0w3d - Announcing the arrival of Tristan Roark

Sorry I haven't updated before now, been a bit busy.

Hubby and I went to the OB appointment and the mild contractions and bloody show had continued. My OB said he was fine with us going home and waiting to see if this was real labor or just a false alarm. He did check my cervix which was just beginning to dilate and was effacing and very soft. The contractions were getting uncomfortable enough that I doubted we'd be able to wait it out the rest of the day and overnight so we begrudgingly opted to go for the surgery on Friday, one day early.

They had me checked in pretty quickly, and luckily, my friend Lisa, who had agreed to videotape the surgery for me was nearby and able to get to the hospital in time. Surgery went great and Tristan Roark A__ was born at 1:07 pm on July 6, 2007. As for our guesses on his weight, we were all a bit surprised. Myriam and Gramma Sue were closest as this moose came out at 10lb 3oz and 21 1/2 in long. He peed and pooped almost immediately and let me tell you, this kid has a good set of lungs!

Healing has been going very well and I was up and walking within about 9 hours of surgery. I did have some trouble with nausea Friday evening and vomited a few times, but now that my body is functioning better, that has passed and I was able to resume solid food yesterday. Pain is quite tolerable (way better than last time) and the nurses and I are both surprised at how little pain meds I am needing.

As for the name, Tristan is from Welsh folklore and Roark is Irish and means "famous ruler". We looked for a family name on my side, but didn't find anything that would work well with Tristan and my grandmother (who had 10 children) used a lot of R names, so this ties him back to my side of the family a bit.

Tristan and I are doing well with breastfeeding, but I think he's ready for the milk to be here already. Hoping it shows up today as he did drop 5% of his birthweight at yesterday's check and if he drops too much more today, they may want me to supplement a bit until the milk arrives. He's mostly very calm, but when he gets a gas bubble, he goes from 0-60 in about 2 sec. flat. Last night, he actually slept in my arms from 10pm-5am. I kept trying to offer him the breast, but he'd rather sleep. Feels odd to be so confused about which to prefer right now. I want him to be a good sleeper, but want him to eat well too. He made up for it I think by nursing for an hour straight just now - back and forth 3 times each - and he's acting like he wants more, so I'll have to wrap up soon.

Here's a few pics to tide you over until I can update again. Hopefully going home from the hospital today.