THE NEW ARRIVAL

Well, I know I owe you ALL an apology for not posting about this earlier. It's a good thing Amber posted some pictures for me. I have no other excuse except that I have been extremely partial to spending all my time with my new little "boyfriend". He's so amazing and I'm so amazed that I actually like him. Most of you who know me pretty well know that I've never really liked the "newborn" stage. I didn't get to enjoy it with the girls and have never been baby hungry for new babies. But somehow I've become so gushy and weepy over this little boy. It's all I can do to make myself stop staring at him or talking to him, or holding and cuddling him. I'm in love all over again. (Don't tell Brian :) )

So, here are some pictures of the new little guy from the first day. The first four are the ones that were sent around to the family, so I'm sorry for those who have already seen them. But for the next set I'll post some more for you guys to have something to look at. :) He's changed so much and changes every day. I'll post some more pictures in the next couple of days. The details of him are below. And I'm sorry that it's such a long post but I'm writing a lot for "journal" purposes.

So...details...

Name: Spencer Shayde Pethel

Arrival: 12:15 p.m. on Monday 6-16-08 (only 15 minutes after my scheduled time...how quick was that! :) One of the many reasons I loved my C-section).

Weight: 9 lbs. 2 ozs.

Length: 22 inches

Mom's Health: Doing great! Better recovery than the c-section with the twins. Doctors were amazed at how fast I was able to walk the hospital, tolerate foods and be really functional. This was the best C-section. I'm so glad cuz I was getting really nervous towards the end. Can you believe I was walking around Target only two days after I was released from the hospital?

Baby's Health: As you can tell from his weight, he's a very healthy baby! I'm so happy/relieved. And we figured out that he weighs more than the two girls put together at their birth. :) (Xanthe weighed 4-2 and Xoe weighed 3-15).

Funny Delivery Story: During the delivery when they were trying to pull him out of the little incision they made, all I could hear from both doctors was the sound of surprise and, "Wow! Big boy. Okay, we need to reposition. Oh wow. Everyone! Big baby! He's gonna be really big to get out...Try this...turn him that way..." And they kept going until they finally managed to get him out. For a minute there I was starting to get worried they didn't make the incision big enough and were going to have to cut again. :)


It was almost as if it was odd to the doctors that everything went so well and so according to the textbooks. You all have NO idea how thankful I am that it was so "textbook." I was sure something was going to go wrong since everything up to that point had been so good. My doctor's visits were always only 5 minutes, and I never had any problems. I was sure something was going to go wrong. I also wasn't used to healthy pregnancies since the girls were so high risk. But everything down to the minute-est detail went perfectly.

Things I Loved About the Delivery:
1) Our pediatrician. He's this little old man who looks like a really cute nice version of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. He kept telling us, "You both made such a beautiful, wonderful, perfect baby. No health problems. He's in perfect condition." He made me choke up every time he came to check on the baby.

2) The Nurses. All the nurses doted on me. They went so overboard with me and took the baby to quiet him down for me when I was just so loopy from the Morphine that I couldn't put two words together to form a coherent sentence. They would even let him kick-it at the nurses station for hours. :) And I had a couple of nurses come in to see and hold him cuz they had "heard that he's so cute from the other nurses". Maybe it was just cuz I was the ONLY patient on the floor that day. Bonus for me though! :)

3) My doctor. What can I say? He just delivered my wonderful baby boy with no complications AND I during the surgery I actually heard him from behind the sheet THANK those that helped him with the delivery. What doctor thanks those who help him? Most of them are really callous...believe me, I've had my share of contact with jerk doctors...(or maybe that's cuz I only dealt with doctors who were being sued. And probably lots of doctors who get sued are jerk doctors). ANYWAY. that was just the kind of doctor he was...always cracking really funny jokes and just making you feel really special.

4) My husband. He was amazing through the whole thing. Always helping me walk, helping me get comfortable, and helping comfort me through the two meltdowns I've had so far (give me credit...one of them was cuz my pain medication had run out and the pharmacy was closed for the night...and the other was when my baby was starving cuz my milk hadn't come in). I can't say enough about how wonderful he is. He takes the baby til his 1:00 a.m. feed so I can sleep and has taken two weeks off just so he can "enjoy the experience of the whole thing." He's made a little area in the office next to him while he works so little Spencer can be close to him. I could go on and on but maybe i'll not make this post so much longer than it already is and post more as I go. : )

5. My mom, dad and sisters. They have been so amazing too. My mom and dad came into town the day before the surgery and my mom stayed for a week just cleaning, making meals, making sure I had a balanced meal (I always had fruit, vegetables, protein, etc. on my plate and she always kept the food coming), taking the baby when he wasn't happy that he was so hungry, and most importantly...entertaining and nurturing the girls when I couldn't. And my sisters...for comforting me during my meltdown too, for all the advice, and for calling so much to check on me. It really is nice and comforting having them only a phone call away.

the arrival- I just posted this picture so you can see how big I was at the end. I just stuck straight out. No wonder. I had a huge baby. I kept saying to people, "Now do you believe me when I said I was so uncomfortable and not just making it up?"
the big sisters-they absolutely LOVE this baby. I have to set time schedules for them so they can have equal time holding him. They hold him ALL THE TIME. They put him to bed for me, help me change his diapers, make bottles, etc., etc. I couldn't have asked for better kids.
flowers-thank you to everyone who sent me flowers. I didn't get pictures of all of them, but I was able to get a picture of the flowers my sisters sent me. How beautiful, huh! I was so surprised. I LOVE getting flowers. And to my friends and dad who got me flowers too. Thank you thank you! the kid-here are a whole slew of pictures of spencer. my sisters have been asking me for a bunch, so here they are! :) No worries if some of you get bored after awhile. I totally understand. Even though I love looking at pictures of him, I don't expect everyone else to. :)

Anyone have any guesses as to who he looks like? Brian and I can't really figure it out. Not only does he change every day but neither one of us are good with matching baby faces to families. Let me know if you guys have any clues.