On August 31st at 1:00 p.m. at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, Kaitlyn Joy Cunningham joined our family, nine days earlier than expected. She was 8 lbs 5.75 oz and 20 in. Due to much bruising, she became jaundiced during the second day, causing her hosptial stay to be extended an additional 5 days. Although Mommy was discharged after the second night, the hospital allowed her to remain in the room for free until Kaitlyn was released. On Labor Day, Kaitlyn was finally discharged, and we were finally all home. To see pictures taken by the hospital photographer, click here:
We have discovered that Kaitlyn has Mommy's dimples too! Since being home, we have been trying to catch up on sleep and find a rhythm that works for our lives. So far, all that seems to be happening is eating and sleeping for both Mommy and Kaitlyn, but life will eventually return to normal.
The family paparazzi was present the day Kaitlyn was born and those pictures are posted on Facebook, both Mommy and Daddy were tagged in many of them so if you're friends with us then you can see those pics. As for us, we've taken a few and here's some of those...
A few hours old...
One day old...
Ten Days Old...
Fifteen Days Old...
Hannah loves being a big sister and is always willing to lend a helping hand. She's not shown any signs of jealousy and rather is very proud to to have Kaitlyn in the family. She loves showing off her little sister. We weren't sure if she really understand that we were going to e having a baby, but we were proven wrong. She enjoys giving Kaitlyn hugs and kisses, and is eagerly awaiting the day when Kaitlyn will really be able to play with her.
Daddy is readily adjusting to life with three dimpled girls, and enjoys spending free time with them. He greatly helps Mommy out by taking care of Hannah if she wakes during the night. He loves cuddling with Kaitlyn and Hannah whenever the opportunity affords itself.
Mommy is doing great now that Kaitlyn is here. She had been in poor health this summer due to having breathing (due to asthma) and blood pressure troubles, plus catching Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease which turned into sinus and ear infections. The last week before Kaitlyn was born, she had headaches in addition to the blood pressure fluctuations, which led to the doctors deciding to induce. Since the delivery, the headaches have gone away and the blood pressure fluctuations have ceased. She's lost a total of 30 pounds since the start of the pregnancy; during the first half of the pregnancy, she lost 18, then regained 15 by the end, and since delivery has lost 27 more.
For those who are interested in the details of the labor and delivery: So the morning of the 31st, she was admitted to the hospital and given a low dose of pitocin (starts contractions). We discovered that contractions were already happening before being given the pitocin but they just weren't noticeable. The normal dosage of pitocin is about 30 units, the most they used was 8 as her natural pitocin kicked in, by the time of delivery they were only giving 4 units. So after about three and a half hours of noticeable contractions, including less than a half-hour of pushing, Kaitlyn was here. No pain meds during the labor and delivery, and only a few doses of ibuprofin since.
Just for comparison purposes, here's a picture of Mommy when she was a newborn:
News and pictures from the rest of the summer will be coming soon!
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