A Christmas Surprise
Although Alex was due on December 25, 2008, he made an early appearance on December 11, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, was 19 inches, and (as our ultrasounds showed) had lots of hair and chubby cheeks. Just as with the twins, my liver decided it could take no more pregnancy so it stopped working (called
cholestasis of pregnancy) and we had an early c-section. It's a good thing too, since I was beginning to look like a "before" picture for a contestant on "The Biggest Loser" (see attached photographic
evidence; my waist was 47 inches). The c-section was unpleasant because my anesthesiologist decided to exclude the most potent pain killer from the epidural--I'm now a big fan of general anesthesia. Although Alex was born with transient
tachypnia (a breathing disorder), two blood tests and a chest
xray in the first 24 hours convinced the doctors that he wouldn't have to go to the
NICU. So, the contrast of
premie v. full term was stark: they left Alex in my room for as long as I wanted;
they didn't seem to care how much I fed him or how long I held him, and they even let us take him home from the hospital when I was discharged on December 15. Frankly, it seemed almost reckless the way they trusted us with our newborn (compared to the constant
vigilence of the
NICU). That said, I'll take a full
termer any day. Alex is our angel baby and we are so blessed!
Although Alex was due on December 25, 2008, he made an early appearance on December 11, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, was 19 inches, and (as our ultrasounds showed) had lots of hair and chubby cheeks. Just as with the twins, my liver decided it could take no more pregnancy so it stopped working (called cholestasis of pregnancy) and we had an early c-section. It's a good thing too, since I was beginning to look like a "before" picture for a contestant on "The Biggest Loser" (see attached photographic 
evidence; my waist was 47 inches). The c-section was unpleasant because my anesthesiologist decided to exclude the most potent pain killer from the epidural--I'm now a big fan of general anesthesia. Although Alex was born with transient tachypnia (a breathing disorder), two blood tests and a chest xray in the first 24 hours convinced the doctors that he wouldn't have to go to the NICU. So, the contrast of premie v. full term was stark: they left Alex in my room for as long as I wanted;
they didn't seem to care how much I fed him or how long I held him, and they even let us take him home from the hospital when I was discharged on December 15. Frankly, it seemed almost reckless the way they trusted us with our newborn (compared to the constant vigilence of the NICU). That said, I'll take a full termer any day. Alex is our angel baby and we are so blessed!
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