Birth Story Part 2

Picking a name for our baby was a fun but challenging endeavor.  After finding out we were having a boy, we starting creating a list of names that we liked.  We both had names that we felt strongly about and both disliked many of the names that the other submitted.  Ultimately it came down to 2 names but we didn't officially pick one until we were able to meet our little guy.  We decided not to tell anyone the names that we were considering which created a "fun" guessing game for my family.  After meeting our baby, we decided that the name that fit best was Elias.  Elias made the top 2 as our favorite "Alaska" name.  There is a beautiful national park and a majestic mountain in Alaska named St. Elias which served as our inspiration for our Alaskan baby!

After the delivery of Elias we were moved to the new Mother Baby Unit at the hospital.  We were able to settle in and call family to share our news.  

Elias snoozing after a BIG day

We spent the next 3 days in the hospital getting my post-op pain under control, learning how to breastfeed, trying to sleep, and loving on our baby.  

Early morning mommy loves

Late night daddy loves

 The second night we were in the hospital, my parent's arrived to meet their first grandchild.

Grandma Yorks and Elias meeting for the first time

Grandpa Yorks and Elias meeting for the first time

There were all sort of check ups with doctors (in total we had at least 3 docs visit per day - Camille, her attending of the day, and an OB/GYN from Dr. Gohring's practice), tests that had to be done, and a bit of poking and prodding. 

Everyone who met Elias at first commented on how tan he was.  I think they were all shocked because of how pale his parents are! As it turns out, he was actually quite jaundiced.  It was the jaundice that resulted in much of the poking and prodding.  He had to have a heal stick to measure his blood bilirubin level (the transcutaneous level is not as reliable) and was stripped by all the docs who would check on him to monitor how low his yellow was extending.  While his bilirubin levels were high, they were never high enough to warrant using the special "bili-lights" or keeping him in the hospital longer than the standard post-c-section time.

You can really see how yellow he is compared to mom

After 3 days, we were all doing well and allowed to go home!!

Our little bear all bundled up for the ride home!

While labor and delivery did not go as planned, we are thrilled to be at home with our happy, healthy baby boy. Ultimately, we wouldn't have it any other way! 

We love you, Elias!