So last Wednesday I started to feel like I was getting a head cold. I went to bed that night with a runny nose and a slight headache and woke up around 3 am with the worst pain in my face. It felt like someone had punched me right between my eyes. I went to work Thursday morning to finish up a few things before officially going on maternity leave but I could barely look at the computer screen because my head hurt so bad. I called my doctor and was able to get an emergency appointment at noon to see if I had a sinus infection. Sure enough I did and was prescribed antibiotics. The pain was so intense that I slept for the rest of the day (or tried to with the help of Tylenol) and woke up on Friday feeling a little better. Friday night AJ caught a nasty stomach bug and didn't stop throwing up until Saturday morning... followed by diarrhea for 2 more days. Ewww. Alex caught it on Sunday and was pretty much out the whole day. So basically all of the intense cleaning I did in the beginning of the week was now covered in germs, throw-up, and soiled laundry. I tried my hardest to clean up and sanitize the house on Sunday just in case Miles decided to come on Monday but between tending to AJ while Alex slept, still feeling the effects of my sinus infection, and being 40 weeks pregnant, it wasn't going to happen like I hoped.
Sunday night my entire dad's side of the family was getting together for dinner in Carlsbad. My relatives live all over the country and they all flew in to attend my grandma's funeral service on Monday. I hadn't seen some of my cousins in over 5 years and had never meet 2 of my cousins' kids so i was really looking forward to this dinner. Alex and AJ stayed home while I ventured out by my lonesome to meet up with them. It was a super fun night of reminiscing and catching up. I came home from eating a large steak dinner with all the fancy trimmings and went straight to bed. In the middle of the night I woke up with a horrible stomach ache and proceeded to get sick until the morning.
After taking a shower I decided that I was well enough to attend my granny's funeral so Alex, AJ, and I headed down to Point Loma around 8:30. Before leaving I grabbed my hospital bag, just in case, and sure enough on the drive down I had a couple contractions. I was determined to make it through the funeral/celebration of her life even though I was still feeling the effects of the stomach bug and my contractions were nearing 5 minutes apart. The service ended around 11 and everyone was going back to my grandma's beach house to hang out for the afternoon. Alex and I decided to leave AJ with my parents while we drove home to quickly grab a few things before heading to the hospital.
We headed to the hospital around noon and I was admitted by 12:30. At this point my contractions were about 3 minutes apart but weren't terribly painful. I was given a huge, newly renovated delivery room that could have fit at least 10 people comfortably.
Too bad we were only allowed 2 visitors at a time due to the CDC's recommendation as a result of H1N1. The nurse checked me when I arrived and I was 90% effaced but only 2 cm dilated. Because my labor with AJ was quick and the fact that my contractions were frequent and constant, I was told to stay put and that I could soon get an epidural.
By 2:30 my contractions were starting to get extremely painful (way more intense than with AJ) but the anesthesiologist was still busy with someone else. The nurse checked me again and I was 4 cm at that point. At 3:30 the anesthesiologist finally came in and by 4 the pain started to decrease.
The anesthesiologist and nurse both left the room shortly after and all of a sudden I had the most painful contraction ever and felt like I needed to start pushing. Alex rushed out to get the nurse and she came rushing in with a couple other nurses and finally my doctor. They set up the bed in a hurry and I began pushing at 4:20. At 4:26 Miles came out, gave out a couple good squeals, and then was a peaceful as can be. They handed him to me all slimy and gooey and I just marveled at how tiny he was. I thought for sure he was smaller than AJ but he ended up being the exact same weight- 6 pounds 15 ounces. He measured a couple inches shorter than AJ although at his doctors appt 2 days later he was the same size as AJ, 20.5 inches, so I don't think the nurse that measured him at the hospital stretched him out all the way. Miles and I bonded for a few minutes before they took him to the warming bed to be cleaned up and checked out.
Because everything happened so fast, my mom wasn't able to make it for the delivery which made me sad. :( But of course Alex was an amazing support system throughout the entire labor, praying over me and letting me use his hand as a squeeze toy.
So why the name Miles William? Alex and I had a hard time deciding on a first name. We knew his middle name was going to be William after my dad and both of my grandfathers. We made a list of about 10 boy names that we really liked once we found out he was a boy and slowly they dwindled down to a handful. Because Alex is a teacher and coach, he deals with hundreds of kids per day (some not so good kids) which made it even more difficult to choose a name. There are a couple boy names that I really like but they reminded him of annoying students/players so we had to scratch those off the list. I first heard the name Miles when I was like 10 or so because my cousin had a friend named Miles. I had never heard the name before and for some reason thought it was really cute. It always stuck with me and every once in a while I would hear that name and it just made me feel good. It's a manly name and yet it has a cutesyness to it which I like. It wasn't Alex's favorite name on our list so I thought we might wait until he was born to decide. Then on Christmas he gave me a super sweet handmade gift which was a frame that he painted with different sports embellishments and the initials MWT. He had given into my love for Miles and agreed to name him that. Hooray for our little 'Soldier'.
Back to the story...Once Miles was all cleaned up most of our family had arrived and were waiting to meet him. Two-by-two they came in, except AJ. No one under 15 was allowed beyond the main waiting room of the hospital, even siblings, so AJ had to wait at home to meet him. Boo.
By Tuesday morning I was really missing AJ and I felt fine and everything was great with Miles so we decided to go home. We left the hospital around 12:30 which was about 24 hours after checking in. I was ready to get home, introduce AJ to Miles, and relax without nurses checking me every 4 hours.
My mom and AJ waited outside for us as we pulled into the driveway. AJ was so excited to meet him. He kept pointing at Miles and saying "Baby Brother!" in the cutest little voice.
For the most part AJ isn't that interested in his brother but every once in a while he walks over to him and just stares and smiles. When Miles cries (which is only when I change him...otherwise he is super quiet), AJ says, "Don't Worry." It's really cute. This morning the first thing he said when he woke up was "Where's baby brother?" It might take a little while for him to get used to having Miles around all the time but I know he will be an awesome big bro and hopefully they will be great playmates.
So that's the story of our new bundle of joy. At this point he definitely resembles AJ but also looks like his own unique person. He doesn't have nearly as much hair and his skin is lighter. But then again, AJ looks completely different than he did when he was born so who knows what Miles will end up looking like. All we know is that he is perfect in every way.
Welcome to this crazy world, son. We love you.
