Welcome Home Baby Carter!

On Thursday Derek and and I got up at 2 am to head to the hospital so that I could be induced.  After all of the tedious paperwork, needles, and questions, I finally had my pitocin drip started around 4:30 am.  Light contractions started soon after and I was able to get in a few short cat naps.  My water was broken and I had my epidural around 7:30 and took several more cat naps to rest up for delivery.  Around 10:30 I was ready to begin to pushing and Carter was born at 11:14. Of course the nurses talked about how much he looked like his dad..which is ALL I heard about when Addy was born too. He was 10 pounds 4 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  All of the nurses and my doctor were very suprised at how much he weighed. I was expecting him to be somewhere in the nine pound range, so the reading on the scale was a surprise to me as well!  I was also very surprised that he came so quickly, as I was anticipating much more pushing because Addy had required so much more.  The whole week prior to being induced I was very apprehensive because I was afraid that it would be similiar to the difficult labor I had with Addy and that I would inevitably end up having a c-section.  Needless to say I was so relieved that my second experience went much smoother and was much less complicated! 

We were released from the hospital on Saturday. However, Carter's billirubin levels were a bit high so the pediatrician had us come in for labs on Sunday to monitor the levels.  On Sunday Derek and I loaded Carter into his carseat and headed to the hospital lab so he could have more blood drawn.  His levels did increase, so the doctor ordered a billi-blanket for Carter to wear at home to help lower his levels of billirubin. Basically the billi-blanket is this box that hooks to a hose which sends blue light from the box to a pad that Carter had to wear on his back at all times. Today a home health nurse came to the house to draw more blood.  The test results showed that his levels went down and he no longer had to wear the lightning bug suit!

While we stayed in the hospital my parents and Derek's mom stayed at the house and kept Addy. We are so thankful that they came up to be with us for the birth of Carter and to stay with Addy. It gave Adalyn a chance to see her grandparents and allowed her to get all of the attention that she enjoys. It was also nice to have home cooked meals and the general chores dones for us during the first few days at home with Carter.  During the day of labor our friend Kalee was nice enough to take Addy so that our parents could be at the hospital. When Carter was born I texted a picture of Carter to Kalee to show Addy. When she showed it to her during lunch Addy said, "Is that baby Tarter? He's cute! Can I have some more pizza?" What can we say?...the girl has her priorities!  Overall Adalyn is handling the arrival of her little brother very well.  She comes up to give him kisses and hugs and says he's toot (cute) and calls him Tarter. She takes notice when he cries and often comes running with a pacifier or toy to help calm him.   I hope that this type of attitude continues as the weeks continue and the newness begins to wear off!  We'll keep you updated!