The Rebecca Jeanne Routine: William Kenneth Has Arrived!

We had some luck on St. Patrick's Day (March 17^th) as William Kenneth was born at 7:35 am weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz. and 20 inches long. He was 36 weeks and 5 days gestation so came a little early, however my doctor had mentioned him being big and that she thought he was coming soon so it was not a total shock. We had spent the weekend at the land and had just returned to the cabin from church when I thought my water had broke around noon. I was not 100% sure at first however over the next couple hours I knew it likely was the real thing. Brian and I packed up and left our kids with my parents and headed home to grab our already packed hospital bags then off to the hospital we went. I was admitted at around 5 pm already having steady contractions without even knowing and 5 cm dilated. My mom and sister Elise came shortly after and we all settled in. Upon arrival because I was in active labor and so dilated (usually they place the epidural around 4 cm) and having steady contractions they wanted to start the epidural however I was not in any pain and did not want to be stuck in the hospital bed so they placed the epidural catheter but did not start the medication so I could remain mobile.

I did not progress much and since my water had broke earlier in the day at 9:30 pm they started Pitocin. The Pitocin started contractions almost immediately and once 1 am hit I was ready for the epidural and having very consistent and long contractions. Since I had the epidural catheter already placed, the anesthesiologist came right in and injected the medication and within 5-10 minutes I was good to go. Looking back it was the best decision to already have the epidural catheter placed before I felt the contractions as I did not have to sit through the half hour process with intense contractions, the anesthesiologist was in and out and I stopped feeling the contractions almost immediately. It was just a waiting game from there to wait until I felt the urge to push. Around 6:30 am the urge hit and the pushing began and at 7:35 am William Kenneth entered the world!

Wills had an APGAR of 9.9 and was healthy and normal….well as normal as a child of ours can possibly be! We spent two days in the hospital having family and friends visit and bonding with one another. We were released Wednesday afternoon and went home. My mother-in-law came in town Wednesday and helped with the kids and around the house which immensely helped. We are beyond blessed with such amazing family and friends! N and Baby E have done so well with Wills. Baby E is somewhat oblivious to our new addition however N is eating him up one minute and the next acting like he does not even exist.

Friday we had Wills first appointment and due to slightly yellow coloring we went for a bilirubin blood test which came back with elevated levels showing he was jaundice. We got the call once we got home that he had to be admitted so we packed our bags and off to the hospital we went. We ended up spending the whole weekend in the pediatric ward with Wills under the blue lights tanning and getting rid of his jaundice. He had to remain in the incubator tanning the whole time beyond feedings and diaper changes every 2 hours. It was so hard not being able to hold him for long but we knew the longer he spent under the lights the faster we could all go home. We were lucky that he was happy as a clam hanging out in the warm incubator just in his diaper with his little eye shades on which made it easier on all of us that he was not distressed or upset. His levels came down and we arrived home today for round 2 of being home and intend on staying home this time! He has a follow up appointment on Tuesday and will likely repeat bloodwork so hopefully his levels continue on a downward trend! Now for what everyone has really been waiting for and want to see, meet William Kenneth: