Francis Commodore

~My Frankie :) 7 lbs 10 oz~

I was induced on thursday and had our third baby, Francis Commodore at 2:44pm --it was also my brother James' 23rd birthday :)

    We got there at 7 am, and were led to our nice and spacious labor & delivery room by our nurse Gina. She hooked me up to some IV fluids, and antibiotics (for GBS) and also got the pitocin (the hormone that starts contractions) ready. I soon learned how much they really pamper, not only me & the baby, but also the daddy; throughout my labor and recovery, they continually brought in yummy meals, without him even asking ! Here he is having breakfast, all while I was not allowed food or drink haha.

I was allowed a popsicle. Mom came to support me- she's been with us for every birth! 

  John's lunch--yummy ravioli and broccoli...

 My lunch: more contractions..

Then they started the pitocin, and I started having semi-regular contractions, but somehow they weren't painful at all. A little while later, they had my doctor come check me and I was still 3 or 4 cm dilated. They upped the pitocin and put me in line for the epidural. The anesthesiologist was a really nice girl...but the administering of the epidural was the most painful part of the whole shebang this time. Apparently my vertebrae were very cramped together so it was hard the first few times, for her to find a path down my spine..I finally hunched over as far as I could to spread them apart, and we completed the epidural. My back still aches from the failed attempts though..

 No pictures during epidural...which had me moaning and praying in pain for a while...but here I am relieved after it was complete:

 A few hours later, epidural wearing off, on my side hoping Frankie will turn face down...which he did. They also upped my epidural meds:

     Not having any feeling in your bottom half of your body is pretty strange, and I expected my labor to progress wildly fast like with L & O, but it didn't. Although I had regular contractions, I wasn't fully dilated until around 2:30, and by then, the epidural was wearing off, and I felt pain and cramping in my front--the nurse said she thinks the baby was faced up...which is the wrong way to deliver and is called (excruciatingly painful) back labor. So she maneuvered me on my side, legs spread, to convince Frankie to turn the right way, which he thankfully did. I suddenly felt the urge to poop, which is when you know their head is right about to come out. They put me in the stirrups and before anyone could say "push," Frankie was out! He has a little more hair than L & O did, and it's also much darker. He has mine and Lucas' nose, and the cutest little doll mouth when he pouts. Thankfully, an excellent bill of health with NO jaundice :)  

 And one push later, he was here!

 Tears of joy! I felt so blessed that whole day and night. Still do, but that first day was intense. I don't ever want to slip into feeling ungrateful again. So blessed.

 My mom and I both cried a bit, and were so excited to see baby Frankie. Daddy was waiting to hear him cry to be sure he was okay--which he soon did. Hearing your baby's first cry is a big change--almost equivalent to seeing them the first time. It makes it so real and their specific cry begins to establish their individual personality.

 My other babies arrived shortly after with Susan and Norman. I wish birthday boy James could've been there, but he worked nights :(

 His first bath--the hospital also gave us this brand new baby bath...the same exact one I had already ordered from target...guess I'll donate the unused one to a pregnancy counseling center :)

 Alone time with mom after everyone went home :)

 Daddy came back that night to help me. Thanks Susan & Norman for helping with the kids so much!

 John's co-workers sent this--very sweet :)

 Dr Duncan and I :)

 Our last special meal at the hospital (but they were all good believe me!)

 Aw he loves his baby brother! Even sings to him--albeit the lyrics to everything are always wrong and hilarious.
  Here are some comparison pics...I think he looks like I did as a baby:

Frankie

 Me

 Lucas 

Olivia (she's got her dad's nose here)

   As for me, no tearing this time, but cramping is stronger with each consecutive pregnancy to re-shrink the uterus back to normal size. The recovery time after birth is never fun; you have to get over every inhibition with the nurses who must assist you in the most personal of affairs, but I am grateful for them and that this hospital was as good as their reviews say.

   Frankie was having a little trouble latching on at first, but is now a pro and my milk is starting to come in. Oh and I decided to only stay one night, since I felt the need to come home to my babies and daddy has the week off to help. Last night was our first night home, and it was a little rough. He is a bit of a combination of Lucas & Olivia, but I think we are just getting used to each other and will settle into a routine quickly.

  As we were told by many people even strangers, Baylor Frisco serves great meals...but none was better than your last special meal, which is steak and lobster, with mashed potatoes, green beans, caesar salad, and chocolate cake! John also got his own to enjoy as well. The nurses were all very helpful and sweet and it was the best birth experience thus far. Even with the epidural trouble, the anesthesiologist was so sweet and everything else was so painless, it felt like, hey I should have some pain ! haha.

   My body is still in need of lots of recovery, and weight loss, so I hope to start working on that as soon as I am allowed to. For now, it's just keeping this little guy healthy and happy and having family bonding time :) Thanks for reading and for all of everyone's sweet texts/calls!

We didn't take too much video yet, but here are some short clips of Frankie: