix effacement or dilation, leading me to believe that there was still PLENTY of time to prepare for Keenan's big debut.
Saturday, January 19th, evening: We walked around Tyson's Corner Mall shopping for nightgowns for the hospital, and I was having what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions--about 5 an hour. They weren't painful, so I didn't worry. Ben and I managed to squeeze in one final dinner date to our favorite Thai restaurant in Fairfax. . .little did we know it would be the last date for a while!
Sunday, January 20th: Ben and I made a trip to Babies R' Us to do some final prep shopping for Keenan's arrival. We returned some items, and stocked up on items we were missing. I was still having those Braxton Hick's contractions quite frequently throughout the day, but didn't think much of it. We spent the evening in our basement, watching football in front of the fireplace, and I began writing thank-you notes from my baby shower the week before. Since Monday was Martin Luther King Day (a holiday!), we stayed up until midnight.
Monday, January 21st, 1:45 a.m.: I awoke in a complete panic, thinking I had just peed my pants in bed! But it dawned on me quickly that my water had just broke. I proceeded to almost have a nervous break-down and could not control my chattering teeth and shivering. . .a complete nervous reaction that continued for the next two hours. We knew we needed to get to the hospital quickly because Keenan was still in the breech position and would need a c-section delivery to enter the world safely. . .so it was important to get there before I truly started to have severe contractions. We notified the doctor that we were on the way to the hospital.
Monday, January 21st, 2:25 a.m.: Having just raced around the house trying to assemble some kind of appropriate "hospital bag," we left for the hospital in Reston. . .and made it in a record 23 minutes. We were lucky to not have to make this trip in rush hour! We were able to time the contractions for the first time during the drive, and determined that they were coming about every 2-3 minutes and were gradually getting stronger (but still not really painful). Apparently, Benny claims he was a basket case, but did a very good job of covering it up for my sake!
Monday, January 21st, 2:50 a.m.: We arrived at the hospital, and were quickly escorted to a delivery room where they hooked me up to monitors and did some assessments. . .3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Basically, this meant that we were going in for the c-section as soon as my doctor arrived, in order to avoid little Keenan trying to come out feet first the natural way. I had my heart set on a natural delivery, so I was upset that Keenan still had not flipped into the head-down position, but I had come to terms with the fact that the c-section was the best way to get him out safely.
Monday, January 21st, 4:00 a.m.: I walked into the operating room where the anesthesiologist hooked me up to the epidural right away. The meds took effect right away and I was numb from the waist down, a very strange and somewhat uncomfortable feeling. Benny was right by my side during the operation, and despite my uncontrollable chattering, the c-section went smoothly as planned.
Monday, January 21st, 4:58 a.m.: Little Keenan Charles was pulled from my belly and let out his first cry. . .one of the best sounds a new parent will ever hear! I watched them clean him up from my position on the OR table as the docs stitched me up.
The next several days were a bit of a blur, filled with an infinite number of visits from nurses and techs, struggles with learning to breastfeed, recovering from the pain of a c-section, and falling in love with our new baby son. Many thanks go out to the nurses who helped us adjust to our new roles as parents--their help was invaluable!
Thursday, January 24th, 4:00 p.m.: We clicked Keenan into his car seat and drove him home for the first time. Grammy and Pop were waiting at home for us, with a nice home-cooked meal to welcome the new family of three! And Daphne got to meet her new brother for the first time.
GO BENS!!! Ben and Ben holding William and Keenan (4 weeks old).
Lori and Kristy with the munchkins.
