Nathan Alexander Spanu: born August 16th @ 10:04pm, 6.5lbs

A lot of you have been wondering about the past week and how everything unfolded after my last post. Well, here it is...

~We were officially called into the OR at about 9:30pm (after waiting in the case room since 11:30am!) and walked down to get ready for the C-section. What an experience that was. SO different from having natural labour. I had three different needles put into my spine and by the third I could no longer move. The surgery was going fine and I was doing my best to stay calm and all of a sudden I hear my obstetrician say, "Now the three of you have to get the butt out!" It felt like someone was jumping up and down on my chest and I couldn't catch my breath. I started to panic and cry, but thankfully Dan was there to calm me down. Then the next thing I know I hear that newborn cry- it had been so long since I heard that cry! Nathan came out at 10:04pm, weighing in at 6.5lbs. So of course, Dan and I are crying, the baby is being weighed, Dan is cutting the last part of the umbilical cord... a lot happens within that 20 min span! The hardest part is AFTER the baby comes out. The recovery part. The not being able to get up easily part. The regret of having too many cheeseburgers and trips to the Cheesecake Cafe part. The whoa I've got a lot of working out to do part... Ah, my favourite part ;) I can't complain though- look what I get: a healthy beautiful baby boy to add to my bunch!



~I quickly got to meet "Boy Mendoza" and he was shortly sent off to the ICN, where he was hooked up to machines to help him breathe. He also had to be tube fed and had an IV put in... needless to say, it was all awful to see. I couldn't actually go down and see him so Dan took pictures and reported back to me while I was in recovery. After two days in the ICN (now) Nathan was finally allowed to come into the room with me and we were sent home the next day. He was breathing on his own and was finally keeping milk down. He was doing great!

~We were sent home late Friday afternoon and that was it- our family was complete! Lucas met Nathan in the hospital and fell in love with him instantly. Every morning he comes out of his room and yells out "Brother, where are you?!" Then we have to (lovingly of course ha ha) shush him and tell him that he is sleeping. All he wants to do is kiss and hug him. He always says, "I hold it" (even though Dan keeps telling him that "it" is in fact a "him/he/brother" ha ha) and he puts his hands out and waits to hold him. And Lucas just stares at Nathan- he looks at him in such a protective way- when Nathan cries Lucas gets so worried and says, "No no, it's okay" and starts to look like he's going to cry himself. So sweet.



~I have to say though, that I do have the best husband in the world. Dan is on parental leave for 9 months and we make a good team. I couldn't have asked for a better dad for my kids. Dan has been so supportive, patient and helpful in every way. It has made this recovery from this C-section so much easier. I love hearing Dan and Lucas getting ready for breakfast together, while I'm upstairs with Nathan. They have such funny conversation and just play- it seems so simple, but Dan has perfected the art of play. Lucas adores his dad. Sorry about all this cheezy talk- not sure if it's the hormones speaking, but I just feel really lucky.

~Recovery for me has been okay. It's amazing how you forget how much you need your stomach muscles to do so many things like laughing, coughing, getting up from the couch! SO painful. Especially when Dan makes me laugh and I have to tell him to be serious, which is very hard for him :)



~So here we are, the Spandoza's at home together for the next 9 months! What an adventure I'm sure that will be!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

This morning I went for my fifth ultrasound and they found that I was running low on amniotic fluid so I had to call my doctor to see what this could mean. I ended up going straight to the Grey Nuns hospital where my obstetrician just happened to be delivering. Next thing I knew she was in the room and enthusiastically said, "C section.... you're having this baby....today!" Oh my. Not what I was expecting. But the baby is healthy and so am I. I had a feeling last night that something big was going to happen....

So here I am sitting at the hospital by myself waiting for Dan to come back with all the necessities. I will be here to recover for at least 72 hours they say so I had quite the list for Dan to follow!

This pregnancy has been quite eventful and honestly, if the baby is healthy I'm glad I get to meet him sooner! Last night as I waddled down the stairs I said to Dan- I don't think I can take it anymore! The weight on my feet, the swollen tingly hands, the sore back, bad skin, bleeding gums, sausage like toes and fingers... it has been rough physically to say the least.

I feel good. Restless and bored, but good. They went through the procedure and I thought I'd be scared but I know I'm in good hands! Dan is going to spend the night while Baba takes care of Lucas. Oh Lucas, what a reality check it will be for the little guy! For the past month or so I've been telling him that his baby brother is coming to our house soon and he seems to understand but I can imagine how weird it will be for him to have this little person come and steal the spotlight.

Well it's almost 3:30pm and the c section is scheduled for around 5 o clock!! I'll be sure to post pics and details ASAP! Good thing Dan finally took preggo pics of me last night!

UPDATE!

Whoa, it's been a long time so I thought I would post an update about summer so far...

~Art Walk was fantastic! The first day was slow and the weather was crappy, but I had my friend Kristen with me the whole day so it made it a bit easier to get through. My friends kept me company all weekend and fed me "healthy" treats (thanks for the mini donuts, Katie!). By the end of the weekend, I sold 10 of my paintings!!! Hey, my goal was to sell one, so I was pretty ecstatic. I met some really great artists who had amazing work. I think I'm going to do it again next year :) Dan basically took care of Lucas all weekend because each day I had to be there from 10-5 so I hardly got to see my peanut, which was the crappy part.

~AH, to be pregnant... days are getting harder and harder. Initially, we took Lucas out of daycare in June, but it was getting a bit stressful on me physically with just the two of us during the day so the daycare director so graciously found a place for Lucas. He is back for 3 weeks and his last day (again) will be on August 12. Then again, it's just the two of us! I love having him with me at home, but it's difficult to carry him up the stairs and chase around after him. Wish me luck!

~Last Thursday I thought I was going into labour. YUP. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks off and on, but nothing too painful. But then all of a sudden they had become stronger and stronger- unbearable They were really close together and I could barely take it anymore. I started having flashbacks about my labour with Lucas, where I was telling myself: THERE'S NO FRIGGIN WAY I'M GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN!!! Okay, so I changed my mind and wanted another one... Anyway, I called my obstetrician and she told me to go to the hospital in case I was actually going into labour. After hours of being in the hospital and a ton of VERY uncomfortable tests done, they concluded that I should not be going into labour for another 2 weeks at least. How they can tell this, I don't know. One of the tests anyway.

So here I am, over 5 weeks to go. I'm almost ready. Sometimes I think- what have I done?! The days when I can barely walk because my feet are so swollen, when my back is aching, when I am waddling about, when the Braxton Hicks make me nauseous... but I know it will be worth it in the end. I can't wait to meet this little bugger that has been doing a circus act in my tummy :)