The rest of the story for Devin Thomas Wiltbank

Oh gosh! The baby is finally here and we are finally home! Devin is on his 5th full day of life today, and he is so far really a great baby. He was born at 6:22am on Friday the 27th, and weighed 7lbs 0ozs, and was 20inches long. We ended up doing a c-section with him, which now I wish did not have to happen. I had an appt last Thursday and the little guy was still flipping around back and forth on his own accord (he'd flip from breech to head down about 2 or 3 times a day). My doctor said he could turn him, but he said it made him nervous that he could still move that much and I was almost 100% effaced. He said that if we didn't do a c-section before I went into labor, that we'd be coming to the hospital and it would be an emergency c-section (which I think those of you who've had to do that would agree it's no good). So off we went home with an appt for a 6am surgery. We went in and I felt much more calm than the previous attempt, I liked the people around me better and all was good. I did still have a pretty good panic attack, but thanks to my very dear husband I went into the surgery calm. They got Devin out, and he was transverse when they got in there. It was so sweet to hear his little tiny cry. I'm so amazed at how fast it was, so crazy to go from no baby to baby in about 12 minutes! First and foremost, we are so happy that he is here, but wow a c-section is a rough way to do it.

We love Devin! He has quite a bit of dark hair, and it already knows to be spiky like Daddy's hair is. He has the same lips that Kyndal has, and those are by way of Ben's side of the family. It looks like he'll have Ben's chin dimple too, and we're thinking my nose? His eye color is different than Kyndal's was so we're thinking he'll have brown eyes. He has long arms and big mitts and tiny feet, which is a direct nod to his namesake (my dad Tom). He's so sweet and perfect and little! He left the hospital at 6lbs 3oz which is 6oz smaller than Kyndal ever got, so he's itty bitty. His first few days of life are so far vastly different than Kyndal's. He nursed right after I got into the recovery room, it's been so easy with him. He was/is a bit jaundiced so we had to supplement for a while with formula, which he also takes well from a bottle. So food is no issue with this kid! Except he falls asleep way too easily, so he has to be goosed with cold hands to keep him workin'. Nursing was not on K's agenda, so her first few days of life were really stressful and a flurry of pushy lactation consultants. Actually, one came in to see how we were doing and it was coincidentally the same one that made me cry often out of guilt because Kyndal wouldn't latch on. So I had some flashbacks and almost decided not to nurse when she was talking to us, but Devin does so well I can't say no. Devin also sleeps an awful lot, which at least for Kyndal's first week didn't happen. Kyndal slept through the night around 3 weeks, but she was always awake and alert the entire day otherwise. Devin is a sleeper for sure. He even sleeps soundly through Kyndal yelling "baby baby baby!" at him when he's sleeping. I feel bad having to wake him up to make him eat. He's a sleepyhead, but when he's awake he's super squirmy. He also doesn't cry a whole lot, and neither did Kyndal. The difference is that when Kyndal did cry it was never a newborn cry and you can barely hear Devin's little dinosaur cries (except when we're messing with his boy parts, that gets a good yell). People really are dead-on when they say every baby is different! Reason #1 why I wish we didn't have to do a c-section, is because he failed the hearing screen the first time and so I therefore (remember I'm a paranoid crazy?) spent the next 24 hours til they tested him again absolutely flipping out. Lots and lots of crying while everyone around me is like yo, this is ok it's just fluid that hasn't had a chance to drain out yet (because he didn't pass through the birth canal). He did pass on Sunday just fine, like all the sane people told me. He had to stay until Monday because of being a little jaundice, which worked out ok because I had to stay too.

Kyndal is such a sweetheart with him, so far I think she's doing great about it. She would talk so much in the hospital room and kind of pet him and give him "big kiss, big hug". She wanted to hold him but only for about 3 seconds. She wanted to give him his little dog that looks like her duck and a plug (even though he won't really take a plug, also diff from K). He needs his "ducky pug" to sleep, which of course everyone trying to sleep needs their duck and their plug! She gets excited and kind of laughy when she's around him, it's really sweet. She really avoided me though, I think it scared her somehow that I was in a bed and couldn't get up hardly and hooked up to all kinds of things. It made me sad, and I was SOOO happy to finally get to come home, and now she's back to normal around me. I missed her so dang much! I had my camera there and took a bunch of pictures of her with Dev and every time I looked at them I'd just about lose it. I think she did pretty good for my mom and Heidi,,, but I think they're glad we're home too. Many times a million thanks to my mom and Heidi for taking such good care of her. Especially since in the 4 days I was gone from her she's way smarter. She's saying a ton of new words and sentences now and knows Twinkle Twinkle Little Star really well! So cute. Oh, almost forgot. It was the 2nd day we were in the hospital and she came in to see us. Ben was holding Devin and she was on the couch checkin' him out. He made a little squeak and Ben said "Oh, Kyndal baby squeaked at you!" She says "baby squeak?" and then went and squeezed his tummy trying to make him squeak like a little toy! I couldn't laugh without it hurting so bad (still can't), but oh man I wanted to laugh so hard. Seeing her really gently squeezing his tummy so he would squeak was absolutely priceless. I think there's a pic in the slide show of it.

Ben is just so freakin' fabulous as a dad and a husband. He really is the best guy ever and I can't hardly describe how great he handles all this. He kept saying before we went in for the surgery that he felt bad that he didn't have to go through any discomfort or pain to get the baby here. But really, he's the hero because he still finds love for me in his heart even after seeing some really gross things happen to me! I almost feel bad that he has to see me in all my glory right now, but then I remember it happened to me, not him, and I don't feel so bad. But he is very sweet to me no matter what. He is so good with the baby too, he manned up and went to his circumcision, and can definitely change his diaper way better than I can so far (which is not good, kid proves everyone with a boy right and can pee, I'm awful at changing boy diapers). I love seein' Ben with his babies!!

Oh gosh, now me. If anyone is considering getting a c-section without a reason to-DON'T. Get that idea out of your head right now! I think that my recovery has been compromised, but that aside, this is no fun. I was basically fine on day 5 after Kyndal was born. Now it takes me 7 minutes to go up the stairs (OUCH), and did you know it actually takes stomach muscles to spit out tooth paste? I had blood pressure trouble during the surgery, but my main problem has been that I am apparently allergic to betadine! Really, really, really allergic. So aside from all the usual joys of c-section recovery which hurts, I have a super itchy rash all over my entire abdomen! So much so that it is messing with my incision and I had to stay at the hospital longer to get antibiotics for it. So this all accounts for Ben being an even better husband than he normally would be, because I would use the word "grotesque" to describe my current state. I am so miserable and itchy and still in pain and holy cow I wish it were next Tuesday already because that would mean I'd at least be a little bit better. I really am so grateful though for my doctor, because after checking me out at the hospital he was almost mad about how badly it's going for me. I know that he doesn't like to do c-sections and I truly truly wish that it hadn't had to be done. Again I am so so grateful to have such a good caring doctor. The nurses that took care of us were totally fabulous. I know I'm so emotional baby right now, but I almost want to write them all a thank you note and cry while I'm doing it. I know, I'm crazy but they were all so great to us. It is also so hard to not be able to pick up Kyndal, I'd say that's a bad side effect of c-sections too! It's hard to listen to her say "Mommy hold you" over and over and cry when I can't. I do a lot of crying these days, that's all I can say! I would gladly take labor over this! My only consolation is that I have a sweet scrawny little boy that sounds like a baby dinosaur and likes to snuggle. Enjoy the pictures of our new family.


**Update** So I wrote this yesterday when Dev was 5 days old. Today he is 6 days old and rolled over onto his stomach. We were giving him some sun for the jaundice and my mom heard a little disgruntled squeak and went and looked at him, and he was on his tummy! He also attempted to repeat that feat at the doctors office and almost rolled off the table. Good thing doc and dad have fast reflexes! He was way more active than Kyndal when I was preg, but I was not prepared for that to translate into my 6 day old baby being able to roll over! See photographic evidence in the slideshow :)