Robert Oliver Bratton III {named after grandpa and dad} arrived on May 30th! He finally decided to make his
appearance one week overdue. I
worked all the way up until I was induced, so I was definitely ready for him to
come out. The last week, it was harder to move around at work. I’m constantly
on my feet, up and down, and operating was getting harder. My last day was Wednesday,
May 28th. It was bittersweet, as it was my last day as a fellow and
the end of my post-college medical training. After 9 years, I was finally
moving on to the next chapter: private practice as a pediatric ophthalmologist!
The day before the birth, Rob and I went to my OB who told me I was 2 cm dilated. The plan was to get admitted that evening so they could start the induction process. Rob and I went home to get ready and went to Panera for dinner {we seriously eat there once a week}. It would be our last meal together with just the two of us. I was nervous and excited, but most of all ready to finally get that baby out!
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| Getting ready to be induced |
We got settled into our hospital room and my parents and Rob’s parents came to visit with us for awhile. They put the monitors on my belly and to my surprise, I was already having contractions every 10 minutes or so. Strangely, I couldn’t feel a thing! That night we didn’t get much sleep. I had monitors all over me, and every time I had to get up to use the restroom {which is literally every ½ hour when you’re 9+ months pregnant} we had to disconnect then reconnect everything. Our families rejoined us the next day, and my adrenaline had kicked in so I was wide-awake. By the afternoon, I had progressed to 4 cm, so they gave me my epidural and broke my water. A few hours later I was 10 cm and ready to push. It was such a strange feeling, because I was completely numb from the waist down. I couldn’t even move my legs without help! I pushed for about 3 hours with my mom and Rob coaching me, and the baby’s head seemed like it was only moving millimeters at a time. Finally around 6 PM, the doctor decided to use forceps to help get his head out. I joked with my OB that he had better watch his eyes – ha ha! He finally came out at 6:54 PM. I had my eyes closed, so the first thing I heard was his cry and then my doctor saying, “whoa, he’s a big boy!” They immediately weighed him, and he was 9 lbs 2.2 ounces and 20.25 inches long.
Those first moments are surreal… A thousand thoughts were running though my head: I couldn’t believe I had actually gotten him out, and that there was this little person inside of me that was now in front of me. He was so big, too! He looked like a 3 month old! I held him and cried and squeezed him like a little doll. It was the greatest moment of my life! They laid him on my chest and he stopped crying, and I just kissed him over and over in amazement. He had a full head of black hair, and he even had crooked pinkies like his dad and grandpa {it’s some sort of weird dominant Bratton trait} He was perfect in every way!
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| First photo - moments after arriving! |
It’s funny after you have a baby: the mom and dad are still in this state of shock, but it’s business as usual at the hospital. The shift changed and the baby nurse came and helped me breastfeed him for the first time. All the grandparents were super excited. I immediately though he looked like Rob, but overall, he looked so Asian! Ha ha! The first night baby Robert was up pretty much up all night {and has been since the day he was born!} Rob and I were looking at each other thinking, “what have we gotten ourselves into?!” The nurses were great though and helped me recuperate and taught Rob how to change diapers and swaddle. Thank God for lactation consultants – I called them every time I nursed those first few days! By Sunday afternoon, we were ready to go home!
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| Leaving the hospital |
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| Ready to go home in his outfit from Aunt Betsy and his TN gear |
Although his official name for everyday is "Robert", we decided at home we would call him "Bert" or "Bertie" because it was too confusing having a "Robert" and a "Rob" in one house. It's an old school name, but we like it! I can sum of the first week at home in one word: Sleepless. Ha ha! Baby Robert had his days and nights switched, so he was up from about 11 PM – 4 AM every night. Thank goodness Rob took off work the first week, so he stayed up with me to help navigate through the poop, pee, crying, nursing, and craziness. I’ll never forget those first few nights. Rob and I should have had our own reality show: Survivor Newborn Addition. The climax of the show would have been Rob getting projectile pooped on at 3 AM and then realizing we had been putting the diapers on backwards the whole time – ha ha!
My mom stayed with us the first three weeks, which was amazing. We took him to the doctor the next day after getting discharged from the hospital, and then again at one week old to check his weight. He was a little jaundiced, but overall doing well. At the end of the first week, we started giving him a pacifier, which was a life-saver. Over the next weeks, I adjusted to life with a newborn. Since he was up all night, I pretty much slept all day in 1-3 hour increments while my mom watched him. Without her being there, my house would have been destroyed and I definitely would have starved to death! When you are that tired everything comes second – sleep is first!
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| My precious boy |
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| Face he makes when we burp him {Rob's favorite} |
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| First doctors visit in my jumper my mommy made! |
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| First bath {he hated it!} |
Around week 2 he started grunting all the time. It’s so cute! It’s like his way of communicating. He also started randomly smiling really big. He smiles in his sleep, too {I wonder if he's dreaming?} The little faces he makes are priceless. Each day I look at him in awe. I say to Rob, “ How did we make such a perfect little person?” I want to remember every moment when he is this size. Hopefully, this blog will be a digital baby book for me!
