I really don't have much to report and I don't even know if this will interesting, but I thought I would share the events of my hospital stay.
Birth Story Part 2...
Our parents were waiting down the hall outside of the OR and were overjoyed to hear her cries. After Sydney was born she was weighed, measured, and cleaned off while I was sewn up. I didn't feel a single bit of that part. The tears were running down my face as I could hear her crying. Mark watched the nurse handle the baby and we waited for her to be cleaned off so we could have a photo with her. When they brought her over to me I gave her a little kiss on the cheek, but I don't remember much after that. I assumed Mark had taken the baby down the hall to introduce her to her grandparents. Later I was told that was only partly true. He wasn't allowed to carry her - he showed them through the isolette.
I was wheeled back into my room shivering and shaking totally unsure what was going on. The epidural they had administered in the OR was so strong I couldn't feel anything from my sternum down, including my arms & hands. It was because of this that I wasn't allowed and couldn't hold my daughter for the first several hours of her life. She did get to bond with Mark though. She sat in his arms staring into his eyes and suckling on his finger. I remember that he whispered to her that she was very special to him and that he was so excited she was here.
At one point my mom snuck in and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I asked for a blanket, because I was so cold. My doctor came in with his guitar and sang a couple of songs while I was hooked back up to monitors and IV's and while Mark cuddled with his daughter. As ridiculous as it might sounds, I loved hearing the music - it was relaxing.
The nurses left the baby in our care, but we asked her to be moved to the nursery. Neither of us had slept much and I wasn't in any physical position to be able to care for her should she cry in the night.
Later Friday morning I still couldn't feel much. I learned the epidural takes several hours, as many as 24, to wear off. We had a few visitors throughout the day. I was able to hold her for the first time. I was very nervous at meeting her - I still could not believe she was mine and that after 39 weeks of wondering what she would look like and who she would be, I was able to meet her. I wanted to be alone with her for our first meeting as it was pretty emotional for me, but I had my whole family around me. I only held her for about five minutes before everyone else wanted to hold her too. Once most of the visitors left, a nurse came in to show me how to breastfeed. I'll never forget the look on Mark's face as she took our daughters little head in one hand, grabbed my breast in the other and forced them to meet. It was a funny sight. Sydney took to it easily and showed me essentially what needed to happen for a happy latch and successful nursing time.
Saturday morning at 4 a.m. the pregnancy hormones kicked in. I asked Mark to get Sydney out of her isolette so I could hold her. The fact that I had just had a baby finally set in and I wanted to hold her and never let her go. She was asleep the whole time as was Mark. I began to feel a little bit lonely so I held onto her and watched t.v. I was amused to learn that the only thing on t.v. was "House of Babies" or something -- a show about midwives and water births.
Later that morning, a nurse came in to give me a sponge bath - I was a bit unsure of how this would be with Mark sleeping three feet away. The nurse was quite militant about the sponge bath but I was quite relieved to have one. (My parents knocked on the door in the middle of the bath, but fortunately didn't come in otherwise that would have made for comedy gold at least.) Over the course of the day doctors and nurses came in to check on my uterus making sure that it was shrinking at the appropriate speed. I was told with a C Section it can sometimes be slower to get back to normal because the body hasn't recieved the proper hormonal signals that the baby has been born. They checked my incision, my temperature, and how much I was bleeding. I didn't mind but it was a bit strange to have someone stick a thermometer in my mouth while leaning over to pull my blankets aside to look between my legs.
The hospital made a big deal about a "celebration meal" - essentially hospital food presented with silverware. We tried to appreciate the special detail but it didn't make our hospital stay more enjoyable or anything. However, I finally had an appetite by the time dinner rolled around and was quite happy to have the fancy meal.
I took a shower by myself on Sunday and it was quite painful. Mark had to come with me and assist me in getting in and out of the shower. He also had to help me put my mesh underwear and monstrous mattress-sized pad on. It wasn't something either of us expected, but he wasn't very embarassed. At least by that point, my catheter had been removed.
Sunday morning one of the doctors who had assisted on the surgery came in to check and see if I was able to be discharged. I wasn't feeling ready to go home yet and I mentioned that to Mark. As neither of us had stayed in a hospital before we weren't sure if we could ask to stay one more night. We also weren't sure if our insurance would pay for another night. The doctor gave the okay to be discharged. My parents came to get everything ready and to help us get home and organized. Another nurse came in to make sure we had our paperwork all in order and then insisted on wheeling me out to the car in a wheelchair. I tried to refuse it but she made me walk down the hall to test my level of pain. Sure enough I could't go ten feet without yelping in pain so off in a wheelchair I went.
We arrived home and were both feeling quite nervous about caring for her. Neither of us slept much as we were both on high alert to each of her little sounds.
Birth Story Part 2...
Our parents were waiting down the hall outside of the OR and were overjoyed to hear her cries. After Sydney was born she was weighed, measured, and cleaned off while I was sewn up. I didn't feel a single bit of that part. The tears were running down my face as I could hear her crying. Mark watched the nurse handle the baby and we waited for her to be cleaned off so we could have a photo with her. When they brought her over to me I gave her a little kiss on the cheek, but I don't remember much after that. I assumed Mark had taken the baby down the hall to introduce her to her grandparents. Later I was told that was only partly true. He wasn't allowed to carry her - he showed them through the isolette.
I was wheeled back into my room shivering and shaking totally unsure what was going on. The epidural they had administered in the OR was so strong I couldn't feel anything from my sternum down, including my arms & hands. It was because of this that I wasn't allowed and couldn't hold my daughter for the first several hours of her life. She did get to bond with Mark though. She sat in his arms staring into his eyes and suckling on his finger. I remember that he whispered to her that she was very special to him and that he was so excited she was here.
At one point my mom snuck in and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I asked for a blanket, because I was so cold. My doctor came in with his guitar and sang a couple of songs while I was hooked back up to monitors and IV's and while Mark cuddled with his daughter. As ridiculous as it might sounds, I loved hearing the music - it was relaxing.
The nurses left the baby in our care, but we asked her to be moved to the nursery. Neither of us had slept much and I wasn't in any physical position to be able to care for her should she cry in the night.
Later Friday morning I still couldn't feel much. I learned the epidural takes several hours, as many as 24, to wear off. We had a few visitors throughout the day. I was able to hold her for the first time. I was very nervous at meeting her - I still could not believe she was mine and that after 39 weeks of wondering what she would look like and who she would be, I was able to meet her. I wanted to be alone with her for our first meeting as it was pretty emotional for me, but I had my whole family around me. I only held her for about five minutes before everyone else wanted to hold her too. Once most of the visitors left, a nurse came in to show me how to breastfeed. I'll never forget the look on Mark's face as she took our daughters little head in one hand, grabbed my breast in the other and forced them to meet. It was a funny sight. Sydney took to it easily and showed me essentially what needed to happen for a happy latch and successful nursing time.
Saturday morning at 4 a.m. the pregnancy hormones kicked in. I asked Mark to get Sydney out of her isolette so I could hold her. The fact that I had just had a baby finally set in and I wanted to hold her and never let her go. She was asleep the whole time as was Mark. I began to feel a little bit lonely so I held onto her and watched t.v. I was amused to learn that the only thing on t.v. was "House of Babies" or something -- a show about midwives and water births.
Later that morning, a nurse came in to give me a sponge bath - I was a bit unsure of how this would be with Mark sleeping three feet away. The nurse was quite militant about the sponge bath but I was quite relieved to have one. (My parents knocked on the door in the middle of the bath, but fortunately didn't come in otherwise that would have made for comedy gold at least.) Over the course of the day doctors and nurses came in to check on my uterus making sure that it was shrinking at the appropriate speed. I was told with a C Section it can sometimes be slower to get back to normal because the body hasn't recieved the proper hormonal signals that the baby has been born. They checked my incision, my temperature, and how much I was bleeding. I didn't mind but it was a bit strange to have someone stick a thermometer in my mouth while leaning over to pull my blankets aside to look between my legs.
The hospital made a big deal about a "celebration meal" - essentially hospital food presented with silverware. We tried to appreciate the special detail but it didn't make our hospital stay more enjoyable or anything. However, I finally had an appetite by the time dinner rolled around and was quite happy to have the fancy meal.
I took a shower by myself on Sunday and it was quite painful. Mark had to come with me and assist me in getting in and out of the shower. He also had to help me put my mesh underwear and monstrous mattress-sized pad on. It wasn't something either of us expected, but he wasn't very embarassed. At least by that point, my catheter had been removed.
Sunday morning one of the doctors who had assisted on the surgery came in to check and see if I was able to be discharged. I wasn't feeling ready to go home yet and I mentioned that to Mark. As neither of us had stayed in a hospital before we weren't sure if we could ask to stay one more night. We also weren't sure if our insurance would pay for another night. The doctor gave the okay to be discharged. My parents came to get everything ready and to help us get home and organized. Another nurse came in to make sure we had our paperwork all in order and then insisted on wheeling me out to the car in a wheelchair. I tried to refuse it but she made me walk down the hall to test my level of pain. Sure enough I could't go ten feet without yelping in pain so off in a wheelchair I went.
We arrived home and were both feeling quite nervous about caring for her. Neither of us slept much as we were both on high alert to each of her little sounds.
posted by Swiftyjess at 5:10 PM
1 Comments:
Oh, I remember those first days with our first child so well. I was such a nervous wreck. By the time # 2 came around I was so relaxed I felt like an old hand.
Love the way you wrote about your experience. You did a great job. Both with the writing and having the baby! :~)
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