The first part was as planned. We got up at 4 to shower and get dressed to be out the door by 4:30 and at the hospital by 5. Luckily since it was so early, I wasn't hungry yet, so it wasn't too bad not being able to eat. We checked in and met our awesome nurse, Jenni. She was great! We only had her for 2 hours until shift change, but she was really good. I was nervous about the surgery, and as time went on, I only got more nervous. John had us both laughing, though, so that was good. (What's crazy is that even though I was having a scheduled c-section, I was contracting every 3 to 4 minutes at times, then every 6-7 minutes. It was very regular the entire 2 and a half hours I was monitored prior to surgery.)
I met the anesthesiologist, and he was so great! He explained everything and was very patient with all my questions. All throughout surgery, he was at my head, still answering questions and helping me keep my mind off what was happening on the other side of the curtain. It's such a strange sensation, feeling every tug and pull but no pain, and knowing vaguely what they are doing. I never allowed myself to read too much about the actual surgery, because I didn't want to know all the details of what happens.
The spinal went very well. He had warned me that sometimes they take a while, but mine was a textbook procedure, and in no time, I was numb. After that point, everything went very quickly, as they finished prepping me. The doctor came in and started the surgery before I even realized it.
Annabelle was born at 8:13am. They held her up high enough for me to glimpse her above the curtain, and then as the nurse walked her out, she held her next to my head for a few seconds so I could see her. I didn't get to see Grace for at least 10 minutes after she was born, so it was really cool to see Annabelle covered with all the white stuff still. (I know, kinda gross, but I still wanted to see her fresh from the womb.) They took her out to clean her, so John went with her and brought her back in about 10 minutes for me to see. She was beautiful!! I was amazed at how small she was, compared to Grace. They took her out again to do all the measurements and take her to the nursery while I finished in surgery. (The nurse came back in a few minutes later to let me know her sizes. I really loved how thoughtful the nurses were through all this! With Grace, I didn't find any of that stuff out until after my 2 hours in post-op recover.)
The rest of the surgery was a little nerve-wracking. It seemed longer than Grace's, and I was more aware this time. (With Grace, I got nauseous, and the nausea medicine made me drowsy, so I was out of it.) There was a lot more pressure too, and it was just overall uncomfortable. I was so grateful when they said it was over!
They wheeled me to recovery, and John came in to show me pictures. Unfortunately, he had somewhat bad news for me. Annabelle started grunting, which meant she had fluid on her lungs. (They assured me that it was very normal for post c-section babies since they aren't squeezed through the birth canal.) They put her on oxygen until noon. I wouldn't get to see or hold her until the pediatrician came back to release her from the nursery. Not what I wanted to hear, but what else can you do? They did take me by the nursery on the way to my room so I could see her through the window, and John let me keep the camera so I could admire the pictures some more.
Noon came and went with no sign of our pediatrician. Finally, at 2, she came to release her. (She had a meeting at 12 and didn't get there in time to see her before the meeting. She doesn't work at the hospital, so it was a lot of back-and-forth for her. I was just grateful that she was able to be there instead of using another pediatrician who wouldn't be her doctor later on.) By that point, Grace, my parents, and John's mom were in my room. I gave up my plan of getting an hour of bonding time before everyone else saw her. They wheeled her into the room in her bassinet, and Grace's reaction was priceless! She was so excited and in awe of her baby sister! She immediately asked to hold her. We laughed, and said, "No, mommy gets her first!" It was so great finally getting to hold her, 6 hours after she was born. After I held her a while, we let Grace hold her, and then we passed her to all the grandparents. John was so great to let everyone else hold her before he got cuddle time, since he got to hold her when she was first born. But we didn't let everyone have too much time, since I needed to nurse her. They would all have plenty of time in the next few days.
We had planned on rooming in the whole time, but even those plans went out the window. In Germany, it was great having Grace in our room, but the nurses hardly came in during the night. Here, they were in every 2 hours, at least! Every time they opened the very noisy door, Annabelle would wake up and cry. The nurse finally said, "I'm going to take her to the nursery." I was too tired to care at that point, and let her go without protesting. They brought her in every 3 hours to nurse, and it was so nice to be able to sleep without more interruptions. The rest of the time, we'd send her to the nursery around 10 or 11pm, and then we'd get her back after the pediatrician visited in the morning (not counting the times they'd bring her to nurse.) They were great about following our "no bottles or pacifier" request, so I wasn't worried about not having her with me.
Overall, it was a great experience. There were positives and negatives to this experience, and to the Germany experience. If we could take the best of both worlds, it'd be great! haha. I've learned that plans are great, but it is best to be flexible and just go with the flow. I never would have planned all of this, but it turned out to be a great experience. We are just as bonded as we would have been with nursing immediately after birth and rooming in all night. Annabelle is nursing great, for the most part. She has problems with impatience sometimes and gets so frustrated she won't latch, but she eventually gets it. We are so far ahead of where we were with Grace at this point!
Grace has been an awesome big sister! She is constantly just staring at her, saying how beautiful she is. Every time she makes a noise, Grace says, "Mommy, my baby sister just said, 'ah'" (or whatever noise she made.) She has not regressed yet in potty training, and actually has improved! She's even had fewer accidents, which is nice. She did great with Oma while John and I were at the hospital. She is definitely in love with Annabelle, as we all are! We are definitely enjoying our transition to a family of 4!
1 comment:
How wondeful. I have had 3 totally different birth stories, and each one had its surprises too. I am interested to see how this one fares. I think your right, its good to ahve a plan, but be ready to throw it all out the window :O) Glad to hear all is going well. God bless!
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