Franklin Family: October 2008

Yes!!! He is finally here and I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging about him. He was born on October 3rd, at 11:40 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He came out with the umbilical cord wrapped around his shoulder. The doctor apologized to Jeremy for having to cut it instead of him so that he could come on out. I don't think Jeremy was too upset about it!! My labor and delivery process was a breeze - some say that I'm lucky and I would have to agree completely. I had the lovely epideral around 7:30 a.m., was numb by 8:00 a.m., was dialated to a 5 by 10:00 and in one hour was dialated to a 9. He came fast!! Three pushes and he made his way into our world, with virtually no pain on my part and no tearing either!!

Apparently I've been blessed in this area of my life. However, with Addison the painful, emotional toil of this entire process came later and with a price. With Addie labor was a breeze but when I got her home I was stressed, I was having difficulty nursing, ended up having a bladder infection and developed Bells Palsy three days after she arrived and it lasted for 4 weeks, through Christmas. It was awful!! During the course of this pregnancy I prayed continuosly for an easy delivery and a semi-stressfree recovery but I think that as much as I am blessed in the birthing process I am just as cursed in the recovery process.

When Rhett was born I was so relieved to see him take to breast-feeding so easily and do it so well. I felt so good about myself as a mother and thanked God over and over for this blessing. However, a few days after we got him home he was beginning to decline in the nursing area. He fussed constantly, had difficulty latching on and screamed all night. I did not know what was wrong. He was wetting his diapers so I figured that he was getting what he needed. Well, on Tuesday morning I took him to the doctor for a wellness checkup and the doctor ordered lab work done. He said that Rhett looked jaundice and he had lost over a pound since he was born. I freaked out!! However, somehow I knew that he would be o.k. They sent us home and once we arrived we got a call from the nurse saying that his jaundice levels were too high and he was dehydrated and that I needed to bring him into the hospital. I lost it!! The hospital was not a place that I wanted to be taking my baby three days after I brought him home. I was emotionally a wreck and was angry with everyone, the doctor, the nurses, and myself. I felt like I was a bad mom for not supplying him with the nutrition he needed to survive. I was devastated and was fearful that Bells Palsy would return because again I was stressed out. I spent two days in the hospital with Rhett and it was not a fun experience. They had him under the bellirubin lights all day and would come in a poke him often to take blood samples. I never felt so helpless and responsible. Luckily his jaundice levels and sodium levels began to return to normal and as I could see the light at the end of the tunnel I began to feel better.

During the course of our stay at the hospital I was blessed with a few things. I was blessed with precious time that I got to spend with my new son (time is so precious when they are so little), I was blessed with wonderful daytime nurses who reassured me and were so good with Rhett, I was blessed with the fact that my milk finally came in (even though it wasn't much) it was a start and so Rhett is successfully nursing again (with a little supplemental formula), I was blessed with the time to reflect on what a precious and fragile thing babies are and how wonderful it was that he recovered.

So, we are home now and doing well. Although every day I check Rhett's skin color and wonder constantly whether or not he is turning more yellow again. I'm paranoid!! I look forward to the future that we have together and am so thankful and blessed that God gave us this special son.

Oh - and no Bells Palsy!! Hurray!