Birth Story
The thing about a planned c-section is that it makes for a pretty boring birth story. Not much action and suspense, although since we had that last time with Little Dude's birth I'm pretty happy that this time around was a bit more boring. This baby still needs a blog name--Mr. Fob thinks she should be P Bibby, but I don't really like that so I'll have to think of something better. I just thought I'd write down a bit about how things went so we'll remember them in the future.
Last Wednesday morning we had to be at the hospital by six o'clock; thankfully Mr. Fob's sister was nice enough to get up early and stay with our kids during the morning. My surgery was the second on the schedule so we didn't get into the operating room until after eight. The nurse who worked with me that day was really great and we spent the prep time chatting. By the time I went in for surgery both Mr. Fob and I felt relaxed and excited. Everything went well; it's not a pleasant experience, but my doctor is nice and fast and I was back in my room relatively quickly. They brought the baby into us for a while before giving her a bath and I was able to try nursing her only about an hour or so after she was born. We had been thinking she'd be pretty big but instead she was about average size: seven-and-a-half pounds and twenty inches long. My sister-in-law brought over Little Dude and he was very excited to meet his sister. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out; Mr. Fob's other sister took over with the kids in the afternoon and brought S-Boogie by after she was done with school. That night my dad got into town so he spent some time hanging out in the hospital as well.
Wednesday night was probably my worst night. I was still hooked up to the IV and catheter and couldn't get out of bed or move very well, plus I felt woozy and in more pain than earlier in the day. The baby got really cranky, and even though they tried taking her to the nursery she kept coming back in to try and nurse. Thursday morning I felt very tired, plus the baby was still feeling sad as well. At least I got disconnected from everything so I could get out of bed and they started feeding me regular food as well. The lactation consultant stopped by and helped me figure out better positioning for nursing; even though I've nursed two babies before, she was really helpful and I figured out some things I hadn't done well in the past. Thursday night we all slept better.
Friday was a pretty good day. Mr. Fob had to work in the morning so my dad just hung around with me at the hospital. It was a calm, low-key morning, and my milk started coming in so the baby was much happier. I also got to take a shower after lunch, and then the kids came over so we could watch a movie as a family. That night I actually ended up pumping because I was making so much milk, and so we really got good sleep because they were able to give the baby a bottle in the night. Saturday was the day we got to go home and the only hard thing about it was waiting around for the doctor to come by and sign the paperwork. Mr. Fob and I watched some TV shows online and just hung out waiting. I was very ready to go home at that point because the hospital bed was irritating my lower back and I could barely stand to sit in it anymore. My stomach was also not feeling good either; although I tried to eat well and avoid digestive issues, sitting in bed for a few days and taking lots of Percocet is not good for your body. I've been able to feel better since coming home and eating better food (and milk of magnesia is my new best friend).
Now it's been a week since we had the baby and I'm happy to be at home and generally feeling good. My parents will be here all week and they have been a big help with managing the other kids. I've also been feeling cautiously optimistic about breastfeeding this time around because I seem to be producing much more than I did in the past and this baby is a big eater. It's not all sunshine and roses--I've had a few crying breakdowns and some major crankiness from lack of sleep, but I can say that mentally and physically I feel so much better than I did with Little Dude. I keep telling Mr. Fob how amazed I am that I don't feel stressed out; hopefully things stay this way during the next few weeks.
Last Wednesday morning we had to be at the hospital by six o'clock; thankfully Mr. Fob's sister was nice enough to get up early and stay with our kids during the morning. My surgery was the second on the schedule so we didn't get into the operating room until after eight. The nurse who worked with me that day was really great and we spent the prep time chatting. By the time I went in for surgery both Mr. Fob and I felt relaxed and excited. Everything went well; it's not a pleasant experience, but my doctor is nice and fast and I was back in my room relatively quickly. They brought the baby into us for a while before giving her a bath and I was able to try nursing her only about an hour or so after she was born. We had been thinking she'd be pretty big but instead she was about average size: seven-and-a-half pounds and twenty inches long. My sister-in-law brought over Little Dude and he was very excited to meet his sister. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out; Mr. Fob's other sister took over with the kids in the afternoon and brought S-Boogie by after she was done with school. That night my dad got into town so he spent some time hanging out in the hospital as well.
Wednesday night was probably my worst night. I was still hooked up to the IV and catheter and couldn't get out of bed or move very well, plus I felt woozy and in more pain than earlier in the day. The baby got really cranky, and even though they tried taking her to the nursery she kept coming back in to try and nurse. Thursday morning I felt very tired, plus the baby was still feeling sad as well. At least I got disconnected from everything so I could get out of bed and they started feeding me regular food as well. The lactation consultant stopped by and helped me figure out better positioning for nursing; even though I've nursed two babies before, she was really helpful and I figured out some things I hadn't done well in the past. Thursday night we all slept better.
Friday was a pretty good day. Mr. Fob had to work in the morning so my dad just hung around with me at the hospital. It was a calm, low-key morning, and my milk started coming in so the baby was much happier. I also got to take a shower after lunch, and then the kids came over so we could watch a movie as a family. That night I actually ended up pumping because I was making so much milk, and so we really got good sleep because they were able to give the baby a bottle in the night. Saturday was the day we got to go home and the only hard thing about it was waiting around for the doctor to come by and sign the paperwork. Mr. Fob and I watched some TV shows online and just hung out waiting. I was very ready to go home at that point because the hospital bed was irritating my lower back and I could barely stand to sit in it anymore. My stomach was also not feeling good either; although I tried to eat well and avoid digestive issues, sitting in bed for a few days and taking lots of Percocet is not good for your body. I've been able to feel better since coming home and eating better food (and milk of magnesia is my new best friend).
Now it's been a week since we had the baby and I'm happy to be at home and generally feeling good. My parents will be here all week and they have been a big help with managing the other kids. I've also been feeling cautiously optimistic about breastfeeding this time around because I seem to be producing much more than I did in the past and this baby is a big eater. It's not all sunshine and roses--I've had a few crying breakdowns and some major crankiness from lack of sleep, but I can say that mentally and physically I feel so much better than I did with Little Dude. I keep telling Mr. Fob how amazed I am that I don't feel stressed out; hopefully things stay this way during the next few weeks.
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