Chocolate in My Shoe: Knoxx David

Induced two weeks early, our little man, and the last babe to join the Bennett asylum, arrived September 10th 2011 at 7:11PM. Knoxx weighed in at 8 pounds 15.6 ounces and was 22.5 inches long. Big sister Lilee was there for his birth (her own request) and was amazing throughout our nearly 24hour wait for his arrival. We had her stand up by my head (of course), and were surprised when later she told us that she watched everything through the reflection in Dr. Smith's glasses! Perhaps we have a future doctor on our hands... I just love that she got to be there and experience the miracle of life, and I love even more that Knoxx got to hold big sister's finger while he was examined by the nurse and Daddy snapped some beautiful first photos.

Knoxx's Birth Story
Knoxx's birth was too easy to do the whole nine months justice, so I'll start from the beginning. We found out we were having a boy on July 9th, and while that fact has turned out beautifully (quite literally--have you seen his pictures?), I'm not gonna lie...we were a little disappointed. Lilee was by far the most affected by our news (read previous post).

Prior to our family excursion to spy on little peanut, Patrick and I, along with Nana, prepped the kids for the possibility of boy or girl (though to be honest we were all hoping for pig tails and sweet summer dresses--Lilee most fervently of all!). We took some time looking at baby's sweet face and what looked to be a good head of hair, as well as his/her sweet little hands and feet. The excitement was palpable as the kids stared in wonder at the images projected on the screen, larger than life and at the same time portraying the miracle of life.

When the moment of truth came, and the sonographer said ... "It's a Boy!"--there was hushed silence...Really? A boy? Are you sure??? And then the soft sobs of sweet Liliputian grew and I think we were all a little misty-eyed from the sincere disappointment of our only little princess. In true girl fashion Lilee's dramatic reaction continued for, well, for two days... You see, this was because God did not give her the answer her first earnest prayer--a little sister with whom to share girlie secrets and frilly things. So Nana did what Nanas do and whisked Lilee away for a girls' weekend that included shopping and respite at the cabin from little brothers that just keep multiplying back at home. By the time Lilee came home she seemed to have recovered and was even proud to show me the sweet little things she and Nana came across for Knoxx on their shopping spree.

(Liliputian, of two things I am certain: 1) You will love your little brother more than you can even imagine, and 2) the men may dominate in our house in #, but never in spirit because you, my special princess, have more spirit than us all!)

So, not only was Knoxx's gender a surprise (I just knew I was having a girl), but the events of the pregnancy defied my expectations as well. About 8 weeks into the pregnancy, I started feeling weak and dizzy. I mentioned my symptoms to Dr. Smith, and we chalked it up to normal pregnancy irregularities or anemia (I'm eternally anemic). By the time I hit about 16 weeks, however, my symptoms had worsened to the point of not being able to stand for any length of time. I couldn't walk around stores, stand up and teach my students, clean my house, etc. without verging on passing out. Even sitting straight up left me dizzy!

At 20 weeks I took the normal glucose tests and as I always have I failed the first 2 tests. Normally I pass the third and all is good, but this time I failed miserably and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Thus began my weekly trips to a perinatologist where we monitored Knoxx's growth vigilantly. (Now keep in mind that about a week before my diagnosis a woman with gestational diabetes in Texas had a 16 pound baby! I was determined I was not going to come anywhere close to her experience.) By the time I was 30 weeks Knoxx already weighed a hefty 4.5 pounds, a week later weighed 6.5 pounds, and the doctors and I knew I risked delivering a 12 or 13 pound baby. Diet wasn't helping my sugar levels; apparently my pancreas went on strike and refused to produce any insulin. Thus began the daily regimen of monitoring my sugar 4 times a day and giving myself insulin shots just as many times. Fortunately for my hatred of shots, medicine has come a long way and the needle for delivering insulin injections is very tiny--or Knoxx just may have been 13 pounds!

On the morbid bright side, the constant self-inflicted pokes were a source of entertainment for the kids and were an excellent way to get pretty much anything I wanted from Patrick. The kids were fascinated by the finger pricks and shots, frequently offering to give them to me (I'm sure this was out of love and not revenge for all the poor parenting I've dished out over the years). As the kids monitored my progress, I hoped that a) the boys would stop being afraid of shots and finger pokes, and b) Lilee would be turned off sex for forever (oh, yes--the sex talk was facilitated by Knoxx's impending arrival) because of how rotten this pregnancy was. The good news was Knoxx's growth slowed down tremendously with the insulin treatments and by week 37 he weighed "only" 9 pounds.

An aside: Lilee informed me some time around all of this that she was only going to have sex 2 times because she only wants one boy and one girl =). She also asked why, if Patrick and I didn't plan another baby, we had sex...I left that question unanswered...*ahem*).

While Knoxx's weight was not really an issue at this point (Holt was over 9 lbs and was one push to deliver), the size of his head was concerning the doctors. His head measured 5 weeks older than what he was. I wasn't too surprised...have you seen Patrick's head? Anyways, we decided to induce at 38 weeks to make sure I could deliver naturally and not be c-section for my 4th and final pregnancy. This meant also having an amniocentesis to ensure Knoxx's lungs were fully developed, and once we got the o.k. we planned the induction for September 9th. The difficult part was over.

September 9th was like any other day. I went to work (it was a Friday) and spent my day training my replacement. I left work at 2 and got a pedicure (couldn't deliver without pretty toes!) and then met Patrick at home to head the hospital together. We dropped Emerson off at Nana and G-Pop's, picked up Lilee (Nana had grabbed the kids after school), and got to Northside about 5:30. Lilee was amazed at how uneventful things were. We sat around watching t.v., texting, and playing on the computer.

We got the induction going about 9 that night with Cervadil and started Pitossin at 4:30ish the next morning. As we continued to wait and wait and wait, we took time to review the contingency place with Lilee if she at any time wasn't comfortable being in the room when I was delivering Knoxx. The plan was for her to wait in the bathroom if needed (and on my end hope for a quick and easy delivery like the other boys were so she wouldn't be sitting in there waiting on a slow, difficult delivery). By about 6:15 in the evening we knew Knoxx would be arriving within the hour. Lilee had no fear and could hardly contain her excitement. Patrick and I looked at each other in awe, thinking "Are we really about to have a baby?" and "Is our oldest baby really here watching us have another baby?" It was surreal and amazing and more than we could have imagined.

Seven o'clock came and Dr. Smith came in with his entourage to get the room and I prepped for delivery. Lilee stood at my right shoulder and watched everything with wonder. We were, of course, protecting her from seeing too much, but she told us later she saw the whole event in the reflection of Dr. Smith's glasses--she's a precocious one, that's for sure! And at 7:10 PM, as I was getting ready to push, Dr. Smith asked me what time I was going to have the baby. I guessed 7:13 (I had Knoxx's head size to consider!) and Patrick optimistically said 7:11. Well, daddy won the bet because one push and Knoxx David Bennett had entered our world and captured our hearts.