Walter Samuel Meredith

At 5:00 a.m. last Monday, Paul and I pulled away from our new home to go meet the newest member of the Meredith family.  Due to a complication with my pregnancy, we delivered at 37 weeks.  While I was horribly miserable and ready to deliver, I was still nervous my newest little one wasn't quite ready himself.  But I trust my doctor, and if she said 37 weeks, well then so be it.  

To ensure my boys will fully understand the deformation I underwent to get them here, Paul and I wanted to demonstrate what exactly Mama looked like before delivery.  Ridiculous.

We were so blessed to have a full room of people waiting to meet Walter and welcome him into the world.   For some reason, I only have a pre-delivery picture with my Dad, but my Mom, Paul's parents, Paul's brother, his brother's girlfriend, and my brother and sister-in-law were all present for the big occasion!  My Mom dropped off poor Henry at daycare - sweet baby thought it was a normal Monday. Ha!

 Around 7:00 a.m., I got wheeled back to the OR for prep. Our hospital does not allow the men back until we ladies get prepped - apparently, the pansies can't keep themselves from fainting when the needles start showing up. :)  So while I was getting prepped, Paul was getting fashionable.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest baby....

And at 7:58 a.m., on March 4, 2013, Walter Samuel Meredith entered the world at 19 in., 7 lbs., 3 oz.  While it took Henry what seemed to be an eternity to start crying after he was delivered, Walter came out, lungs blaring.  Unless you have experienced it, there is no way to describe the overwhelming feeling of pure love when you hear those first screams.  I'd spent the last 24 hours sobbing that the new baby would traumatize Henry, upset him, etc.  I hadn't really had the time or energy to stop and think that I would be as in love with this new baby as I was with my oldest baby.

 Thrilled new parents!!

Glad to be in recovery and able to actually hold my child.  

And if Walter loves his Gigi half as much as Henry, he's just met his new best friend. Henry generally prefers my mother over anyone else, and I'm convinced he think my mother is on this earth for his entertainment and enjoyment alone.

So thankful Paul's parents were able to make the trip from Pennsylvania for Walter's birth!! One's child cannot ever receive too much love from grandparents!!!

 
Uncle Clifton and his newest nephew!

 

 And finally, a photo of the two Walters (and Gigi)! :)

And while Walter's delivery was drama-free, he did decide to give us a little scare on his first night.  While his nurse was doing a routine check-up late that first evening, she noticed he was breathing fairly rapidly (almost like a panting dog).  It was intermittent, so Paul and I hadn't even really noticed or thought much about it.  She commented that she would like to take him back to the nursery for an hour and monitor him.  She assured us it was routine, and was likely just some fluid in his lungs which was totally normal for c-section babies.  Paul and I both shrugged and didn't think much about it.  The next few hours are pretty blurry for me, but I eventually had Paul leave my room to go to the nursery to check on Walter.  I think I was going through baby withdrawal after a whopping 30 minutes or so.  Apparently, the nursery decided Walter did have fluid in his lungs and wanted him to be more closely monitored in the NICU.  My fabulous husband stayed by our baby's side the entire time - unfortunately, our nursery nurse was only one in the nursery for a few hours, and couldn't come give me an update.  Paul wanted to give me a call, but cell phones are banned in the NICU and the NICU nurse didn't know how to direct dial my room.  Meanwhile, I'm in my hospital bed with my epidural still in full effect. I have no idea where my baby or husband are, and am starting to get a little impatient.  Then, my nurse comes in, wheeling a pump, and tells me that since my baby's in the NICU, they're requesting milk. Immediate panic sets in [I recognize this could be a massive understatement - I don't remember the level of crazy I displayed, though I remember the level of crazy I felt].  My nurse clearly had no idea I was in the dark, and did a beyond fabulous job of keeping me as calm as humanly possible while gathering information to figure out what was going on.  And finally, after 7 long hours of being away from my child, I was allowed to get up out of bed.  I can now guarantee that nothing motivates a human to get out of bed and get moving post-surgery like a baby on a different floor.  Here's one of the few pictures we took of Walter in the NICU:

 

 Fortunately, this photo is after his feeding tube was removed - they weren't sure he'd have the strength to take a bottle, but apparently this baby took his first bottle in his daddy's arms like a champ (all while I was confined to my prison bed, mind you).  We were so blessed that Walter's little lungs absorbed the extra fluid overnight, and he was released to us first thing Tuesday morning.  For those parents that have had children in the NICU for longer than a few hours, I honestly don't know how you remained sane.  All I can say is, God bless you.

And since this post is already novel-like, I will leave you with these final photos for the day.  See the resemblance (WSM is on the left, HLM is on the right)?