The Little One

Little did I know that this past weekend would be the last of my pregnancy. After checking in with my midwife, Tina, on Friday, the decision to induce was placed on the back burner unless my blood pressure continued to rise over the weekend. So when Frank and I left her office on Friday morning with the anticipation that I would be back next week. After all, my due date is August 4th. However, things never go according to plan and after a check of my blood pressure on Sunday at Walgreens, it was elevated, and I called my midwife who directed me back to the triage unit at Mercy Hospital. This time, I knew I would not be coming home the same night.

And I was right.

By 5:30P.M., we were checking into the Morning Glory room at the Family Life Center at Mercy Hospital. Carolyn, my midwife Tina's sister (in spirit only), made the decision for us, and the plan was made to start inducing labor that night. I was not hopeful that our newest Genovese would be there by the morning. After all, Tyler took two rounds of inducing before he made his way into the world. After the Cervadil was given, Tyler came for a short visit with all four of his grandparents. By 9P.M., Frank and I were enjoying dinner for the night.
The next day, everyone came to hang out with us for the day. There was not much going on in the labor department, I remained 2 centimeters dilated and our newest addition proved that he was more comfortable in the safe confines of my belly than in the real world. We took the opportunity to take some last pictures of our family as we knew it. Little did we know that things would change in the next 24 hours!

After going through 2 rounds of Cervadil with little progress, my midwife, who was on duty, decided it was time to start a Pitocin drip. However, the doctor on duty was not in agreement with her. Too bad that was not discussed prior to the nurse starting the I.V.! But after being presented with my options and discussing them with Frank, we decided to remain on the Pitocin drip overnight and see where that would take us. Tina, in the meantime, pulled up a chair, said "Have the kid by 8A.M. ", otherwise he would be delivered by Carolyn. She then proceeded to watch the Bacherlorette finale with Frank and I.

Needless to say, Tina's shift came and went with little progress. I remained at 2 centimeters dilated but was having mild contractions every few minutes. When Carolyn came on in the morning, she instructed the nurses to raise the Pitocin every 30 minutes until it was at its maximum dose which would be at lunch time. Dawn, the nurse on duty, also came in and sprinkled her "magic baby powder" on me. It did the trick!

By lunch time, I was feeling the contractions, they were coming at regular intervals but were not so intense that I needed the epidural yet. Tyler came with all of his grandparents in the early afternoon and I was not feeling very hospitable. By 3P.M. I asked for the epidural only to be told that the anesthesiologist was down the hall administering someone elses and that he would be with me soon. Carolyn's suggestion while I wait for him? Sit on the birthing ball and have Frank hold a hot compress on my back. Being the good patient I am, I did as I was told and boy did that speed things up!

The anesthesiologist finally made his way into my room at 3:45P.M. As I was moving into position for him to start his magic, my water broke! Needless to say the pain was intense! When he finished hooking me up, it was time to wait for the epidural to make its way through my body before it could be adjusted. But there wasn't anytime! My right side went immediately numb which left my left side to feel every contraction. Dawn, the nurse, was able to get me into position and call for Carolyn just in time. After a handful of pushes our new family member was here!

Colby James Genovese was born at 4:22P.M. Despite Tina's prediction that he would be bigger than Tyler (who was 7lbs 4ozs and 20 inches at birth), Colby weighed in at 7lbs 13.4 ozs and was 20 inches long. He has light hair and a great set of lungs (seen hard at work below)!

After Frank cut the cord, Colby was wheeled into the entry way in our room, behind the curtain. I only wish that I could have been there to see Tyler because I heard how sweet he was. He kept referring to Colby as "the Little One" and was so sweet and loving. Tyler had been asking for weeks when his brother was going to come and the day was finally here! After Colby was checked out, he was passed around to everyone waiting. I can't help but think that when Tyler and each of his grandparents arrived earlier in the day it was to "hang out" and visit-- now they are able to visit with our new addition!

Colby with the Genovese's and the Perry's. Not to mention the big brother who could not have been more proud or have a bigger smile!

Our new family photo. The consensus is that Colby looks a lot like his older brother with the only difference being that Tyler was born with a head full of hair.

Proud mom with her little miracle and below, a shot of the little guys big feet!

After some family bonding time, Dawn, the nurse, came back to give Colby his first bath. When Tyler was born, baths were given in the nursery and Frank was the only one allowed to participate. Colby's bath was given right in the room and everyone was able to watch. Tyler pulled a chair up and was right there the entire time. Colby loved having his hair washed but cried through the rest of bath time.

The last one to hold him for the night? Tyler. I had not seen him smile so big in such a long time. When I think about the past few days, weeks, months, and what we have been through, it is all worth it when I look at this picture. Tyler was gentle, kind, and immediately took to being a big brother. All night he "oohed" and "ahhed" over "the Little One".

After all was said and done for the evening, we ordered dinner and had a mini party at the hospital. The grandparents enjoyed a glass of wine and I just enjoyed a good meal for the first time in days. All I could think of was how lucky I was to have everyone with me and despite the fact that things did not work as natural as we had hoped, it happened this way for a reason.

Now to remember how to do this baby thing!