Introducing Joseph Matthew

I’m a little behind on introducing you to my newest member of the family. Baby boy was due on December 25, 2015. We went ahead and scheduled the c-section for December 18 since he was to be my 5th c-section. As Christmas drew nearer I was focused on having everything ready to go before he came. I wanted to be sure I had all presents purchased and wrapped and ready go to. I knew I was hosting a small Christmas dinner on Christmas night so I wanted to be sure I was ready for that as well. You may remember that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Luckily I was able to keep it under control the remaining part of my pregnancy by just avoiding carbs. I was so glad I didn’t have to start giving myself shots!

On December 11 I got up early that morning and headed to the store to get the last of the groceries I needed for our family for the next two weeks; in order to get us through the Christmas dinner party. I got everything bought and put away and got school done with the kids. I sat down and started working on my final work to do list. I had a few posts to write and then I’d be free to have the baby. As I was writing my last two posts, the contractions started. At first I didn’t pay any attention. Then I was getting down to finishing the first post I noticed the contractions getting stronger and I decided I had better track them. I figured it wasn’t a big deal since I had never gone early with any of my children and I still had two weeks to go before his actual due date and one week to go before the planned c-section. All of a sudden I realized it was time to call the doctor. I couldn’t believe it, but my contractions were happening about every 2 minutes for about 45 seconds long.

The doctor told me go to the hospital. I hadn’t finished packing my suitcase or even started packing the kids yet. I had a week to go!! I called my husband, who was supposed to go out of town Sunday, and told him I had to go to the hospital. He said that he would wrap things up and come home. I got Grandma to pick up the kids and I sat and waited for my husband. I called the doctor at 2:30 in the afternoon and didn’t make it to the hospital until 5 pm! The nurses got me hooked up to the monitor and the doctor came in. They weren’t really seeing the contractions but I was still feeling them. They had calmed down some by then. The doctor said that since we were already there and the baby was a good size that we’d go ahead and have him that night.

Things moved quickly after that. Next thing I knew I was in the operating room ready to go. Baby Joseph was born at 6:41 pm and weighed 7 lbs 12 ounces. He latched as soon as he was given to me in recovery and stayed latched for about an hour. My problem was that every time I would shift my body I would get sick. Even with anti-nausea medication, it took hours for me to stop throwing up. It was pretty miserable. The kids got to come and see him right after I left recovery and Quinn loved him right away.

We left the hospital on Monday with Joseph showing some signs of jaundice, but not enough to keep him in. By Wednesday we were back in the hospital. I stayed with him the whole time. Luckily the hospital gave us a private room which had a bed I could sleep in plus they fed me for every meal. We were finally released from the hospital for good on Friday morning.

We are now 9 weeks in and it’s like he has always been a part of the family. He fits right in. There are some evenings that he just doesn’t want to go to sleep, but once he’s down (usually no later than 10 pm) he only wakes up twice at night. I’m able to usually get a 4 hour and 3 hour block of sleep. He absolutely loves to smile at his Daddy. Mommy doesn’t get as many smiles. We go Thursday for a check up on his heart murmur and the doctor threatened to send him back to the hospital if it isn’t sounding better. So please say a prayer for us that his heart is sounding better.