33w4d

Started out with my last belly shots:

(In the hospital, not quite so pretty....)

Ryan joined before the party started:

And the morning ended with this little guy:

Welcome to the world Parker Sadiq Love!

17 3/4" long

5 pounds

9:49am

What a trip. Despite how unplanned the timing was, my OB was able to make it! I cried when she walked into the preop room.

We went into this delivery filled with anxiety. The only birth we knew of personally did not have the positive outcome you expect when having a baby, making anticipating this delivery with any positive thoughts so difficult.

I cried for pretty much the entire surgery, Ryan holding my hand, the anesthesiologist updating us continuously. And then suddenly, there he was, held up in the light by my OB. And then he cried! That's when I really lost it. We never heard Korbin cry, so hearing Parker cry and scream was absolutely beautiful. And oh so relieving. They let me give him a quick kiss before taking him up to the NICU, where he'll stay for about a month.

He is preemie still, so he has a lot of things to deal with and learn and overcome.

Even though he's breathing, his lungs could still collapse, so he's hooked up to the CPAP machine which keeps his lungs inflated. This causes some air to collect in his little not fully developed belly, which is really uncomfortable. So he has a tube hooked up to a syringe that a nurse can use to aspirate his tummy and relieve the pressure. He also forgets to breathe at times, so he's on a small dose of caffeine to stimulate his brain which then tells his body what to do.

He still can't eat, as his tummy and gut are not fully developed and wouldn't know what to do with breast milk, so he has IV keeping him hydrated and giving him some basic nutrients. He can still have colostrum (pre-breast milk filled with nutrients and antibodies), so we bring it down every few hours and then nurses swab his mouth or dip a pacifier in it and then let him suck it off the pacifier. Thankfully the hospital is uber supportive of breast feeding or even just giving baby breast milk. They prefer it over their formula, and really make sure I'm doing my part in this, which includes resting up and eating well so my recovery from surgery goes smoothly.

And then there's the antibody issue. Thankfully, his bilirubin levels aren't high enough to warrant a transfusion just yet. They've stabilized for now, and hopefully that continues. But, my antibodies are still in his system, eating up his red blood cells, and probably for at least six weeks. One thing to try and stop them is the IVIG shot, which in a way eats up some of the antibodies. They can do a course of these for a while to help alleviate the antibody issue. And then there are the lights, which will be continuous until they see a marked decrease in his bilirubin levels. Unfortunately, we cannot hold him until that happens.

Here's how he's situated now:

He's beautiful, and perfect, and I can't wait to snuggle and hold him. His big brother sure has been, and still is, watching over him. And Korbin Bear has found his place in the NICU with his little brother.

Parker is just beautiful, and perfect, and I can't wait to snuggle and hold him.

Because I got a lotta love to give.