The 11 Pounder

Well we had quite the "lil" celebrity join our family on February 12 at 12:19pm. Ford James Kummer made his presence well known when he arrived that day. From the beginning, knowing this was our last baby, I wanted to try and savor the moments of sweetness only a pregnant mommy can. From the positive pregnancy test that got me so excited, which then turned to drama if you remember my previous post, to finding out it was a boy, to seeing the other boys so excited, to weirding Kyle out with my large moving belly at night, to enjoying the food and sweets I wanted whenever, to getting his nursery ready, to feeling him grow, to not being able to bend over, to not being able to hold my sweet Jett, to all of the joys of pregnancy...I wanted to savor it. At the times I wasn't, I tried to remember this was it. Enjoy it! Which I why I was so incredibly sad that my last week of this human life growing inside me, I got sick. The good ole upper respiratory infection. I could not get out of bed. There went the days of enjoying every moment. No last cupcake date with Holt and Jett, no tucking them in at night, no more enjoying this pregnancy at all. I wanted him out! He assured me how much I wanted him out the night before my C section when he kept me up most the night moving around like a wild man. I thought for sure he was sending me into labor! No such luck. I'm still sad to think how awful I felt that last week and that it had to end like that. But then again, there is no greater joy than meeting that baby for the first time!

So the day of his birth, we had a morning as usual. Got the boys ready for school, gathered up their Valentines for their parties that day, headed out the door and dropped them off. I knew I would get emotional if I lingered around at drop off too long so I gave my hugs and kisses and held back my tears. I was hours away from welcoming our 3rd son and their brother into our lives. We got in the car and I was dreaming about ice cold water. Why do you get so parched just knowing you cannot have water? My mouth felt like a desert. We drove to the hospital and walked in like it was any other doctors appointment. I still felt so sick with a raspy voice to prove it, and I had this lingering fear they would send me home until I was well. I got into my gown and up into the bed in triage. Thank goodness...they weren't sending me home. My c section was scheduled for noon so I was happy to see they had me down for 11:30. The nurse came in and started the blood draws, IV, forms and all that fun stuff. Family started showing up, just as excited this time as the times before. 11:30 rolled around and we were running late, which is fine because I was prepared for noon anyways.

Right at noon, the family went to the waiting room, Kyle and I kissed goodbye while I held my gown together in the back, and I walked to the OR. At 12:01 I was already on the table getting my spinal. I was surrounded by strangers putting needs in my back, disrobing me, and poking at me to see if I was numb. I was hoping to feel Ford move around one last time so I could hang onto that memory forever, he abliged. Whoever electively chooses a C section...is crazy. It's as impersonal as you can get for such a huge moment in your life. My doctor came in and pointed out that he was moving around like crazy, which I could still feel at this time. Then I couldn't and she told me I was numb. They let Kyle in now knowing the spinal was in effect. I felt the cold fluids moving through my veins. Kyle walked behind the curtain and sat on a stool, he grabbed my hand and I asked him to say a prayer. Then I was crying. This was it. I felt the doctor struggling to get him out, which we all knew he was big for me. We were guessing 9lbs or so. She pulled him out and said "Oh my gosh, he's huge." And she lifted him above the curtain for me to see. It was hard to tell really how  big he was. I do know when she pulled him out, I took my first real breath for the first time in months I'm guessing. I didn't realize how much he was crushing me. I knew I was uncomfortable, but he was seriously crushing me. They took him to clean him off, he cried immediately and I cried knowing this was the last time I would hear my baby take his first breath and cry. Everyone was guessing his weight. I heard 10lbs 6oz, 10lbs 4oz and they laid him down which I could see on a tv monitor above my bed. The nurse said "Oh, 11lbs 40z!" I said, "How much?" Kyle said, "11lbs 4oz babe!" I said "What?!? How am I going to feed that baby!" We were in such shock and amazement at the size of that baby that just came out of my tiny petite frame. He was 21.5 inches, like Jett, but had almost 3lbs on him. They finished working on me and for the first time in 3 babies, Kyle was allowed to walk out of the OR holding our 3rd son in his arms and take him back to our triage room. One family member at a time was allowed to come in and see him. We did not get this luxury last time and had to wait almost 3 hours to introduce Jett to everyone. It could not have gone any better! I was still numb at this point and all was well. No one could believe his size. Most the nurses in the OR said he was the largest baby they had ever delivered.

The pediatrician came to check him out and all was well except for a slight heart murmur, which is totally normal for a baby taking their first breaths of air. It was just not something we had experienced before. They tested his sugars, common for large babies, and they were low at 33 of course. I fed him within an hour of being born and his sugars went up to 57, right where they wanted them. Then they dropped to 42 an hour later. They test this by pricking their foot and drawing blood, it's quite awful to witness time and again. After the next feeding, I was told I needed to supplement with formula until his sugars stayed level. I didn't fight them, knowing it was what was best for my baby at this time. Luckily, they were level and stayed that way after that.

Every shift change, the nurses would come in and say "Oh this is the 11 pounder! I heard about you." Then they would look at me completely confused as to how I was able to have an 11 pound baby. The next question was always "Did you have gestational diabetes?" Which I did not. I actually got tested twice on accident when they thought I was someone else in the lab. Somehow, lil ole me, had a whopper sized baby. My OBGYN called him full size and the others she delivered that day half size because they were literally half his size.  I've called to make his doctors appointments and even those nurses say "Oh this is the 11 pounder! I heard about him from the hospital nursery." I'm talking every time a new nurse saw him, "This is the 11 pounder...and his tiny Mama." The good thing about having an 11pounder, only 12 pounds to go to get to prebaby weight!

We love our 11pounder, he is our last puzzle piece and completes our family. The boys adore him, Kyle never puts him down, and I could stare at him forever. Welcome Home Ford James.

PS About the heart murmur. We have since seen a cardiologist and it is still there. It's nothing to be concerned about at the moment, if ever, it's called an innocent murmur. We have a follow up appointment in a few months to check and see if it is still there. It's likely to go away on its own, but could last until he's 10. Worst case it turns to a hole in his heart, but we are not letting our minds go there at all. Right now he's our healthy 11pounder.