Levi Cable Black is here!

Well, my little man is now 12 days old! Time really does fly by!

We had a very stressful month leading up to his birth, and a few stressful days in the hospital, but that is behind us now and we are home and happy with our new addition! I can say that in regards to many things around here too! New carpet, a new basement, new couches,new siding, basically a new front of the house, AND a new baby!Whew!

So, Thursday morning, Logan woke up with a fever and sore throat. Great. We ended up taking him to the doctor Friday morning really fast before I had to be at the hospital. The diagnosis? Strep throat. Great. We had time to pick up his antibiotics and send them back home with grandma on our way to the hopsital.

We arrived a little after 10 a.m., where they had me get hooked up to the monitors, and do all the other necessary preparations for the c-section. My doctor came in at noon, to apologize that we would have to wait a bit longer since she had another patient in the process of pushing. No big deal to us...we weren't in a hurry, and I wasn't in any pain, which was lovely.

She wasn't gone long, and then it was time to wheel me into the surgery room, and get my spinal and get ready to go. With Avery's c-section, I got the shivers soooo bad, that my jaw hurt really bad from clenching my teeth to keep them from chattering together. This time I wanted to try to avoid that if possible, so the anesthesiologist covered my arms and head with warm blankets. It was actually very cozy, and actually helped...regardless of how silly I might have looked. The c-section was painless, and free of discomfort, until they pulled the baby out. Then my right shoulder started to hurt really really bad! The anesthesiologist said it was probably referred uterus pain, but later my doctor thought I probably just got a lot of air in there. Crazy.




When Levi came out, he was crying and wouldn't stop for a long time. It turned out that he had a lot of fluid in his lungs, and his oxygen levels were low, so he got sent to the NICU to be on oxygen.


He was only on oxygen for a few hours, and then he was fine. He was born at 1:08 p.m. and weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and they said he was 18 inches long. Later when he was measured in the NICU, he was 19 3/4 inches, and I don't think he grew that long in two days! I think the NICU really liked him and thought he was so cute they wanted to keep him, and wouldn't let him come down to my room...even after he was off the oxygen, off the IV, and eating regularly like a normal newborn. I was supposed to come home Monday, and they were telling us he woldn't go home until Tuesday, which made me sooooo mad! While I was greatful that he was well taken care of, and they were playing things safe, I knew he was just fine, and I wanted my baby with me. It seemed like everyone we talked to told us something different, and so we were very confused,and mislead. I was not happy with the communication efforts, and felt like we were completely out of the loop, and we were merely visitors to this baby, and not his parents.This was an added stress I did not need to deal with while trying to recover from surgery.

We had been told on Saturday that if he was off the IV and eating well, he would probably be able to come to my room Sunday afternoon. I was really hoping this would be the case, since it was Father's Day, and the kids hadn't been to see the baby yet. We gave Logan two full days of being on his antibiotics before we brought him to see the baby. I wanted to spend Father's Day as a family in my room. When i went up Sunday morning to feed Levi, they had just taken him off his IV, and he was eatiing like a champ! I was so hopeful that he could come down! Later that afternoon, when my family came to visit, we talked to the perinatalogist and that was when he dropped the bomb that they wanted to monitor him for two days of eating normal before they sent him home...hence Tuesday, not Monday. I couldn't control my emotions, and cried. Of course, at the end of his conversation, he again mentioned that if he was eating well, then he could possibly come down to my room that night.









My family came and spent Father's Day afternoon visiting Levi for the first time in the NICU, and then hanging out in my room. I did my best to get some pictures of the family, but this was the best we could do. It started to get a little chaotic in the NICU room, and eventually my mom took the kids back down to my room to wait for me to feed Levi then come back down. This is what I found when I got back to my room!



That night came and went, and no one said a thing to me about him being able to come to my room. The next morning, Monday morning, the pediatrician from my kids pediatric office came to check on him, and after looking through his chart, and talking to the nurse in charge, agreed that he was completely fine to go home with me that day! I was so relieved! I knew people had been praying hard, and our prayers had been answered. What a relief! Then the doctor and nurses asked me about him having come to my room the night before, and I told him he didn't. They acted surprised, since word on the street was that he was going to. Well, no one told me a thing, so I missed my chance. Hence the anger at the communication efforts. I was up in the NICU every 3 hours to feed Levi, and no one said a thing to me about it.Hence the irritation about the communication efforts on their behalf. Part of me thinks it was just confusion about what to do since it was the week-end.

Anyway, I was very grateful and relieved that people with some sense came in Monday morning and were willing to let Levi come home with me that afternoon. They were able to get his circumcision done, and we were home by about 4 p.m. Sweet sweet buddy! I feel like I was jipped getting my one on one bonding time in the hospital...as well as any rest. I knew I would be tired in the hospital, but I wasn't expecting the stress of the situation, and that definitely took its toll. For the first few days of being home I felt completely wiped out!I am so glad that Grandma has been here to help entertain the kids, and let me get some much needed rest. I think I will cry when she has to go home today. I have loved having my mom here, and am not sure how I will function when she has gone home. Times like these are when I really miss having family nearby....when I need them most.

We love our new baby boy, and are so grateful he is in our family! When Logan first saw him at the hospital, he said so excitedly " I love him already!" Avery declared "Mine! My baby!" And he is! We are now a family of 5!