Snider Stories: Welcome to the World Weston Michael

I can't believe our little boy is a week old today! Here is a glimpse into our first week as a family of three...

At 6:48 p.m. on March 8, 2012 after a long and eventful 17 hours, Weston Michael made his arrival into the world. Ryan and I have completely been overwhelmed with every emotion possible over the last week. I was scheduled to be induced the morning of the 8th, but during that night I started bleeding and was having contractions so we went into the hospital. I'm glad we decided to go because there were SO many babies born that day the nurses told me I would have been told to reschedule the induction. Anyway, we got to the hospital around 2:00 a.m. and I was in SO much pain. Come to find out however, I was only at 1 cm dilated. I could not imagine my pain getting any worse and I knew it would. By 7:00 am my new nurse came in and she immediately calmed me down. Dr. Smith came in around 9:00 am and was mad that I hadn't started the pitocin yet. (The night nurse had not relayed the message to my new nurse that Dr. Smith had told her to start) Dr. Smith checked me and I was in between 2-3 cm dilated and she broke my water. Instead of starting the pitocin right away, I got my epidural and after that LIFE WAS GOOD! :) Shortly after the pitocin started and they were expecting a relatively uncomplicated labor and delivery, but our little Weston had other plans. As they increased my pitocin Weston's heart rate dropped several times, so they had to put the oxygen mask on me and pull back on the meds. As the day slowly passed on I was getting more and more anxious to meet Weston. Around 4:30 pm Dr. Smith came in and checked me again and I was still at 8 cm dilated. She told me that he was also face up at this point, which meant longer pushing. She told me that if the next time she checked me I had not fully dilated, she would suggest a C-Section. Luckily, little Weston turned on his own and I was fully dilated when she checked again. I started pushing and by this point I was EXHAUSTED. I really felt like I couldn't do anymore, I just wanted sleep! Forty-Eight minutes later, Weston was here! He was absolutely beautiful and so alert!
The next morning at his newborn screening and assessment, the doctor noticed he had an irregular heart beat so they ordered an EKG on him. When those results came back, they ordrered an eccocardiogram. Those results found that his PDA artery hadn't closed at birth and he also had a PFO, along with the irregular heart beat. I was shocked to find out that by little boy, who I thought was perfectly fine, would be admitted to the NICU for monitoring. The news broke my heart. I had only had a short time with my sweet boy and then all of a sudden he wasn't with me anymore. Ryan was so helpful during this time because he is so positive and calm, where as we know...I am not. As the days passed on in the NICU, his PDA artery closed and his irregular heartbeat seemed to have corrected itself. On top of everything going on with Weston, I was put on two blood pressure medicines while in the hospital. Talk about stressful! Finally, on Monday we were told the good news that we were able to bring our sweet boy home. Talk about excitement!
Each day has been an adventure since then. Weston is so alert during the day and is finally starting to master nursing. He is such a joy to watch! Everyday he is growing and of course, getting spoiled! We are still working on establishing a routine and hopefully we will get the hang of night time sleeping soon! Today, we had our follow up appointment with the pediatrician who looked after him while at the hospital. He now weighs 7.5 lbs and is looking great! We did find out today that there was another hurdle to overcome, Weston seems to have been born tongue tied and lip tied. We had the tongue tie corrected today at the pedi surgeon, but we are going to get a second opinion on the lip tie. The doctor and pedi surgeon suggest not doing anything right now, but I can't imagine correcting it when he is older and will remember the experience.
If I could sum up parenting thus far I would say it is...unpredictable, incredible, rewarding, and it has blessed us with an unconditional love. Here are a few pictures from our first week. I will update soon! (When I can sit down for a few minutes)