Baby #2 arrived early!!
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This little guy decided to show up 12 days early!
Sadly, we’ll be in the hospital for a couple more days while my wife recovers from an emergency c-section - our boy’s little heart kept dangerously slowing down with each contraction.
He’s doing very well now, but my wife is struggling with pain. Any awesome tips on pain management, especially after we finally leave the hospital? Or great things to distract my wife with while here? It’s her 2nd time through an emergency c-section, and last time was very tough on her.
Notice the tinge of red hair? He’s half Japanese (my wife is from Japan), so he’s going to be adorable with a little red in his hair! He definitely looks different than his older brother!
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Congratulations to you and Mrs @luvche21
Oh goodness, he is beautiful!! Congratulations to all… sorry to hear Mrs. Luvche21 is having pain, and no good advice other than to take it slow. (hard to do with baby #2)
Congrats!!! Tell him, if you don’t have red hair, when people ask him where he got that lovely red hair…to tell them “it came with my head”. When my cousin’s kid was 6 and my niece was 4 (they both have red hair - skipped 2 generations and both were sick of being asked that) they had a conversation about what to do, the 6 year old told the 4 year old to say that and told her it “shuts them right up”.
@Kidsandliz Haha, that’s a great idea! I’m sure he’s going to get asked that ALL THE TIME, especially when he’s seen with mom (who has super black hair). I have red hair though, but it’s definitely not as dominant as Japanese black hair.
/giphy babies
/giphy japanese congrats
@DaveInSoCal wat
@luvche21
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DaveInSoCal it was awesome, but definitely not what I would tie in with “Japanese congrats”
Aww… Congratulations!
Congrats! He’s super cute!
The only recovery tip I can think of is to have no guilt at all about staying in bed all day. And call in all favors from friends and family to help with household chores and food.
@dave and that’s going to be the hardest part too!
…contractions started at 12:30 AM on Monday, and she didn’t tell me until 4:00 AM when she said that we need to go to the hospital. She just snuck out of bed (I thought she was just off to use the restroom, so I went back to sleep), then cleaned the kitchen, watered the garden, did some weeding, packed some things, all while having contractions. She wanted me to rest so that I could help her out later that day (looking back, I don’t know if I would have been as helpful that day if she didn’t let me sleep). She’s a trooper. That should give you any idea of how hard she works – it’s super not easy to get her to stay put and take care of herself.
Congrats!!!
Congrats!!
Congratulations!
Congrats! What’s his name?
/youtube cute babies
@conandlibrarian
We’re not sure if we’ll call him William or Kenji more though, we’re testing both out still.
William Kenji Luvche21
@luvche21 Love Kenji! Such a great name.
Congratulations!! Sorry your wife is having so much pain— I’ve been there too and know how it feels…it is terrible (my pain was ) but the end result…( both of my children) was worth it so I am sure your wife feels the same way. She needs to not pick up things over 5 pounds ( which I don’t know about your children but mine were both over five pounds when born and daughter was 3 and 1/2 weeks early --both born by c- section), try to take it easy ( yeah I know with a newborn and another child not likely going to happen). Sometimes I would put a heating pad on my incision but nothing really helped me quite frankly. Praying she recovers quickly and the pain goes away. Congratulations again on your son’s birth!
@AttyVette Thank you for the tips - she’ll definitely have some good support from me (I get a good paid paternity leave), my relatives, friends, and her mother when she arrives next week.
Her pain is actually significantly not as intense as last time, so we’re thinking it won’t be too bad.
Thanks for the prayers too
Congratulations!!! He’s beautiful.
For the wife - have a small, firm, throw sized pillow for her to hold firmly against her abdomen when she needs to get up, flex her abs for any reason. It helps add counter pressure and can relieve some of the “oh my god my insides are trying to get outside” feeling.
Several short walks (even just around hospital wing or house) are great for helping gain bearing and healing.
Don’t try to be brave and skip pain meds! Seriously, that was invasive abdominal surgery, don’t be a tough guy.
If there’s a moisture issue near the incision, ask for the silver infused cloth - it’s amazing.
Use the mesh undies - they don’t put pressure on the wound.
Dad - hand her the baby as much as possible and don’t let her haul the carseat around with the kid for as long as you can until the doc clears her.
Good luck! Heal well. Congratulations on the wonderful addition to your family!
@Thumperchick thanks for the tips!
She did her first walks yesterday, and made it down the hall and back. Overall she’s doing much better than 2 years ago with our first boy, so we have high hopes the healing will be much better.
As for not working too hard, that’s going to be a tough one since she works hard all the time. I wrote a comment up above that illustrates that a little.
Good idea about the pillow! I think that will be super helpful once we get home (today or tomorrow) and there’s now bar on a hospital bed to hold on to.
Great job, congratulations.
/ giphy cutest baby ever
@KDemo awwwww, thanks!
/giphy red hair
congrats on starting a new chapter in your life
best of luck
such, a beautiful baby boy!!! not so many red heads anymore, and the world needs gingers!!! i’m so very happy for you!! a brand new son! best wishes for your wife’s quick healing, and enjoy this special family you two have created…
Oh so happy for your family!
No insight into pain mgmt except pester the doctors, so I hope she heals well and quickly.
The best to you all!
Make sure she uses the belly band. Yes the extra pressure might be uncomfortable but it will help to act as a support and binder until her abs recover. Have her lay down on top and you velcro her into it.
@jml326 we’re going to try that one out again today when she wakes up from her nap
Congrats!! What a cute baby! Glad to hear everyone is doing well! I don’t have much advice to give but maybe this will distract for a bit:
Congrats! It had to be a boy if it showed up early for anything.
Congrats! He sure is a cutie!
No advice on pain management, other than follow what the doctor tells you to do! I had mostly natural births (I had epidurals for both because there is no way I could stand the pain!), but I found recovery easier the second time around.
For pain, I found that sitting in a recliner with my feet up was the least painful position. People could hand me the baby, laptop, food, whatever. I had a hard time sitting still (like your wife i like to do it all myself), but managed to keep busy with the laptop or baby enough hours. The first day home was the worst because the meds in the hospital masked how much pain I really had.
Beautiful baby, congrats.
/giphy congratulations on your new baby boy !
For pain, I recommend a pair of headphones, a comforter to keep her warm and a travel mug of her favorite beverage. Have a speaker dock available if she tires of the headphones. Make her some popcorn.
seriously, congrats, and hope she feels better soon. My wife had an easier time recovering from c-section from #2 than she did from vaginal birth of #1.
@danpritts Hm, interesting that it worked out that way.
She’s definitely recovering better from c-section #2 than #1, but it’s still going to be a long road to full recovery.