Baby C

On January 21, 2013, I checked into Albert Einstein hospital here in Sao Paulo to begin the induction process and finally meet face to face our sweet baby boy.  Ever since our first child, I have been having elective inductions 1-2 weeks early due to the high speed at which I deliver (after my water has broken 1 hour has been the maximum amount of time before the big baby debut!), and the sad but true reality that I am just not woman enough to deliver without my trusty epidural!

At 9:00am they started me on a low dosage of pitocin (sp?) and gradually increased the dosage until 1:10pm when I had dilated from a 2 to a 6 and was in sufficient enough discomfort to ask for my friendly drugs to be administered.  After my sense of feeling was completely gone, the nurse broke my water.  My husband and I looked at the clock.  1:20pm.  The nurse didn't leave my side as she was nervous as what to expect.  About 35 minutes later I told her that although I literally felt NO pain, I thought I was beginning to feel some pressure, though I couldn't be sure because that epidural was literally the BEST one to date!  She checked me again and exclaimed, "Oh, wow.  You're already at a 9!"  My husband and I exchanged semi-panicked glances.  He wasn't dressed yet, and I wasn't in the delivery room..  The nurse told him he needed to change and started giving him directions to do so, "You go out this hall, take a left, take the elevator to the 6th floor, then a right, then a left...."  My nervous laughter started to kick into gear as I realized that he may not make it back in time.  He went running and I quickly prayed for the strength to wait until he got back.  Before I could finish composing myself, half a dozen people were pushing me toward the delivery room as fast as they could yell to people to move out of the way!  As I was the only patient delivering for my doctor that day, she responded to the call very quickly and was there when we arrived.  My body was literally shaking uncontrollably with the urge to push.  I looked frantically at the clock - 2:00pm - knowing that that could be the delivery time if I wanted.  My doctor asked if I wanted to do a "warm up push" to which I responded, "No warm up needed, one push is all it's going to take!  I need to wait for my husband.."  I iron gripped the bed bars and tried to focus on the clammer going on around me rather than my natural desire and instinct to push.  At 2:11pm the door opened and I heard the blessed words I had been waiting for, "He's here!  Are you ready?"  Was I ever!  One push was indeed all it took, and my adorable Channing Luiz was placed on my belly at 2:12pm! :)

8lbs 3oz (3.8kilos) and 20" long, he was perfect and I was instantly smitten!

The proud (and relieved!) papa!

The amazingly wonderful head nurse,

& my fantastic doctor :)

Here is the picture collage/birth announcement we sent out within the hour after his birth.  Gotta love technology! 

A few hours later the whole clan arrived to meet the newest member of our family :).  To say they were excited would be a gross understatement!

 

We were fortunate enough to have my mom come out to help with the kids.  Thanks mom!!!

A popular tradition here is to pass out "lembrancinhas" to your visitors in the hospital and at home.  I opted to make my own and wrapped Hershey's bars with a cute label that had Channing's birth stats on the back.

Family and friends back in the US have been anxious to know how the whole experience measured up to delivering in the States.  Honestly, aside from the fear that my husband would be absentee for the big moment, it was the best delivery I've had to date!  The attentiveness of the staff on hand was impeccable!  They were constantly checking on me and wanted to make sure I was comfortable and all of my needs were met.  They didn't seem to be just "doing their job", they genuinely seemed to care!  When the anesthesiologist came in I harbored my usual fears of all that could possibly go wrong when the epidural was administered.  Without voicing any of my concerns or giving any hint of my anxiety, one of the nurses came over and placed herself in front of me, pulling my head down onto her shoulder, gently massaged my shoulders and breathed slowly in and out with me until the procedure was through.  It was an incredibly calming and tender moment that made me completely trust her and wish she had been there to help me through my previous 4 epidurals, because for me it is by far the worst part!  On top of the attentive and caring personnel, was the cleanliness.   Everything was constantly being changed and cleaned before I even felt it needed to be!  And the icing on the cake?  They never once came in during the night to take my blood pressure, poke at me or ask me silly questions.  I actually got some uninterrupted sleep and they did all the "other stuff" during normal waking hours.  Genius!!!  One of my favorite perks started out as a slight concern of mine - although my doctor is bilingual, the nursing staff all spoke Portuguese.  I was nervous about this due to my very limited medical vocabulary but it ended up making the experience that much more unique and special.  I wanted a little Brazilian baby after all   Through the good sense of humor of the staff (and myself), we laughed our way through the morning, and in so doing etched an unforgettable memory into all of our hearts!

We stayed in the hospital for 48hrs.  The kids visited each day and doted on their new baby brother as much as possible.  Princess P adored him from the start and is constantly smothering him with kisses!

  

We packed up and headed home Wednesday afternoon with our little bundle in tow :)

It has been a smooth adjustment back into real life and I am loving just eating these kids up while they're still young.. I know by now that these moments pass all too soon... I am truly one insanely blessed mama! :)

How many people does it take to get a passport worthy photo of a 5 day old? Gma holds the backdrop sheet, daddy gets the baby, and mom takes on the camera and all the crazy "look at me" sound effects. The result: a perfectly forward facing infant with eyes open!  We took our homemade shot to the US Consulate yesterday to apply for his Passport.  Thankfully they accepted the picture because that was HARD!!!

Baby C is now a week old (as of yesterday) and has already gained high status points by my kids as the "cutest member of our family".  No one can argue that this little man isn't showered with love! :)

Miss B wrote him the sweetest song ever!  With a little encouragement I convinced her to let me record her singing it for him.. :)