Big Brother

Brody is SO excited and proud of his new little brother. I love the fact that he is old enough to really interact and give his opinion on what he thinks about Levi. When he first came to the hospital to visit, his little face absolutely lit up when he saw Levi and realized he had FINALLY arrived. He seemed to completely understand that he had come out of my belly and that this little baby we had been talking about for months was finally here! He immediately hopped up on the bed with me and wanted to hold him. His little face was PRICELESS. He was completely in AWE of his little brother. He sat there and held him for the longest time and just stared at him with the sweetest expression on his face. He said things like "can we take him home with us?" and "do you like him Mommy? me too!" and "I love him". I know jealousy is always a worry of parents once they introduce another little one into the family...Brody has been jealous, but not of our time with Levi...with HIS time with Levi. When people came to visit in the hospital, he didnt want any one else to hold Levi, but HIMSELF:) We had to ask his permission for other people to hold Levi! Since we have been home he has been the biggest helper. He wants to help with every diaper change, he helps rub alcohol on his belly button, and hands me the wipes. He is constantly loving on Levi and rubbing his face and just is so sweet to him. He thinks its his job to tickle Levi's feet while im nursing to help keep him awake:) The transition so far has been great..i know Brody will probably have his moments where he gets jealous and wants all of mommy's attention, especially once Brian goes back to work, but for now we are so thankful at how easy Brody has transitioned into being a big brother!

Levi Brian Kohout

We are so excited to announce that Levi has arrived! He was born at 6:24 am on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Levi weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. Here is the lengthy version of how he came into this world....



Early Saturday morning Brian met his mom in virginia to drop Brody off for the weekend so he could go to his cousin Harrison's 2nd birthday party. Then Brian and I had the rest of the day to ourselves to get some things done and spend some time together. We ran a few errands, totally detailed my car (since we would be having a new baby riding in it soon:), went for a long walk, i took a long relaxing bath, went to olive garden for lunch/dinner at 3:00 in the afternoon, watched a movie (sherlock holmes). Brian even made a comment during the day about how great it would be if i went into labor that night because we wouldnt have to get anyone to come stay with Brody in the middle of the night since he was already away in virginia. We went to bed around 10:30, Brian had just fallen asleep and i was being kept awake by a very wiggly baby in my tummy. During the third trimester he has been so active between 10 and 11 at night, making it SO hard for me to go to sleep. I was laying there awake, slightly annoyed at how much he was moving, when i felt a "pop". It was a very odd feeling and i thought maybe my water had broken but i didnt feel that "gush" of liquid that everyone talks about. i decided to get up out of bed and see if anything happened....and yes, my water had broken. i woke up brian and he jumped out of bed and was already dressed and standing by the door ready to go, by the time i had cleaned myself up. I called the doctor and she said that there was really no rush to get to the hospital until i started having contractions. She told me i was welcome to go back to sleep and wait until contractions started or i could come in now...whatever i wanted. who in the world can go back to sleep after their water breaks?! We pretty much got straight in the car and headed to the hospital! I started having contractions on the way to the hospital (5 min apart).
One last belly shot before we head to the hospital....


We got to the hospital a little after midnight and i was 4 cm dilated. They told me i could get my epidural whenever i was ready.....i waited for awhile because i didnt want it to slow my labor down at all. At 3 a.m. i decided that it was silly to wait, because MAYBE i could get some sleep if i wasnt feeling my contractions. I was able to rest some, but i dont think i slept more than 30 min. At 5 a.m. i was 8 cm dilated, and at 6 a.m. i was ready to push! Levi was born at 6:24. Let me just say that having a baby the second time around is SO MUCH EASIER! Now, granted, Levi weighed a whole pound less than Brody did. But the whole process was way better! i was much more aware of everything going on, was having a conversation with my doctor about her kids soccer league while she was stitching me up (lol), and just felt much more laid back about the whole process. Levi had to go to the nursery for a couple of hours right after he was born just for them to monitor his breathing a little bit. He didnt cry a whole lot when he came out and was grunting alot, so they wanted to make sure his oxygen levels were ok. They let us hold him and spend some time with him though before he went. His oxygen levels were great and he never had any trouble breathing...praise the Lord! He just didnt feel like crying when he came out:) So far hes been really laid back...lets hope that continues! Brody is such a proud big brother...a post will come shortly about that!

Still pregnant....

Well I'm 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant:) this is exactly when Brody was born so I'm crossing my fingers for today! I went for my 38 week appoitment on tuesday and not much had changed since 37 weeks. Still 2 cm dilated and the doctor said his head is really low. Because brody was such a big baby, my fear (and the doctors) is that if I go up to my due date or later with Levi then he will be HUGE. I had a hard enough time getting Brody out without a c-section! So the doctor scheduled a ultrasound for Monday to try to determine how big this baby is. If he's big like Brody then we will talk about inducinge sometime next week. I really don't want to be induced, but I also don't want to wait so long that I have to have a csection because of how big this baby is! So I'm praying for labor this weekend!

update

well im almost 37 1/2 weeks and we are impatiently waiting the arrival of Levi:) when i went to the doctor for my 37 week checkup i was 2 cm dialated and she said my cervix is very thin. Which i guess i good news...im making progress anyways:) ive been having contractions on and off for the past few days and some other things have been happening that would definitely be TMI to share on the blog! So we will leave it at that:) Im pretty much on maternity leave now. I am supposed to work next thursday, but im seriously doubting i will be there....or strongly hoping anyway:) Parker and Lindsay are coming in town tonight for the long labor day weekend. It would be oh so convenient if Levi came while they are in town!