Welcome Baby Barrett!

So here goes my birth story of baby Barrett... As each day rapidly approached my due date I became increasingly anxious about this baby's appearance or rather the delay thereof. I was ready for him to get out and was getting more and more nervous about what seemed to be his ever growing size. I knew he was going to be bigger than his brother, simply because Lawson was two weeks early, so he only weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces, and I had already gained about 3 pounds more than I did with Lawson and truly felt that most of that was on the baby. I could just tell he was bigger.  This pregnancy was different in some ways and similar in others. We had one scare midway through when baby Barrett decided to flip around and was breech for a week but luckily I used my willpower to convince him to turn back around, lol! Other than that everything went pretty smooth. My body reacted a little differently to this pregnancy since it was my second and he was bigger, but nothing too crazy thankfully.  

The day that I went into labor I was at home by myself with Lawson and started feeling contractions. I called my mom and she told me to time them to see how far apart they were. I had experienced some Braxton hicks contractions a couple of weeks beforehand so knew it was getting close, even though I wasn't due for another week. I started timing them and they were between 5 and 10 minutes apart, so I immediately called Nancy to come over to watch Lawson and then called Prescott to tell him to come home from work.  Lawson was super excited to have his first sleepover with his best buddy Daniel, Nancy's son who is the same age as Lawson, and he knew the plan of what was going to happen. I had ordered Minion sleeping bags for the two of them to arrive the next day and we bought a bunch of new movies and candy for their sleepover, so Lawson was really looking forward to it! It was the first time we would be away from him at night but he did great. We FaceTimed him from the hospital multiple times. It's hard to say who missed who more, I couldn't wait to get home and he couldn't wait for us to get home with his baby brother either! 

Once Prescott got home, we grabbed all the bags and everything that I had prepared and then Nancy pulled up with Daniel shortly after. Then we were on our way!  It was really nice being just the two of us, we were so excited that we were finally going to get to meet our second son. So intimate and relaxing this time around. We knew what to expect and we were prepared this time. Those two things made for a very different birth experience. Once we got to the hospital they checked me and I was already dilated 3 cm and 80% effaced, definitely in active labor, so they got me a room pretty quickly and there I got hooked up to my ever dreaded iv, literally my least favorite part of the birth every time. I hate that way more than even getting the epidural, which is what came next and was a breeze, then I finally got some relief from the contraction pain. It was then that I dilated to 8cm and then became fully dilated. After that I heard this huge pop followed by a super loud gushing sound which was my water breaking. 

I was thrilled to find out that I was going to be able to have Dr. Metcalf deliver Barrett. She was my obgyn all through my pregnancy with Lawson and was also the doctor who did my ovarian cyst surgery. I love her. This was the first time I had seen her in three years since she had moved to the labor and delivery division and just like old friends we picked up right where we left off, chatting, catching up, it was so special to me and took my mind off of the situation at hand.  I think technically she was supposed to be out of there at midnight but that's about when I started pushing and then Barrett was born at 12:28am on April 14th. She then had to spend about an hour or so after that to fix me after birthing an 8lb. 7 oz. baby! But I knew I was in the best hands. At least the placenta came out easily this time, I had trouble with that the time before so that was a relief. Thank God I had that epidural because I definitely don't think I could have gone through all of that without it. Then that was it, he was out of me and in my arms. 

The recovery has been rough this time, I'm not going to lie. The breastfeeding has been the most painful honestly. My left side had a really tough time and was super sore to the point that I had to stop breastfeeding on it for a day until it healed. I'm still getting used to nursing again. I forgot how painful it was and have been in tears multiple times because of it. I've actually been in tears a lot after giving birth to Barrett. Lots of emotions this time around. 

All of that being said, I am beyond thankful that I had an uncomplicated birth, a healthy baby boy, a toddler that I love more than anything and an extremely supportive husband that loves me more than life itself. I have just as high emotions in sadness as I do in happiness, so I guess that helps?! One thing that has been nice is that we have been able to go out with Barrett a lot easier than we were able to with Lawson when he was a baby. He sleeps so much, it's amazing. I guess I forgot how much babies sleep. Even at night he only wakes up a couple of times to nurse, which is a lot different than Lawson. Pretty much if Barrett is in someone's arms then he will sleep, just don't try to put him down lol! 

As usual we are cosleeping, anyone who knows me knows I am a huge advocate of this, so we now not only have one little squirmer in bed but two and I wouldn't have it any other way. The bond is incredible and no doctor can tell me otherwise. I told one of the doctors at the hospital to do her research after telling me that the baby should be in the hard plastic bassinet provided instead of in my warm arms in the hospital bed after just being born and I don't think she liked that but the truth of the matter is there is just as much research about how great and safe it is for baby to cosleep than not, especially when the mama is breastfeeding there is a bond and instinct that can't be broken.  

Anyway, for now, I am just trying to keep it together, find the balance and take things day by day. Hopefully I can keep positive and put things into perspective to realize how fortunate we are! I will keep updating on Barrett's progress every month and hope to bring only great reports :)  After 2 weeks, the nursing finally got easier and I am now at 4 weeks recovery stage and am feeling pretty close to back to normal.  I think in about 2 more weeks, I will hopefully be fully healed!  Here are some photos from the actual birth and our newborn photoshoot...