Well, I wanted to get this birth story documented before my memory completely turns into mush. Below is a picture of me the day before my scheduled C-section. I was very much looking forward to not being pregnant...as grateful as I was to be pregnant.
The night before the procedure, my Mom flew in which was a relief. I can't even remember what we did that night except I remember finishing up packing my bag and having mixed feelings about putting Henley to bed. See, I had to be in to the hospital by 5:30 am and I knew I wasn't going to see her again before I went it. This got me all sorts of emotional. I was basically a basket case the second my head hit the pillow and I didn't get much sleep. I kept thinking "this is your last chance to get a good night of rest." I think that put a little too much pressure on sleeping.
As soon as we got to the hospital, the work began.
I changed into my gown and from that point on, there was someone in our room
prepping something. I got my IV (it hurt way less this time), had to drink that
disgusting acid crap, and answer a billion questions. The anesthesiologist came
in and spoke to us pre-surgery as well. Rich had worked with him before, which
made for a good situation and Rich said he was one of the best
anesthesiologists at the hospital. One of my biggest hopes for this time around
was to not be puking the entire first day of the baby's life. I was incredibly
sick from the medication with Henley for the first 24 hours and it was
miserable. Puking + nursing + visitors + exhaustion = a foggy day. I was
assured that they would do everything they could to avoid it. So around 8:30 am
they wheeled me into the operating room, while Rich waited nearby. They gave me
my spinal, laid me down and then I had to spread eagle for what seemed like an
eternity to get a catheter. Humiliating x1000. After such shinanagans, I
basically lost my cool and started crying. I knew I was really nervous, but I
didn't realize how nervous I was until I opened the flood gates. I think the
reason I was so scared this time was because Henley was waiting at home for me.
It added an extra level of emotion for me. By the time they got Richard into
the OR I was a complete emotional wreck. He asked me what was wrong and all I
could say way that I was scared. Between him and the anesthesiologist talking
to me I became somewhat distracted during the surgery, which I think was their
point.
At 8:57 am, our little baby was born. He started crying
immediately which was like music to my ears. As soon as Rich saw him he said,
"Wow, he looks a lot like you did when you were a baby." Poor
thing...I wasn't very cute. They took him over to the pediatrician and nurse
and he continued to wail and wail. This was the first sign of him being harder then
Henley to calm down. They weighed him, telling us that he was 8 lbs, which in
fact we found out later that the pediatrician had told us wrong and that he
actually weighed 8 lbs 8 oz (WHAT?!! I never thought I would have a baby that
large). Rich was able to cut the cord and shortly after bring him over to me.
Us three were able to hang out like this for about ten minutes and that was pretty special. Rich and I didn't talk much during this time cause I think we were both in shock about having two kids. However, the first
things we noticed about him were his long fingernails, how much hair he
had on his shoulders and how small and slit-like his eyes were. Funny thinking
back that those were the attributes that stuck out to us.
I was taken back to my room after everything was
finished up. The baby was brought to the room about 45 minutes later. When they
brought him in, they moved the bed into a semi upright position so I could
nurse him and unfortunately I started throwing up. That didn't stop until the
wee hours of the morning. I'm not gonna lie...it was rough. On the bright side,
he was a great eater and slept for the majority of the first day. We decided
on the name Declan Curtis Bell. We had other options, but this one was the name
we were favoring for most of the pregnancy.
Henley and my Mom came later that afternoon and I would have to say that
seeing those two meet for the first time was pretty magical. I know it sounds
weird, but you could tell she really loved him already. I was worried about
the whole meeting thing because I've heard kids aren't interested in new
siblings right away, so that is what I had planned on. She was actually quite interested in him and loved holding him. Their
little bond continues to tug on my heartstrings.
The
next couple of days were pretty relaxing and exhausting at the same time. Rich and I were able to spend some one on one time with the baby and each other before going home and we really appreciated that extra time we had to bond with him.
We
had good care at the hospital. The baby slept in my arms for the majority of
the two nights we were there. Not by choice, but because our hospital didn't
have a nursery so there wasn't the option of sending him with the nurses for a
break. He was unhappy in the bassinet so I just held him. I got reprimanded
from the staff, but I didn't care. Mama needed sleep.
I know this picture isn't clear, but Henley held my
hand the entire way out of the hospital. She was overly concerned that I was in
a wheelchair and thought I couldn't walk anymore. Haha.
To wrap this up, everything went smoothly and we are so happy to have Declan as part of our family. We feel
really blessed and extremely grateful. Having kids is really an incredible experience.
Side note: one thing that was a little disappointing was the pictures we
ended up with. This wasn't our first rodeo, but somehow we didn't get very many
good pictures right when he was born or in the hospital. You would think we
were rookies.
