This pregnancy was completely different than my first. My first, was so easy. No sickness, no swelling, no complications....just a little tired at the beginning. Maybe the symptoms just seemed worse since I still had the responsibility of a 2 year old's daily routine instead of just laying around at the end of the day. This go round I was sick as a dog, tired, and almost delivered a baby 10 weeks early. So...naturally...with all the drama...I was SURE this was a girl! But...
Truett Yocum Branch was born on March 26th, 2014 weighing 7 lbs, 3 oz.
Tuesday night (3/25), I felt terrible. Contractions were frequent, but not rhythmic so I decided to wait it out at home. My water broke with Wyatt (which was unmistakable) and I assumed the same would happen with Truett. I hate the waiting around that happens every time I'm in the hospital, so I decided to wait it out at home. I could NOT get comfortable that night. Wed morning, I took Wyatt over to Aprils (his normal babysitter on Wed) and called my boss to ask to work from home. I had little to no sleep so I wasn't feelin' the office scene. I was sitting at home furiously writing and editing a paper we hoped to submit for publication due a week later. At around 1PM, I decided to allow myself a short nap since I'd made some good progress and was waiting on a few emails from the other authors. I had just closed my eyes and begun to relax when my water broke. Of course. Byron had just left to head into work for a few meetings. I texted him "My water just broke". He called back to say he was coming back home to pick me up.
We got to the hospital around 2:30 PM and I was starting to really hurt. I got all checked in, IV's in (the first attempt failed and left me with a huge welt on my left arm) and we started spreading the word via text. Wyatt was well taken care of with April, so I was able to rest easy and focus on Baby #2. I got an epidural around 5 PM and from them on...I could think, talk and be human! Byron and I watched some sci-fi documentary about mermaids and I dosed in and out. This time the epidural missed a little to the right so I could feel things MUCH sooner on my left side. Once again- I had to get a little boost of the meds since it started to wear off. We also furiously researched the meaning of a few boys names since we still hadn't decided on one yet. Unfortunately- my contractions slowed significantly so they gave me some pitocin to move things along again. That did the trick and in about an hour- I was really feeling the pressure (not the full amount of pain) of the contractions and asked the nurse about getting the doctor. My regular doctor, Dr. DeLaGarza was actually the physician on call that night which meant she would actually get to deliver the baby she'd been monitoring for the last nine months! Horray! (Wyatt was delivered by a different doctor since he was also born at night).
By the time Dr. DeLaGarza was in the room I was SO ready to push. With Byron at my side, I pushed four times and out came my beautiful baby boy. I was SHOCKED, but so in love immediately. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn't speak, I was so overwhelmed with love. It's simply amazing how God expands your heart to love so much. I didn't think my heart could hold any more love after Wyatt. But here was this perfect little boy, who calmed at the sound of my voice and looked strait into my eyes. It was love at first sight. Again.
We didn't name him right away. Byron went home to get some sleep and was planning to come back in the morning. But...at 4 AM he got a call from April saying that Wyatt was really sick. Poor baby. He went and picked him up and dealt with a super sick toddler for the next few hours. He called me at 9 to let me know what happened and that he was working on finding someone to come keep my sick baby so he could come back up to the hospital. By this time I had already settled on the name Truett. I spent the first 12 hours with this sweet baby boy and he just looked like a Truett. But....I wanted Byron to be there too.
I was super emotional, as I wanted to be in two places at once. Home with my sick baby, and at the hospital with my newborn. I felt terrible because he was crying out for me, and I couldn't be there to help him. Cynthia came to keep Wyatt for a while, and he actually perked up that afternoon.
I had lots of visitors that day: co workers, great Grandma Sylvia, and other family. After a much needed night of sleep Byron came to pick me up the following morning. Tears filled my eyes when I saw Wyatt and he gave me the biggest grin and a huge hug. My little boy had grown up overnight it seemed. He looked HUGE sitting in his carseat, so proud of his little brother. I am so blessed to have two happy, healthy little boys. God is so good.
As a side note:
I allowed a nursing student to shadow my nurse. She was very young and sweet, and just stood in the back most of the time. At first I thought to myself "I'm sure this is waaayyyyy more than she bargained for:". Simply put....Having a baby is not a pretty picture. But I remember locking eyes with her after Truett was born, and saw that her eyes were full of tears as well. Even a young student can appreciate the pure joy a mother has when she holds her child for the first time.
