As you know, we had a planned c-section scheduled for Monday at 12:30. The idea was to get up, get ready, drop Violet off at school, and head to the hospital, nice and relaxed. I wasn't allowed to eat after 4 a.m., so Matt even set his alarm for 3:30 so I could get up and eat a snack. My parents were planning to meet us at the hospital before picking Violet up from school. My bag was packed, and I even upacked Violet's bag, since she never ended up needing it.
Oh, foolish me. I should have known.
At 2:30 in the morning, I rolled over in bed and my water broke. Oops. Talk about deja vu. I called the doctor as was told to come straight to the hospital. I called our neighbor A., our plan for just this type of situation. She unlocked her back door and after throwing Violet's clothes back in her bag, we carried her over. She was surprisingly agreeable (or just half asleep still) and snuggled right down, to our great relief. I called my mom, just to let her know the baby would be a little ahead of schedule. Then we hopped in the car and were on our way.
At this point the contractions had started up, pretty intense. Once the nurse checked me and discovered I was already five cm dilated, she stated that things were going to happen quickly. And did they! In no time I was in the intensely lit, freezing cold, very crowded operating room. And within 20 minutes, Annie was born, weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 5 oz. No one in the room predicted she would be that big! Then I lay there on the table, getting put back together, while Matt watched over the baby as she rocked her apgar score and got herself nice and pretty. From my view, I caught a glimpse of little hands and feet waving. It was a very different experience than Violet's birth.
It's strange. I feel much more relaxed and far less emotional than I did with Violet. I think having gone through one birth and newborn stage and everyone has survived to tell the tale gives me lots of confidence. It's a relief to feel like I know what I'm doing this time. On the other hand, this being my first c-section, there is a lot that is very different, mainly with my physical experience. That has come with a bit of a shock. It was strange not to be able to hold Annie immediately, though it was sweet getting to watch Matt take over the Daddy role so instantly.
Once I was ready, I joined Matt and Annie back in the recovery room and got to know our chubby new friend. She nursed like a champ immediately and no one entering the room to help but remark on what a big girl she was! They gave me a lovely morphine drip with my new best friend, a little button I could push at will. And push I did, because the pain of a c-section is no joke. (Although the pain of delivering a 9 lb-plus baby would have been no joke either - I think she was breech for a reason.) Within no time, we were wheeled to our Mother-Baby "hotel" room and received our first visitors!
 |
| Papa stopped by. |
 |
| Annie and Mimi. |
 |
| Aunt Dani came by... |
 |
| And so did Uncle Lukas. |
 |
| Miss Amy meets Miss Annie! |
 |
| Big sister makes her big arrival. |
 |
| My girls! |
Talk about a busy day! I am so glad I ended up having the c-section hours earlier than planned. By 5 p.m., 12 hours later, I was finally on the upswing and getting a jump on my recovery. The grogginess from the medication was wearing off, the morphine was doing its job keeping the major pain at bay, and I was actually able to get out of bed and move around a little. Annie proved herself to be quite a little sweetie, a trend that continues even now!
No comments:
Post a Comment