Little Will

So 15 days ago I had our little boy, William Creed. He was 6 pounds 3 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He was born at 9:05 pm at home. The labor and birth were wonderful and I LOVED having him at home. It was really nice for Creed to be able to be there and hold him and love him. It was nice for me to have a comfy bed to sleep in and a shower pretty soon after giving birth. It was nice to have Sarah there to see Will soon after the birth. In fact when asked if she wanted to hold him or kiss him, Sarah said, "Um... no he is gooey." Though after we washed him a little she did give him a kiss on his head. It was nice to have Elizabeth there to watch Sarah and to help with the girls when we went to the hospital. Will seemed totally fine after he was born, but he didn't feel like breastfeeding. Then at 4:30 in the morning he started to have a hard time breathing unless he had some oxygen blowing in his face. By 5:30 my midwife said that it was time to take him to the hospital since he didn't seem to be breathing well without the oxygen. So we headed to Salmon Creek hospital. I cannot say how hard it was for me to take my little one into the NICU. Once we got there he kind of shut down a little, his breathing started to become really erratic and his heart rate dropped. So they hooked him up to a bubble CPAP machine. He was hooked up to this machine for two days and then he was under the special lights for jaundice. Then we got to take him home.

It was kind of weird at the hospital because we were known as the "home birth" people. In fact I had a few nurses who were not so nice about it. One even said to my midwife, "Oh, you are the one who allowed her to give birth at home." My midwife was really great about it and said, "I usually don't allow people to give birth at home at 35 weeks, but we thought that she was further along than she was." I had another nurse say that he was just glad that we got him to the hospital when we did and that they really wish that we had given birth at the hospital. I would give birth at home again in a heart beat for a few reasons. One, it allowed me to stay in Will's room the whole time that he was there. If I had given birth at the hospital I would have had to stay in my room until discharged and only allowed to visit. Two, having Will at home allowed Creed to hold him before he was stuck under all the monitors and machines and lights. In fact Creed held Will the night he was born and then three days later. Nothing in between. Same with Elizabeth. Three, it was still cheaper for me to have him at home. All in all it was the right thing for us and I LOVED it.

In other news I am going to post a few things to help my memory. Madalynn took her first step on May 11th and then was walking by the 15th. She is talking a ton and can't seem to walk into a room without saying, "HI!" Sarah has gained two pounds in two months, which is HUGE for her. This helps us know that she is celiac and that she is starting to get the nutrients that she needs. She is drawing stick figures now and loves to try and write different letters. She is actually getting really good at a few of them.

Here are some pictures!