He's here! Actually, he's been here for two whole weeks now. Isaac River Cox was born on Friday, August 26th, at 1:09 p.m.. He weighed 7 lb 9 oz and measured 19 1/4 inches, although we think he's actually a bit longer than that. He likes to keep his legs tucked up underneath him, so it's hard for the doctors to get a real measurement of his length. He is perfect!
Isaac was born via C-section and everything went perfectly. He waited until the scheduled delivery date, which made the whole experience much more calm than what I experienced with Elijah. Mike chose to watch the whole delivery, and I patiently waited to hear the first cries of my new baby boy. That is a magical sound.
We delivered at a different hospital this time, and I was so grateful becuase Isaac and I actually stayed together almost the entire time. They took him to the recovery room first, and Mike went with Isaac, while I got put back together. That's a long, boring time--staring at a sterilized blue sheet, itching to go see my new baby, while the doctors work on sewing me back up. The anesthesiologist stayed by my head and gave me a play-by-play as they put me back together. I think he could tell I was antsy to get back with my husband and newborn son.
When I got in the recovery room Isaac was already winning the nurses over. He is surprisingly strong for a new born, and was demonstrating this by picking his head up and turning it. A few days later, when we saw the pediatrician, he commented on Isaac's incredible head control. Isaac also figured out how to suck his thumb within an hour of being born. He'd grunt and root around, bringing his hands to his face, and finally his little thumb popped in his mouth. The recovery nurse loved this. She also loved his thick mat of black hair, which is a mirror image of Mike's hairline. When they first brought Isaac to me, still goopy and brand-brand-new, I was amazed at how unique he was. There are similarities between him and Eli, but he is a person all his own, and I could see that in the first seconds after I laid eyes on him.
Isaac is also a very calm baby. He doesn't cry much, although in the two weeks since his birth he is finding his voice a little more. Mostly he just grunts as he tries to suck on his hands when he is hungry. He was so calm in the recovery room, the nurses were in awe at how quiet and peaceful he was.
I'm actually the only one who had problems any problems with our recovery after the birth. My body seems to be sensitive to medicine and any kind of surgery, so my naturally low blood pressure stayed unnaturally low during our hospital stay. The nurses consistently took my blood pressure, and they lowest they are allowed to have it be is 90/50--which is where mine hovered the entire two days in the hospital. Occasionally it would be 87/49 or something similar, and they'd take it a couple more times, moving me up or down in the bed, to get an acceptable reading. I wondered what they'd do if it stayed unacceptable for too long. A couple times it stayed low, and they just gave up and tried again later. The biggest problem I had, however, was the throwing up. I had an unpleasant reaction to one of the medicines they gave me and spent the first 24 hours after birth throwing up any time I tried to sit up or even lift my head up off of the pillow. After a C-section, the last thing I wanted to be doing was wrenching my stomach muscles every half hour while I dry heaved. I had to fast for 8 hours before the surgery, and they mostly kept me on ice chips only after the surgery (and sometimes they took that away, too). I'd beg them for juice just so I had something to throw up--I was going to do it anyways, at least make it easier on my. I'd be happy if I never see one of those pink bed-side hospital tubs ever again.
Meanwhile, Isaac continued to be a perfect baby. In fact, he is almost too perfect. He eats every four hours and loves to be snuggled, so much that he'll keep on sleeping rather than wake up and eat. This isn't great for his weight gain, and he did get a little jaundiced, but mostly he is healthy and snugly and perfect. And it means I can get up to 6 hours of sleep in a row at night! That is heaven! Isaac was healthy and ready to go home the first day, and we thought we'd have to stay for three days becuase of me, but luckily we were able to come home on Sunday. It was so nice to have our family all back together again.
My mom stayed with me in the hospital over night so Mike could be home with Eli, and Mike and Eli would come spend the days with us at the hospital. This was also good for me because my mom would take Isaac after I fed him at 4am and she'd just snuggle him, and he'd be happy to sleep for 4 or 5 more hours, or more! Those hours were the only stretch of time when I really got any sleep in the hospital, and I was so grateful for them. She continued to do this the week after we got home, while she and my dad stayed with us. It is amazing what sleep can do for my recovery, and I am so grateful for my mom to be there to help out with this.
Eli did surprisingly well in the hospital; he loved the view from our room to the courtyard outside. Eli would sit and watch the birds outside and play with cars inside the hospital room. He also loves his baby brother, or "Baby I-gick". I love the way he pronounces Isaac's name. Eli loves to give kisses and snuggles to his baby brother. He is also quick to tell me when Isaac is hungry or needs his binki; he is already watching out for his little brother, and I love it. He is doing so well with the transition to being big brother, but he does have a hard time going to sleep in his own room at night. I think he feels left out.
We feel truly blessed to have this new little boy join our family. Welcome home Baby Isaac!
