Lincoln Scott Merrick!

He's here! My little man arrived via c-section on Jan. 14th. He weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. (at 39 weeks exactly) and was 21 inches long.

At my regular OB exam on Jan. 12th, the doc said I was not making any progress with dilation or effacement. He could not feel Lincoln's head during the exam so he sent me for an ultrasound. I was very upset to find out that Lincoln had decided to turn around again and was frank breech. His little bottom was sitting comfortably in my very separated pelvis and his head was up under my ribs. The doc said the chances of cord prolapse were high due to Lincoln's position, and they did not want me to go into labor on my own. They also said the chances of Lincoln turning again were very slim because of his size and the pelvic bone issues. With the history of placental failure looming over me as well, I made the decision to follow the doc's advice and proceed with a c-section two days later. At the ultrasound, they estimated Lincoln to weigh 7 lbs. 10 oz. They were wrong!

The morning of the c-section, I did pretty well until it was getting close to OR time. Then I got a little freaked out, remembering my last c-section and all that was on my mind at the time. Then I thought of Gabby and I thought of how scared I was that I could no longer "protect" Lincoln once he was out of my body. So many emotions. I also thought of my girls and how they must be so apprehensive about all of it. But my panic was brief and I had Jason and some really great nurses there to reassure me. Once in the OR, I was able to have some "happy juice" that I was not allowed to have last time around. This time, I only remember getting prepped for the spinal and then the next thing I knew, I was flat on the operating table with Jason coming in and telling me they were getting ready to get Lincoln out. The "happy juice" made everything SO much better than last time. It was great! Lincoln came out screaming and when the doc held him up for us to see, he peed all over the floor. :-) As soon as I saw him, a very strange feeling came over me. It was as if I could hear Gabby saying, "Mommy, it's okay now. My brother is fine. Don't worry." There was instant peace.

When I woke up in recovery, Jason told me they had a bit of an issue getting all the stuff out of Lincoln's lungs. His breathing wasn't quite what they had hoped for, so admission to the NICU was likely. That was NOT what I wanted to hear! I was thinking, in my drugged state, "Oh no. Not again. I just want to hold my baby." Quite miraculously, they were able to get his breathing to improve rapidly and the NICU was not needed. Jason brought him to me in recovery, though I do not remember much about it. I just remember that holding him for the first time was one of the best and most difficult things I've ever done. So many memories of Gabby came flooding back. Every tiny detail about him reminded me of her. It was wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

The most difficult part of my recovery has been the pelvic bone and tailbone problems. They just aren't improving like I'd hoped.

As for Lincoln, he's doing well. There is some concern about his heart, as a couple of nurses noticed an irregular heartbeat on more than one occasion. They advised us to take him to the pediatric cardiologist for an echo. We had already planned to do this as a precaution. I am trying not to worry, realizing it is probably nothing. Lincoln was also tongue-tied (just like Olivia and Gabby). We took him to a pediatric dentist to have his frenulum clipped just as we did with Olivia and Gabby. By the time he went for his procedure (2 days after hospital discharge), he had a big, red ulcer on the end of his tongue. It's interesting that one lactation consultant told us he was NOT tongue-tied. And even the neonatologist said Lincoln might not need his frenulum clipped. The pediatric dentist said a baby must be severely tongue-tied to develop an ulcer like that. Thank goodness we didn't rely on only the opinion of that one lactation consultant and the neonatologist. Lincoln must have been in some pain by the time he had his procedure.

The girls are in love with their little brother and so are we. He is so cuddly, warm, and adorable. Yes we are exhausted, but it is so worth it. The emotions we are dealing with are quite difficult as well, but I think Lincoln is helping us to heal just a bit more.