Kendyl is here!

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 28^th I had an amniocentesis to see if Kendyl’s lungs would be developed by November 1^st, my original c-section date. We received the results the morning of October 31^st 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 6^th. 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!