Tryce's Birthday

I'm only about four months late writing this. Our household is pretty busy these days. I thought I would get bored on maternity leave but it turns out I barely had time to even check my email. Thankfully work did not have to bother me at all except for a few HR matters related to my leave. I've been back to work for about a month and a half now and we are slowly adjusting to the new schedule. Now back to Tryce's birthday...

We knew we would be having a C-section again this time around, so we were able to schedule the baby's birthday. Brett's dad's birthday is September 20th and the due date was the 23rd so we kept it in the back of our minds that maybe we could choose that day. Typically they take C-section babies a week before the due date which would have put us at September 16th. I really wanted to wait until at least the 18th because there is a big tax deadline on September 15th and I would always be busy and stressed out on this child's birthday. I figured if we were waiting that long, I could go another couple of days if the doctor was okay with it. Turns out, it worked out perfectly for his schedule to go on the 20th. We kept the date a secret from Brett's parents so we could surprise Grandpa Charlie on his birthday. And we decided that the baby's middle name would be Charles.

We had to be at the hospital by 6am so we went to Topeka the night before and stayed at my aunt Shelly's house. Our "last supper" as a family of four was the night before when we went to Sabetha to eat Mexican. Then on the way to Topeka, Brett and I had our last quiet dinner in a while in Holton. We tried a new place and it was delicious. The morning of delivery went pretty smoothly unless you ask Brett. I agreed to let a nursing student try to put my IV in and let's just say he about passed out.

We got to the operating room a little earlier than our 8am surgery time so things went very quickly. It was a big room and I felt very exposed as I laid on the table, bottom 2/3 of my body numb, and bright lights over me. It was a relief when Brett finally made it in there. It seemed like it took forever and I thought they were starting without him. I felt pretty good during the surgery, much better than with Myelle. They really had to push to get Tryce out. He had dropped back in July but went back up and by the way the C-section went, I would say he wasn't wanting to come out. My whole body was being pulled and pushed and rocked as they tried to get him out. It seemed to take forever and I was really worried about whether the baby was okay because I wasn't hearing a scream. Then finally, there he came and as always, the tears of joy came with him. He was born at 8:00 on the dot. I'm always so thankful when they say the baby is out and healthy. When they showed him to me, I thought he seemed big. Sure enough, he was a whole pound heavier than his siblings. He had a lot of dark hair. It looked curly at birth before it was washed. His head was a little boxy when he first came out and it reminded me of the old man on the movie "Up." Brett followed him around the O.R. getting pictures of him and I laid there listening to him scream. He did not like to be messed with. When he was cleaned up they brought him back over and I gave his face a little snuggle. They finished me up pretty quickly and we were off to the recovery room for some skin to skin contact. I was able to nurse right away and Tryce seemed to know exactly what to do. It was such a great experience, and I'm so glad the hospitals are starting to give C-Section mamas their babies right away. It was two hours before I held Kyler so things have come a long way in a short time.

I didn't want to give up my little guy, even for his bath in the same room. It was a slow day so far and they didn't need the room so the nurse just let us take our time and really get to know each other. He was the sweetest thing and just loved to cuddle. When he got his bath, he loved getting his hair washed and brushed. Then we asked to get moved to our room so Brett had a more comfortable place to hang out. Kyler and Myelle and my parents were some of our first visitors. They came right after school. Ky was too cool for his Big Bro shirt that day but Myelle proudly wore her Big Sister shirt. Myelle kept commenting on how soft he was and they were both so proud and excited to hold their new baby brother. They had written a book for the baby several weeks before, so Kyler read it to him. It's really cute, and they wrote it as sort of a guidebook for survival at the Brack house. They came up with chapters and dictated the words while I typed them. Then they illustrated it, alternating pages. We had lots more visitors the next day, including Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Tammy. Brett had FaceTimed his dad the day before to wish him a happy birthday, and told him to wish his grandson happy birthday as well. It was a fun surprise! Throughout Tryce's first month I was shocked at the generosity of our friends, family, and neighbors. It seemed that everyone was thinking of us and sending us something, bringing a meal, or gifting us clothes, diapers, and supplies. I couldn't even keep up with thank you's and writing them all down. My recovery went really well, probably the easiest yet. They seem to get easier and easier which is crazy because I'm getting older and older. We even left the hospital a day earlier and everything went very smoothly. The nurses at Stormont Vail were excellent and we had an awesome experience there. Everything was laid back and at our own pace which was so nice. They really left us alone a lot which we actually enjoyed. They called us the easy patients at the end of the hall. We also didn't give him a pacifier while in the hospital because he was doing so well nursing without it, except for the circumcision. The woman who gave his hearing test was pretty frustrated with us for not giving one because he wouldn't stop crying for it. When he finally did, she said it was the fastest test she's ever done and his hearing was great.

Some things I remember most about Tryce as a newborn are his cuddly personality, his smiley face, and his long feet. What set him apart from his siblings were his hair and his size (although he was still so tiny). Nursing really did come naturally with him. And the thing he was not good at was sleeping in the crib by himself. The hospitals really don't take the babies to the nursery anymore so you can get rest so that was a downfall. We were up at night a lot with Tryce and never had much luck getting him to sleep on his own. We weren't sure who he looked like. He definitely didn't favor the Brack side at all, and we could see a little of some of my cousins in him, but nobody was jumping out when he was that little.