The 1st Week of Lil' Joey's Life

It's a BOY!!!

On Monday, August 30th at 5:27pm we welcomed Joseph David Yukio Rivera into the world. He weighed in at 9 pounds 3 ounces and he is 21 inches long.

How the day went...
I was due to deliver on Saturday, August 21st. I had a doctor's appt. on my 27th birthday (August 25th) where I was estimated to be 80% effaced and 1cm dilated with the baby's head positioned down. The doctor (Dr. Korhorn) thought for sure I'd be ready to deliver naturally within the next couple days. I was to report to the hospital on Monday, August 30th at 10am if I had not gone into labor. Sure enough, nothing happened and we all reported to the hospital for a planned induction.



The doctor arrived at around 11:30. We went ahead with the typical exam to see how things were progressing. The doctor wasn't pleased... Lil' Joey had turned and was now breech. It was then that the doctor discussed the different options with us. My amniotic fluid was a little low so he suggested a C-Section. I was a little disappointed but it was the safest thing for baby and me. Because I was told to eat a small meal before arriving to the hospital for the induction, I ended up having to wait til about 5pm to start the surgery.

It was time to get prepped and ready... I was taken in to get a spinal while David was sent to get scrubbed up.



There were so many people in the room for support. There were 2 doctors (Dr. Kohorn and another doctor to assist), 2 nurses to assist the doctors, the anesthesiologist, there were 2 neonatal nurses ready for Joey's delivery, David and myself. Not only was Joey breech but he also presented Dr. Kohorn bottom first. David's favorite quote from Dr. Kohorn that evening was, "either this is the butt, or this is the ugliest baby I've seen!" LOL Dr. Kohorn is a jokester. Here are some pictures from the operating room.





We came out of surgery successfully. I met David and Joey about 45 min later in the recovery room.




Shortly after being in recovery, we quickly moved upstairs to the postpartum rooms. We were fortunate to have our own private suite (all Kaiser rooms are equipped with them ;) ). We had lots of family and support ready to join us as well. We got to see Grandparents Meier and Rivera! We saw Scotty, Lindsey, George, and Amorita!

Here's a proud Daddy!




Here are a few photos captured that night...








That was DAY 1... now... On to DAY 2 (August 31, 2010)
Our second nigh went alright... We didn't get much sleep but lil' Joey did! We were worried (silly us) that something was wrong because he was sleeping so much and we were having a hard time waking him. The night nurse was worrying us because she said that he wasn't as alert as he should be. Our worries were put aside when the nurse asked the doctor the next morning... The doctor wasn't worried at all. Turns out that with C-Section babies, their bodies don't go through the stress of the birth canal (where this process stimulates different things to happen inside the baby). C-Section babies just take a little longer to adjust. The next day he was alert and DEFINITELY eating. The nurses called him a lil' Barracuda.




On day 2, we completed his hearing test! It's really cool. They send sounds through a special set of headphones then attach special sensors to monitor his brain waves. These brain waves detect whether or not he responds to the sounds that are being played. HE PASSED!



DAY 3 (September 1st, 2010)
Day 3 consisted of a lot of sleeping and recovering (recovering from surgery and our first sleepless night!) I'll admit, recovering from a C-Section is no walk in the park. I was mentally prepared for the pain of natural childbirth (which isn't easy either) but I wasn't prepared for surgery of my abdomen. It was tough but David was a HUGE help. He got up every time to pick up the baby for me, to help me to the bathroom and in the bathroom (that's true love), along with EVERY diaper change! He's a great father! And Hubby!!







Today I decided to feel a little more normal. I NEEDED a shower. I hate feeling icky. With the help of David and the nurses I decided to take a nice, hot shower. Today we had a few visitors!! We saw Scotty, Alan D., Leslie and Ryan Warner, Mick, and more of Amorita, Lindz and George!!! The night also consisted of our "Celebratory Dinner" which consisted of an awesome fish dish and a cheeseburger for my picky hubby. We also go to top it all off with Martinelli's and yummy cupcakes!

Day 4 (September 2, 2010)
After two very long nights, we were finally able to get a little more rest last night. We go home today!!! I got up and took my shower and we finished up all the paperwork it was time to head home!!



Once home our little Joey was met by his first friend... HOOVER!!!



Day 5 (September 3, 2010)
Our first night home was pretty tough. We had a really hard time getting any sleep because we had a pretty fussy baby. I can tell you, it's hard and frustrating when your baby has been changed, fed, and burped but is still crying.




But... we got through it as a team! Today was Joey's first "Well Baby" doctor's visit. He was on his way to meet his doctor for the first time... Dr. Baltazar! We found out that lil Joey had lost over 10% of his birth weight. Turns out he wasn't getting enough food :( Now that the doctor told us an EXACT number to work with, we were able to better feed him. (We are breast feeding, so it's a hard thing to judge) Once we got home and started our new feeding routine, we noticed a HUGE difference. With a well fed baby we were all able to smile even Bigger!!!





Day 6 (September 4, 2010)
We had to go back to urgent care to get Joey's weight checked (to check for improvement). On our way to the office Joey experienced his first hiccups outside the womb. We were happy to find out that Joey had gained 5.5 ounces since yesterday! HUGE improvement! Originally, the doc said we may have to come back on Sunday if his weight wasn't showing great enough improvement but that was a Huge jump so we were good.




Later in the day we also got a visit from Bachan and PopPop! Lil' Joey was very alert and we were able to show him some toys! It was great seeing our lil' man so aware of the new things around him!






Later that night, Joey showed us that he likes to pick mommy's nose and show us that face that's priceless!!! (I can't even explain that face! LOL)




And Joey's favorite place to sleep!



Day 7 (September 5, 2010)
Today we took our first family excursion to Target. Today was also a first for his swing and Mommy cut and filed Joey's finger nails (very scary process!)