Welcome to the World Baby Anthony

This post was written while a sleepy, gassy Baby Anthony slept on Momma’s chest. And big brother Joey napped in his crib. And Dad was putting away Christmas decorations. We are a family of multi-tasker’s!

We finally welcomed our Christmas Baby [Chapter 2] to the world!!! Alleluia! Baby Anthony joined our family December 26^th, 2014, at 8:56pm. He was 21 inches long and weighed 8#6oz. Big boy! He was almost a week overdue— my induction was scheduled for the 28th if he hadn’t joined our family by then. Unlike my labor and delivery with Joey, I was a somewhat calm and knew what to expect. The joys of consecutive pregnancies in less than 1.5 years!

Things were NOTICEABLEY different with Anthony as compared to my labor and delivery with Joey. My labor with Joey took >25 hours, he came out with a little help, and I took lots o’ medication— I thank my induction for that one. Thank goodness for modern medicine!!

With Anthony, I went into labor on my own and had him in less than 4 hours after getting to the hospital. If labor were considered enjoyable, it was the best time of my life! Here’s how his birthday played out:

• Friday, December 26^th: I woke up with contractions, about 7-10 minutes apart. Joey went to my parent’s house and Ted and I came home to “wait” out the contractions.
• By 10am I called the doctor to make sure the discharge/fluid I was leaking was normal. It was! My water hadn’t broke and my contractions were still about 10 minutes apart. They eventually started to cool off… which made me really mad!
• Around 2pm, Ted and I went for a walk and got a snack at one of our favorite restaurants. When our food came the contractions were coming on stronger. I rushed Ted through our meal and almost ordered him to run home to get the car. On our walk home my contractions were about 3 minutes apart.
• Once home, we finished packing the hospital bag and went straight to triage, at about 4pm. Once I was laying down and resting in triage, my contractions were about 5-10 minutes apart. Baby relaxed when I relaxed! Ugh!! The nurse “checked” me, I was dilated to 3.5cm. BAM! The “check” she gave me must have moved a few things “down there” because I started getting contractions 2-3 minutes apart. AMEN! We were having this baby!
• Off to the labor and delivery unit we went around 5pm. The resident broke my water at 6pm. Contractions came on even stronger, and yes, I yelled for an epidural, which came around 7pm.
• At 8pm, the doc came in and “checked” me again. I was ready to push!
• VOILA! Baby Anthony arrived less than an hour later. Phew!!! Where’s my wine?!

If I were to have shared Joey’s birthday story, there would be about 15 more bullet points to add—it was a lot more dramatic!! When Anthony was in my arms, I felt like saying “that’s it?!” because it didn’t seem possible that that’s all I had to go through to get him here. I guess it goes to show that all babies are different and all labors are different. I was nervous round 2 would be like round 1 with Joey, but I tried to go in without any expectations!

We are slowly adjusting to being a family of 4. Joey is learning to give hugs to Anthony every day, but more often than not he pretends like Anthony isn’t around. I guess that’s better than having him beg to carry Anthony. I know soon enough the bash brothers will be causing a ruckus in this house….

What’s the biggest difference between Baby Anthony and Big Bro Joey at the newborn/infant stage? There isn’t anything really that different yet! Both boys were/are sweet, gassy, cuddly babies who like to sleep!

What’s the biggest transition from having one child to now two? Dividing my time. I’m definitely feeling the Mommy Guilt with that one. To spend quality time with Joey, Anthony has to sit in his swing. And to spend quality time with Anthony, Joey just sits and plays by himself. Which is all OK- or so I tell myself. On the bright side, nursing is much easier than it was with Joey. I feel more confident and my breasts don’t feel like they are going to fall off like they did when I first started nursing Joey. Moms, you know that feeling…

THANK YOU for your support, kind words, texts, emails, visits, any and all messages these past few weeks re: Anthony’s arrival and Joey’s transition. I know this will be a busy year ahead, but I remind myself I’m blessed with two healthy, baby boys, and this time will surely fly by. Pretty soon they won’t be babies or want to sleep on Mommy’s chest. I’m adjusting by taking many deep breaths, enjoying a glass of wine at night, and cutting myself some slack. It’s about time, right?!