Talan Is Here!

Yesterday they performed the c-section and Talan August Branton was born at 2:23PM. In case you're wondering, we heard Talan and chose it only because we liked it. He's not named after anyone nor did we chose it for any crazy meaning. No real back story other than we just like the name. August comes from my maternal great grandfather. Talan was much smaller than I thought he'd be....6 pounds, 5 ounces. He may have been lighter in weight but he was 20.5 inches long which was another shocker. He's so long and lean! I got a quick look at him before they whisked him away and finished my surgery. When I was finally wheeled back to recovery where I expected to sit and bond with him and to enjoy our first hours together. Instead I was greeted by Kevin and the pediatric doctor who let me know that he was admitted to NICU with breathing issues and fluid in the lungs. Because I didn't give birth naturally the fluids weren't squeezed out so it isn't uncommon for this to happen. As you can imagine it was disappointing news. I saw him for less than a minute. Once I finished up in recovery they wheeled me in to take another quick look at him before taking me up to my room. It was a relief to see him but so hard to have to watch him there with all of the tubes and equipment. I couldn't really see his face b/c I was in a bed and I could just barely reach over to touch the tips of his toes. Another few minutes just wasn't enough. Last night I insisted that they help me get up and moving so at 11:30PM the nurse came in and helped me get up out of bed and moving. I got into a wheelchair and Kevin and I spend about an hour with Talan. I was FINALLY able to hold him. That really made a huge difference. They tried feeding him while I was in there and that didn't go very well. He was spitting up and his breathing became erratic. It is a lot of work for him to do anything more than lay there right now. They have been gradually taking down the level of oxygen they are giving him. Kevin went and checked on him at 5:30 this morning and they were optimistic. We're hoping he'll be breathing on his own later this afternoon. They are going to let me go down to try to feed him at some point today as well. He is soooooooo cute! I don't think he looks anything like Reese did when she was born. I also don't think he favors one or the other of us in looks. He's just his own little person and so precious. We're praying that he can come up to the room with us by tomorrow. We've got an anxious big sister waiting to get her hands on him too! I wasn't down there to see her initial reaction to him but Kevin said that she stood at the window waving frantically and that her face lit up when she saw him. We're hoping that she's able to go in to see him today as Kevin is able to escort one person back at a time. Welcome to the world and to our family little Talan!