Ever since my husband and I met and then married, I knew that he wanted to name our first boy after himself and his dad. Since I know how important it is to George, I decided that we could name our son George and it would be okay. To say the least, he was a proud daddy again! Two wonderful, beautiful, and *nearly* perfect children later, we are a happy family of four! That, by the way, is taking some getting used to, along with saying I have a son. I love it!
So, on the morning of Jan. 29th we woke up at 4:30. A tad bit too early for me, but what does that matter... really... We had to be at Deaconess Hospital at 5:30 to get prepped and ready for my 7:30 c-section... or so we thought. We got there and found that I had to be bumped a bit for an emergency c-section. Some poor girl had been labor for a long time with no progress, so they opted to help her out a bit. You know what? Let her in! I'm patient. :)
During the prep stage the nurses had to put in the IV, which is completely normal. However, my veins have never caught on to the fact that medical needles are normal. Nope, I can tell you that I would make one failure of an IV drug user! My veins are squirrely and roll all over the place! It probably doesn't help that I NEVER drink enough water... but even when I actually do get enough, my veins are still impossible. And on that note, I'd make a failure of a cigarette smoker too since I can't light a lighter to save my life (my husband's an Eagle Scout... he can start fires should we ever be in a bad position....), and lighting candles with matches is difficult at best. I don't know why, just is...
Anyway, seven attempts and one exploding vein later, the IV was successfully in! Not to mention, 3 nurses later. :) I even asked the third nurse, "If I tell you I'm allergic to needles, will you all leave me alone?" Nope, no such luck. *sigh* So, IV's in, emergency c-section going on, I'm sittin' pretty in the recovery room waiting for my turn. All the while, my and George's families were waiting anxiously to see if they were going to have a grandson or granddaughter. George III or Alexandrhia. We shall see.
Finally, the time came for me to go to the operating room. They wheeled me in with specific instruction to wheel out baby via the same route so the family could see him/her for themselves. The staff gladly obliged.
One of the great things about Deaconess is that they allow you to listen to whatever music you want during the procedure. With my nearly insane love for Yanni, I opted to bring my new Yanni: Voices cd that my parents got me the week before for my birthday. I LOVE THAT CD!!! They popped it in and asked me questions about him and his music while they got me ready.
Now, when I say "ready", I mean they were running IV fluids into my veins so I would hopefully not puke like I did with the spinal during Madeleine's c-section. They figured I was not quite hydrated enough to tolerate the spinal, so they wanted to get 2 bags of fluid in me before the procedure this time. This was after having drank that nasty anti-vomit stuff and wearing the little anti-vomit patch behind my ear. A surefire way to keep from puking! Ha! With one bag completely in me, and the 2nd one started, they decided to go ahead and do the spinal. I had to hug a pillow and lean against one nurse, while the anesthesiologist ran the needle down my spine. (OUCH!) After a moment of irritation, I suddenly had the feeling that I'd peed myself. Sweet! I didn't, thankfully, but it was the numbing sensation that made me feel warm. It took just a minute or so and then I was feeling pretty numb all over, fairly tingly everywhere else. They layed me down on the bed and then inserted the catheter. By the way, birthing children better be the ONLY reason I ever need a catheter. Not a fan.
Voila! Catheter inserted, Yanni playing in the background... what could be better? Well, then, let's get to it! My Dr. came in, along with one of his colleagues (the one who bestowed the "Dill Pickle Award" upon me due to my narrow pelvis) to do the procedure. There were also two resident (fellow) Drs. in there getting some practice. Very nice ladies... though I'll tell you that when one of them told me of the risks of surgery (impairment, illness, death) I was a little freaked. My Dr., by the way, saw that on the paperwork and kind of freaked himself. Apparently that's information you just don't tell an excited, expectant mother because the procedure is so common and safe these days. He reassured me and we were back on track.
Laying there on the bed, I was starting to feel a little funky. Not funky, as in "let's bust a move", but just not right. Yup, it was that moment I'd been dreading. My mouth was extremely watery, and I was getting a bit light-headed... here it was, the vomit moment! I told the nurse I thought I was going to be sick, so she grabbed a blue thing that literally looked like a giant condom and stuck it next to my face so I could do my job and puke in it. I got the feeling she wasn't a fan of me spitting residual vomit out into the condom bag because she asked me not to. Okay, fair enough. After an extreme amount of vomiting, the anti-vomit liquid was out of my system and life was good again. :)
My Dr. is just amazing! I could hear him talking to the resident Drs. and his colleague, directing them on what to do next (have I mentioned he's the number 1 ranked and preferred Dr. for c-sections in town?),so I had a good idea as to what was going on. I could feel some tugging, and I knew he had to cut my stomach a bit more than anticipated, but that was fine. Our baby was definitely in there nice and snug, as evidenced by my difficulty breathing, constant acid reflux, and toes in my ribs throughout the pregnancy. :) With a few pulls, maneuvers and tugs, our baby was finally out!! My Dr. then told George he could announce what we had. So, George held our baby, brought it around the blue curtain, and said, "Mommy, we have a son!" I started crying instantly!! I was so excited, I was a blubbering idiot! However, I'd have been the same if we had another girl. I was just really excited and overwhelmed at the prospect of raising a son.
George brought him to me, and we posed for a family picture, sans Madeleine at the moment. Here we are...
Little George, as we have chosen to call him, got all cleaned up, lungs suctioned, and his color was normal. I think they did all of that before the picture... details are a little fuzzy with all of the morphine running through my body. Anyway, I got to see my little man for about 15 seconds and then he was off to meet the family. Big George gave me a kiss (very sexy behind a surgical mask *sigh*), told me how much he loves me, and then took our son out to meet the family. I, on the other hand, hung out and got put back together, one staple at a time. I could hear it... couldn't feel it. It's better that way, I've surmised. :) When I was all stuffed and stapled, my Dr. came around to my side of the curtain, patted me on the head like a softball coach does after you just made a great play, told me what a great job I did and congratulated me on our new baby. I think he might have been a tad more excited than the new parents. LOL He's just a gem of a Dr., I must say.
After all of that, I was wheeled into the recovery room (where I began my morning) and waited awhile for my family to come in. They all piled in the room and told me how beautiful he is, how excited they are to have a grandson, and how proud they are. Then, in a flash, they were gone. Everyone left me so I could get to my room and recover. I did, however, get to hold our new son on my chest as we were wheeled into the room. We got situated, and I promptly fell asleep with some Benadryl on board to stop the incessant itching the Morphine caused. At my request, we had no visitors before noon that day so I could sleep and recover.
Madeleine stayed the night at Grandma Pooh's house so she wouldn't have to be awakened so early that morning. So my parents went there and picked her up, put her in her new outfit (the shirt was custom made and said "I'm a big sister" and she had new pants to boot!), and headed on up to the hospital. Nobody told her if she had a brother or sister, as they wanted George and I to be the ones to tell her. She got there and immediately wanted to know. She was so excited to find she had a baby brother. She knew all along it was a boy. But then she started to cry. Not just a little, but a lot. She was so sad because Mommy was in pain and had a hole in her tummy. She got up on the bed with me and just laid there sobbing. I consoled my little bundle of love and reassured her that Mommy was doing very well and just had to heal a bit. After about 10 minutes of sobbing, and riding on the electric bed with Mommy, she finally stopped and cheered up. :) She's so sensitive to pain, you know...
Here she is with her new brother. And, if you ask her, she'll tell you how much she loves him and how she named him George. :)
The rest of the time was spent with friends and family, and getting used to our new baby boy. He's such a joy to us, and we are so grateful we've been blessed with another sweet spirit in our home. We're sure we got the best two little spirits Heavenly Father had to offer. :)
Our week at home has been quite busy, but filled with so much fun and excitement! He's already grown 1/2" and gained some of his weight back. He lost a little over one pound in the hospital, which is normal. We had him circumcised on Wed and he came through like a little super star! He didn't cry... not once! He just happily sucked away at the sugar water nipple provided him by the Pediatrician, and Daddy stood by during the procedure holding the nipple. What a dutiful daddy. Madeleine and Mommy went to the pharmacy across the hall and looked at toys and smelled candles while waiting for the procedure to end. :) I can handle blood and the removal of skin... I can't handle the anticipated screams and tears of agony from my children. Thankfully, none were to be had. :)
Here are some more pics of us since we've been home. Enjoy!
Sticking my tongue out at you, Mommy!
Yes, I do have eyes!
Little George is holding the bottle for Daddy. Excited about food, eh? By the way, he's not a really strong nurser, so Mommy slaved over the pump to get that milk for him! :) And Madeleine loves her daddy and brother.
Such a proud big sister!
She loves to hold Little George.
Uncle Jon sitting there while cousin Kambria holds Little George.
She sure loves her cousin!
Little George in his hospital bassinet before coming home. Such a tiny little bundle!
Madeleine loves her bubble baths. Tonight I mistakenly left her shampoo down within her reach, so she took it upon herself to wash her own hair. She's so independent! And she did a pretty good job... after I got the other 2/3 of her hair wet for her. LOL
A look of admiration.
My adorable family!
Such a proud big sister!
What's over here, Mommy?
There's my beautiful mommy!
Just relaxing on the couch with my mommy. The best place to be post-op!
2 comments:
Congratulations!! I get knocked out cold for my c-sections! I wouldn't have it any other way!! I just wouldn't want that vomit feeling ugh! I am allergic to morphine so I can't have that. I don't drink water either...can't stand it!
I am so excited that you had a boy, my new nephew!!!! Love the pictures! He is so perfect! :)
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