Okay so she has been here for over 9 weeks, but I am just
now getting a chance to blog about her arrival. On Monday October 28th
I had an amniocentesis to see if Kendyl’s lungs would be developed by November 1st,
my original c-section date. We received the results the morning of October 31st
that Kendyl’s lungs weren’t quite ready for the outside world yet. I am so
thankful that Dr. Nelson and his nurses were so thorough. We were balancing
between me going into labor and risking my uterus rupturing and Kendyl’s lungs
being developed. They took great care of both of us!
My c-section was rescheduled for November 6th.
Uriah and I had to get to the hospital around 7 that morning and since I
couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight I tried to sleep as late as
possible. I will never forget Uriah….who NEVER eats breakfast….decided he
needed to eat breakfast that morning lol. I was only slightly irritated. We
arrived at the hospital and immediately went up to L&D. I was lucky enough
to have an old friend, Jessica McCain, helping with my c-section that morning.
It was so nice to have someone I knew helping take care of Kendyl and me.
Around 9:30 they took us back to the OR. I had Chandlor at
UAMS and opted to let student nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists take part
in the delivery. I realize now what a difference that makes! Jessica got my IV
in on the first try, and the anesthesiologist got my spinal in on the first
try. I can remember the student anesthesiologist trying at least six times and
the student nurse had to try several times to get my IV in. I know that they
have to start somewhere and I’m still thankful that I went that route with
Chandlor, but it was nice to only be poked once :P Within what seemed like a few minutes Kendyl
was here! Dr. Nelson stuck Kendyl’s head over the barrier so that I could see
her before he handed her to the nursery nurse. It was love at first sight!
Uriah was able to go watch them clean her up and check her vitals then he
brought her over to meet me. She was perfect. She weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces,
was 19 inches long and was born at 10:06 am. Not bad for her being barely 38 weeks!
Uriah and Kendyl headed to the nursery where they took
Kendyl’s blood and finished cleaning her up. They let Chandlor come into the
nursery and meet his baby sister. From what I was told he was more interested
in getting back to the waiting room where all of the action was at HAH! While
they were doing this I was taken to recovery. They brought Kendyl in and I was
able to nurse her. She did really well and latched on immediately! After getting out of recovery Uriah and I
asked for some alone time with Kendyl and Chandlor before family came in. It
was such a special moment…together as a family of four for the first time!
The rest of the day is a blur to me. Pain medicine makes me
so loopy/sleepy I don’t remember most of what happened. Apparently I yelled at
Uriah for putting Kendyl in her bassinet because I was afraid someone was going
to jump through the window and steal her? Luckily I have a patient husband ;)
Dr. Pilkington, Chandlor and Kendyl’s PCP, came in at some
point that night and let us know that Kendyl looked great! He took a good look
at her back and had zero concerns. Such a relief since there is only so much
you can see in an Ultrasound.
Kendyl did and still does look just like her daddy. Chandlor
favors me so much I just assumed that Kendyl would too. Wrong! She looks
nothing like me. I was so shocked to see that she had blonde hair! I think
everyone was. She currently has gray eyes, but I’m sure they will change color
within a few months.
We spent two days in the hospital. Uriah stayed with Kendyl
and me. Chandlor stayed with his dad, Joey, but came and visited us both days
with my grandma and mom. After being released Kendyl had to go back to the hospital
for two days to be checked for jaundice. I was so thankful when her numbers
were where they should be…I hated getting her out in the cold with all of the
germs!
Chandlor was and is still adjusting to being a big brother.
At first he seemed indifferent. The way he has always acted when I held another
baby. After a few days he realized she was here to stay and started acting out.
I think he is finally getting the hang of things. Every two weeks we take him
out by himself…even if it is just to dinner. He goes to his dad’s house two
nights a week and we are afraid he’s going to start realizing that Kendyl gets
more alone time with us. Spending this extra time with him seems to have helped
a little J I
know he will love her once she is old enough to sit up and play with him, but
until then it is probably going to be a little challenging.
Most likely Kendyl will be our last child. When Dr. Nelson
went to take her out the old incision on my uterus from my c-section with
Chandlor started to tear (I’m really lucky I didn’t go into labor). Since the
scar tissue is so weak he doesn’t recommend that I put it through another
pregnancy. We were kind of on the fence anyway about having a third child so it
was almost a relief to have the decision, in a way, made for us. If we do
decide that our family isn’t complete there are plenty of children who need
homes J
If Uriah can love Chandlor like his own then I know that we can both love a
non-biological child as our own.
One of my very best friends, Lacey Redman, had baby Milah on
the same day in the same hospital as I had Kendyl!
Six days later another one of my best friends, Amanda Kimbriel,
had Ellie!
So blessed to have all of these new additions!
