Her due date was March 30th and I toyed with the idea of trying to wait until April 1st so she could share a birthday with several family members (Gran, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and Aunt Prue). However, as a C-Section was required, waiting was not only riskier, but surgically not available. Everyone reminded me that come March, I would not want to wait any longer than neccessary...take a look at my belly... I DID NOT want to wait any longer than I had to!
Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Bobby came over early in the morning on the 24th so that we could head to the hospital along with Mandy who was able to be in town from Hawaii for Sydney's birth. Scott, Mandy and I headed to Durham Regional for the usual check in routine: gowning, fetal stress monitoring, iv, and waiting for the big moment! Our nurse kept us well updated as the OR time was slightly delayed and allowed us to have lots of company in the room as we waited. Mom, Dad, Mandy, Sarah, Kate and Ian were there early to catch the first glimpses of our little girl!
Everything went routinely with the C-Section itself, thanks to Dr. Nancy MacLaurin's company and surgical expertise... she delivered all three of my children (and now Sydney shares a birthday with her son). Scott had asked her earlier if she was well rested, and while she held my hands for company during the spinal placement, she told me how she had stayed up later than usual the night before making a special birthday cake for her son- a racecar if I remember correctly. I was super impressed! Scott came in just in time for me to get teary eyed and nauseated...passed quickly as anesthesiology adjusted my medicines. The waiting didn't last much longer at that point!!!
Scott and I were prepared for a little girl but the suspense is always there at that final moment that there may be a surprise! Once we were sure there were "girly parts", the next question was whether or not she had red hair. With Connor it was obvious (hours before he was actually born). Sydney's hair resembles Mannix's hair color- slight reddish tint, but more brown. Time will tell if it will turn blonde like Mannix's did! She was perfect from the first second and looked HUGE!! She cried loudly (which is always a good sign at birth), but calmed down quickly in Scott's arms. We got to share a few minutes as a family before she and Scott went off to the nursery for a closer examination.
Once in recovery,Sydney and Scott rejoined me quickly and we started snuggly time. She was pretty sleepy, but we got a little snack in before everyone started joining us! Later in the day Melissa was able to join us, in addition to GGBob and Julie, Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Bobby...and the BIG BROTHERS!!!
Connor and Mannix had been so excited about having a little sister. When they arrived at the hospital, Connor ran right over to see his little sister- he had called her Ratcho for months (we don't know why- he made it up) but quickly started calling her Sydney. He was so excited to pat her head and wanted to give her toys, especially a teddy bear that had just been delivered with flowers, courtesy of Grandpa Pat and Gramma Marla who would be in town in a couple of days. Mannix was bashful at first, but it wasn't long before they were both climbing in the bed to snuggle with her. Mannix surprised us all when out of the blue he started singing his version of The ABC's to Sydney when she started crying. We had never heard him sing this before- video is on facebook- I'll try to add it in the future. They didn't visit for long- it was a bit chaotic and I was tired at that point! But I was so happy and excited to be a mommy of three! Our family is complete and we couldn't be happier!
Over the next few days in the hospital, we had lots of visitors, including Kate, Dad and Sharon, Mom, Betsy and Andrew (pictured with Sydney), Sterling and Parker, Gramma Marla and Grandpa Pat, GGBob and Julie, and Ian and Bekah. It was obvious that Sydney was well loved from day one and had folks lined up to snuggle her. Sydney and I stayed an extra day in the hospital to avoid a GI bug at home and enjoyed the quality time before the chaos of home! I also enjoyed the Chick-fil-a and goodberry's deliveries:)
Our arrival home on a chilly morning was met by two excited little boys and happy dog! Sydney slept the whole way home and for several hours, despite all the attention and dog sniffs. We forgot to give her a grand tour, and she didn't see her bedroom for the first week. Connor and Mannix were super excited to get to hold Sydney- until she starts crying. Connor has been calling her many different affectionate nicknames- most often tootsie pie. They both were disgusted by her umbilical cord stump, amazed by breast feeding and pumping, and helpful with toys, diapers, and burpings. They were also very gentle around Mommy's booboo. The best big brothers ever!
Sydney's first bath was not a private affair (similar to the boys first baths) with photos and video! Melissa and Chris were also visiting at the time she woke up enough for a bath and kept us company. Sydney seemed to enjoy it and seemed to sleep even better afterwards. We are still working on sleep at night- some good nights and some fussy nights- but we can not complain at all. Sydney has been a very good baby so far!
We were able to share Sydney's first week with Mandy, Pat, and Marla. The boys loved the extra attention and company and Sydney loved the extra snuggling! Gramma Marla was able to stay with us through Easter to help us with the transition- super big help! It will take us a while to figure out how to get everything done in a day with fewer hands, especially given how much Sydney likes to be held (she's in my arms now).
This post has taken some time to complete and today is actually Sydney's 1 month birthday with another visit to the pediatrician. Good check up! Weight now 10 lb 2 oz and length 22 3/4 inches (98%)- all very similar growth curves as her brothers. We are looking forward to our next adventures- Easter, Hilton Head, then Pennsylvania for a week!
