Birth Story + hospital stay

Surgery was scheduled for Friday morning at 7:30. I had pre-registered so all we had to do was show up at 5:30 and start the preop process. I changed into my gown and they started an IV. I finished up some paperwork and was hooked up to machines. I was having contractions of course so it was interesting to watch on the monitor. At about 7:15 we were told that our surgery was to be pushed back because of an emergency c-section. Around 8 we were told that the surgery was over and we were next. Not long after I was rolled into the surgical room and the spinal was done. That was when I started to get really nervous. I had several doctor's in the room (1 doctor, 1 physician assistant, and 1 resident). I also had NICU in the room and several nurses. It was overwhelming! Brady came in a long while after everything was situated. And the silly nurse told him he couldn't bring the camera in...DUMB.

Surgery started and it felt weird as usual. I had sharp pains in my chest again. It hurt so so bad!! The anesthesiologist didn't want to give me pain medication for it so the surgery is pretty much a blurr for me. I was trying really hard not to hyperventilate because of the pain. I was also really nauseous from it and I didn't want to throw up...he did give me antinausea medication. However, I do remember when Crew was born! He came out much easier than Cooper did and I heard the PA say "oh he has a pretty necklace on". The cord was wrapped around his neck twice. Brady didn't say anything and everything was quiet. Then I heard his screeching cry!! It was an amazing sound...and it was the weirdest little cry I had ever heard! It sounded like a screeching car. They rushed him over to NICU and wrapped him up. Brady was able to hold him for a few minutes and let me see him. He was super adorable and so little! He was then taken to NICU to be monitored. I was then informed that I would not see him for the next 6 hours!!!! I was so upset. I couldn't believe that my healthy baby (apgar scores 8 and 9) was going to be taken away from me for that long. Apparently, all babies born before 37 weeks have to be monitored for at least 6 hours. GRR.

The next 6 hours went by really slow. I was in recovery for a while and then transferred to my room. I was very nauseous so I ate saltines and ice chips. My family visited Crew for a while (Cooper was at day care) and took Brady out for lunch. Thankfully, the antinausea meds made me drowsy...I was able to rest a little. 3:00 came and they hadn't brought Crew in. I woke Brady up from a nap and wanted him to go get him. He politely told me he couldn't do that and to wait patiently. Instead, I paged the nurse and asked to hold my baby. Finally at 3:30 he rolled in! I was so happy I was in tears! I held him close and snuggled for a while before more family and friends came in.

Crew was able to get a bath that evening and I was actually able to watch it! They brought a warmer into our room and gave him a bath right there! Cooper had a bath done immediately after he was born while I was in recovery. He wasn't a fan of being bathed but he smelled so good after!

The rest of the time was mainly feeding and sleeping. Since he was considered a "late preemie" he had to eat every 3 hours. Either breastfed or bottle fed. If he didn't nurse well we HAD to give him a bottle to ensure he was getting the nutrients he needed. At night I was being checked every hour and he was coming in every 3 hours to nurse (we sent him to the nursery so we could sleep between feedings at night). We were very anxious to get home and not be bothered so often! Cooper came in one day for a few minutes! haha He went absolutely crazy and wanted to play with everything. At one point he tried climbing behind the hospital bed and playing with the cords. It was a very stressful moment for everybody!

We were able to go home on Sunday. Cooper did very well welcoming him home and was occupied with both Grandma's being here.

Overall, everything went okay and we made it home safely. Look for another post of hospital pictures...it was becoming difficult to move all the pictures around and organize it well.