apparently, it’s been about ten months since i’ve updated this little space – just enough time to get pregnant and have a baby boy! elliott james fox was born two weeks ago on monday, october 11. he was 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long. we are all doing well, and the transition to having two children has felt pretty easy so far probably because he sleeps most of the time, and i had constant help from my mom for the first ten days, but now here we are – on our own as our complete family of four!
i love hearing birth stories, and i like to document my own, so here it goes. feel free to stop reading now if you aren’t interested in medical details – and i will warn you that elliott had a pretty medical birth. alex was born by an unplanned c-section after a very arduous and unsuccessful labor, and after a lot of thinking and processing we decided to schedule a repeat c-section for elliott instead of pursuing a vbac. (here is my little disclaimer that i think natural childbirth is an amazing thing, and i think that we have too many surgical births in our country, and i believe there should be more support for vbacs. that said, i also think it’s really important to support the birth choices of each woman without her needing to fear judgment, and i’m thankful that my diverse range of women friends have helped me to feel supported.)
so, after the safe arrival of nona and pawpaw (my parents) to watch alex, daniel and i arrived at the hospital in the morning to prepare for our 12:30pm birth. the section was delayed a bit due to other births, but we had a pretty mellow time answering the nurses questions, signing permission forms, prepping for surgery and surfing the internet. oh – we also got a little visit from the first-year medical student who would be observing with my OB. he seemed very excited, and i thought it was endearing that he was really trying to make a human connection with us beforehand. when the time came, i walked to the operating room and got my spinal block from patti, who i will always think of fondly as “the most amazing nurse anesthetist in the world!” i honestly felt like i had a doula with her constant support and reassurance during the entire birth – she even held up the mirror for daniel and i to see elliott being pulled out, which was the coolest part of the birth. (we didn’t get that with alex.) my first thought was “wow, he looks just like alex did when she was born!” he cried immediately, and daniel held him after they wiped him off a bit. elliott was not too happy initially about being born and was very vocal about it, but my surgery had to be finished before we could snuggle and start nursing. as soon as i was stapled, we went to the recovery room as a family, and got to spend about an hour getting to know each other. elliott nursed great from the beginning, and we enjoyed each other until he was taken to the nursery to be weighed and measured and checked. daniel was with him for part of that time, and then we all ended up in our room to get to know each other more before our visitors started arriving.
this birth was so strikingly different than alex’s, but i have to say that i don’t have any regrets about either experience. this time, we went home after only two days, and my recovery has been so much easier, as has starting our nursing relationship. alex is mostly loving elliott, with occasional demands for extra attention. elliott is a sweet boy, and is finally starting to wake up more and watch his world. i’m excited to see him explore it.
joyful girl 