c'est ma vie: Hello, Baby Deklan!

If only I'd have known how soon after my last post our "littlest" baby was going to arrive.

Where is the pause button?!

I wish moments like these lasted a lifetime.

Deklan Everett Kroger made his grand debut on January 28th at 3:50pm. Born at 39 weeks, he was tiny to us. That being said, big brother Maks didn't exactly give us a typical baseline to judge newborn size! Outside of being ready to be done with pregnancy, I'm glad Deklan came ahead of schedule. If he'd have waited until 41 weeks, he'd likely have been just as big - if not bigger - than his older brother was!

Here's how Deklan measured up:
9#13oz (after having gone to the bathroom, mind you...Maks was 11#2oz)
21.5" long (same as Maksim)
14" head (an inch smaller than Maks' - thank goodness!)

His labor and delivery story is kind of fun!

Deklan Everett Kroger

Maksim/Deklan comparison on their birthdays.

I woke up around 1am on the 28th just knowing my water was about to break. It didn't actually rupture, but as soon as I woke I had a small leak. Although contractions hadn't started, I wanted to give my midwife the head's up, as I knew labor would be in the relatively near future. I went back to bed, trying to rest up. I had a few contractions here and there, but by 3am they were obsolete and I fell back asleep until it was time to wake Maks up at 7am.

Here I am - in labor!

We got Maks up and going through his typical morning routine. My midwife suggested at walk to try and initiate labor, so we headed out on a 1.5 mile walk to the grocery store to get Maks a special treat. Afterall, this was going to be his last morning as an only child! At the grocery store, an employee asked me when I was due. I wanted to respond with a matter-of-fact, "I'm in labor right now!" but I knew he'd have looked at me as if to say, "You've clearly never had a baby before if you think you're in labor!". After trekking back home and completing a 3 mile round-trip walk, contractions still hadn't started.

I was feeling fine - calm and content. Bryon and I went about accomplishing some daily tasks. I vacuumed the house to keep active and occupied. Bryon ran around playing with Maks and Kira. As time passed, I remember Bryon commenting, "This is how everyone should labor!". (Of course he would say that! How difficult is labor and delivery for him?!) I have to agree, though. It was so stress-free to be at home. No time schedule, no finding a babysitter, no packing a birthing bag. Bryon was relaxed, and so was I. It almost didn't seem like I'd be having a baby within...minutes, hours, a few days??? As time passed, I decided to climb into bed and try to get some rest. If this delivery was anything like that of my first child's, I'd be needing all the energy I could muster.

I downloaded a contraction timer app on my phone and listened to some relaxation CD's. There was no real pattern to my contractions, which were relatively mild. My midwife had requested to be contacted after I'd experienced a solid hour of contractions that were 1 minute long and 5 minutes apart. This pattern was just not happening.

Swinging the day away with Daddy - just hours before the arrival of his little brother.

Maks and Bryon were in and out of our bedroom. They stopped in to see me every now and then and Maks could climb onto the bed and bounce all over the place (typical Maks!). When my contractions became consistent enough to time, they were long, strong and close together. Bryon came into the bedroom to time them for me - approximately 45 seconds long and about 3 minutes between them. He stated that he wasn't going to wait for them to be like this for an hour, and called the midwife.

Bryon couldn't have been any more right. It was 2pm when my contractions really started/we called the midwife. At 3:48 I remember telling Bryon that our baby was coming! It was kind of scary because I had no idea how far I'd progressed, if at all. You know, you feel like you're 10cm, but you very well could only be at 2! Regardless, I announced that I was going to push. In all honesty, there wasn't any stopping what was going to happen! One push and I delivered our baby up to his waist. Another push and we had a squirmy boy on our hands - literally!

That's really all it took. Less than 2 hours of contractions/labor. 2 minutes (just 2 pushes) for delivery.

Oh, and you might be wondering about our midwife. Well, she didn't make it in time. Yes, that's right. Bryon calmly delivered (hey, I delivered) our baby boy. I can distinctly remember feeling as though I'd delivered the head, but Bryon didn't comment, so I wasn't sure. That's because he was busy staying calm and unwrapping the cord from his neck! I had no idea. One more push and Bryon was placing a little boy on my chest - all while corralling Maks and keeping him entertained. Of course, Maks was right up on the bed ready to welcome his baby brother into the family within a few minutes.

Here's a little look into our first moments with Deklan:

This was such a different experience than my labor and delivery with Maks. It was quicker and much more tolerable. I still cannot believe it. Most importantly, there was literally zero recovery time necessary. So unreal! Deklan (who didn't have a name until he was a few days old) soaked with me in the tub while Bryon put Maks to sleep for the night. We ate dinner, swaddled our babe and got a solid night of sleep!

Speaking of zzz's, this baby boy is a professional. He sleeps, and Sleeps and SLEEPS some more! (These photos are all from his first week with us!)