Meet Felix Christopher

(Same excuse here as with Asher's post...have been meaning to do a profile of each baby, but no time, no time, no time!  These posts are taking me several days to write!)

Felix Christopher was born on 10/2/09 at 2:42 PM, six minutes after his brother.  He weighed 5 lb 5 oz and was 19.5 inches long.  He had spent the entire pregnancy moving, kicking, and flipping back and forth from vertex to breech and back again.  I guess we should have expected the same activity during the birth!  After Asher was born, the OB team went to work looking for Felix to make sure he was still heading head first.  They saw him on ultrasound (he was still head first), but they could not find his heartbeat.  The attending OB instructed the resident to place a monitor on his head to search for the pulse, but they still couldn't find it.  No one was explaining anything to me - I was exhausted, shocked from the amount of pain I had just experienced giving birth to Asher, and terrified that I would have to repeat the whole thing over again!  But then the atmosphere changed drastically when they couldn't find the heartbeat, and my worry switched from focusing on pain to preserving the life of my child.  The attending OB announced to the room that all non-essential personnel must leave (there were dozens of people in there observing), I guess in case he needed to perform an emergency C-section.  He ordered another resident to perform a vacuum extraction, and I pushed with all my might.  He was out in no time, and I immediately began asking if he was OK.  They reassured me that he was fine, and told me later that he dropped too quickly into the birth canal, so his heart rate dropped.  They checked him over (APGAR scores of 9 at one and five minutes) and cleaned him off a bit.  A nurse brought him to me while the doctors were repairing me.  I remember that she commented on the fact that he had more hair on his back than on his head!  He was wrapped in a little blanket and laid on my chest, and I couldn't believe it.  Of course, he already looked like his daddy (and he becomes more of an Eric-clone everyday)!

Felix got to stay with us in our postpartum room right away.  I spent several hours just cuddling him and staring at him.  I felt so lucky that I was able to bond with him, since we didn't know whether both twins would have to go to the NICU.  I sang him a little song over and over, "Mama loves Felix Christopher, mama loves him so much!"  I tried nursing him within an hour or so of his birth, and he latched perfectly right away and was a pro - and has been ever since.  In fact, eating has never been an issue with Mr. Felix!  He would eat all day and all night if you let him!  The only issue he had in the hospital was mild jaundice, and phototherapy was not fun for us!  We chose to stay at the hospital with the boys and do the therapy in our room, which was a mistake!  They had to wear these little blindfolds to protect their eyes from the lights, which they hated, and they couldn't be swaddled!  It was miserable for all - we got so little sleep!  Felix cried and fussed a lot.  The one thing that would calm him was lying skin-to-skin on my chest while I spoke soothingly to him.  I loved that I was able to calm him so quickly, even though he just met me - I guess he knew my voice and my smell already.

Felix is a very happy little boy - he smiles wide, and his laugh is infectious.  He has very strong emotions - either he is very happy or he is very upset!  He can get upset quickly - he goes from 0-60 sometimes!  However, there is always a reason for his tears - usually it is that he is hungry!  But, he also gets tired quickly, or bored with activities, or frustrated that he can't move somewhere - for instance, he likes to roll over, and if he rolls onto his belly and wants to roll back (but can't yet) he will let us know!  This is fine, except when it's 4:00 am!

He loves to stand up with us supporting his arms, and also likes to practice sitting (in his Bumbo seat or supported by us).  He LOVES to roll over, and will now roll himself onto his side or his belly to sleep, no matter how many times I return him to his back.  He will giggle easily if I lift him high into the air, or pretend to drop him and say "Whoa!"  He will also giggle when his face is wiped after eating, or when getting his shirt changed (just like his brother)!  He loves to be read to, although he sometimes practices rolling around instead of looking at the pictures.  He likes to play with a rattle, a stuffed butterfly, or a monkey toy, and likes to pull on toys on his activity gym.  He likes to practice new skills, and is very persistent at difficult tasks.  If he is fussy, a ride in the swing or bouncing in a bouncy seat will always calm him.  He really likes movement!  Felix also loves music, and particularly likes for daddy to sing rock songs to him!

We are so lucky to have a son like Felix, and we know he will do wonderful things in the future.  He is such an amazing joy, and makes my heart swell everyday.  We love you Felix Christopher!