Almost a week a not a blog post in sight! Such is the life with a newborn and two other aggravating sweet and adorable children to care for! It has been a crazy week. I’ve been having a harder time recovering from my c-section than with the previous two but I’ve been doing much, much better emotionally than I did with Madalyn! After 9 days of taking Oxycodone every 4 hours around the clock I am happy to say that I am now pain-medicine free (except for an occasional Tylenol or Motrin!).
So I finally have some time to sit and write about Layla’s birth! Here are Aaron and I a couple days before Layla was born at some friends’ Halloween party! It took three pregnancies but I think this time my belly may have gotten bigger than his!
So Aaron and I headed to the hospital on Monday morning, October 26 at 7 a.m. Here we are as we were walking out the door. Very anxious. Very nervous. But VERY excited!
My surgery was scheduled for 9 and things went very smoothly and right on time. I was checked into my room, changed into a hospital gown and peed in a cup and then got settled into bed so the nurse could start my IV. I had two really great nurses working with me. Trish was with me from the beginning right up until I was rolled to my post-partum room. She was really nice and helpful and supportive. I had to have a good crying spell (I was soooo nervous!) and the nurses were just wonderful in assuring me that everything would be okay. My surgical nurse knew about my background and my post-partum hemorrhage after Madalyn was born and she made a point to tell all of my caregivers so that they would be extra careful in watching me for complications.
After just a little while my friend (and nurse anesthetist) Susie came by and hung out with us until it was time to go to surgery. My mom and dad also arrived soon after that. I informed the nurses that I did not want Layla to receive erythromycin eye ointment/drops or the Hep B (I reneged on the Vitamin K literally that morning–read up on it the night before and scared myself into letting them give it!). Anyway…they were okay with the Hep B but the ointment was another story. The nurses told me that they would notify the nursery staff. Then they told me I’d have to talk to the pediatrician. It ended up being a big ordeal because they didn’t have a form for me to sign saying that I refused it and in the end the hospital notified risk management and the pediatrician and after I talked with her (the pedi) she told me that she was told by risk management that she needed to “report it” to the health department!!! Crazy. But I stood my ground and said that I did not feel she was at risk, I did not have an STD and I DID NOT want her to receive it. (Dr. G and Dr. P–the pediatricians–both later told me that they agreed that Layla was not at risk and Dr. P even said that he thinks in the next few years children will be separated into low and high risk groups and the low risk babies will no longer receive it. In fact, right now there is a nation wide shortage of the medication!).
So after we got that settled–I signed the refusal form literally as I was being rolled down to surgery–it was off to the operating room! This photo was taken as Dr. G was opening me up! I was so anxious to meet little Layla!
Aaron was not allowed in right away. I had requested it but they do not like the spouses in the room when the spinals are put in. I’m not sure what the reason is but it seemed like forever before I saw him again. They had difficulty getting my spinal in and actually had to try twice before they got it accessed. And then it seemed to take a long time before I was numb enough. They got my urinary catheter in and then Aaron was brought into the room decked out in his surgical garb.
Things went quickly after that. Susie and Aaron kept me calm by talking to me and telling me what was happening. I heard Dr. G say the work “rupture” and I freaked out because I instantly thought “ruptured uterus”. Then Susie said, “It’s almost time!” and I knew he meant that he had ruptured my membranes (amniotic sac). Just a few seconds later and I felt them pull and push REALLY hard on my stomach and out came my beautiful little girl!
Layla Joy–born at 10:06 a.m. weighing 7 pounds 6.5 ounces, 20 inches in length with a headful of dark brown hair and dark blue eyes!
Dr. G held her up for what seemed like a long time so that I could get a good look at her. She screamed and then opened her little eyes and looked right at me. I will never forget that! I never experienced that with my other two children.
The best part of the surgery was having the bassinet positioned right beside me so I could see everything going on. Again, didn’t have that experience with my other two. By the time I saw them for the first time they were already swaddled up. Layla was grabbing stuff from the beginning. When they first pulled her out she had her umbilical cord in her hand. Then she grabbed her oxygen tubing. (Even now she likes to grab onto things–especially the straps of my tank tops and her sisters hair–yes, already she is grabbing Madalyn’s hair!).
I was able to watch the nurses get her footprints and I could see Aaron cut her cord!
After they got her cleaned up and swaddled they let Aaron bring her over to me and he sat with me for a long time.
I started feeling really out of it and I said that out loud and Susie realized that my blood pressure had really dropped. They quickly gave me some meds to bring it up and then I felt fine. Aaron left with Layla and the nurse to go to the nursery and Dr. G finished me up and I was taken to recovery.
It wasn’t too long after that (maybe 30 minutes) and they were able to bring Layla to me. Again–something I had not experienced with my two previous babies. I didn’t see Annagrace or Madalyn for several hours after and it was after I was already settled in my post-partum room.
This is the first photo of me holding Layla. Right after this I stripped her down and was able to hold her skin-to-skin on my chest and a few minutes later attempted to nurse her (she wasn’t all that into it but was able to latch on for a few seconds).
I was in recovery for about an hour and then we were all taken down to my post-partum room. Aunt Steph (Aaron’s sister) arrived shortly after that with the new big sisters and my brother and sister-in-law and mom and dad were there as well.
The next few days were TOUGH. I had A LOT of post-op pain. That was my only complaint of my whole stay. They took me off my Dilaudid pain pump and put me on pills and only gave me ONE pill that was suppose to last for 6 hours. By the time 3 hours had passed I was literally crying in pain. The nurses called my doctor and had my pain meds changed to 1 OR 2 every FOUR hours instead. It made a big difference! I had to use a lot of ice and heat packs on my incision and abdomen. I have to say that although the surgery was 100 times better this time the recovery was worse!
After two days though I was feeling well enough to come home. Here we are all ready to go! The pediatrician said that Layla was in the intermediate level for her jaundice and she did not require labwork. (However when we returned to the doctor two days later they sent us for labwork (it was fine). She had lost from her birth weight down to 6 pounds 14 ounces as well).
I couldn’t wait to get out of that tiny little hospital room and get home with my all my girls! Annagrace and Madalyn were SO excited to have their baby sister home! She has gotten a lot of hugs and snuggles and kisses these first couple of weeks!
Aaron had the week off and it was nice to spend time getting to know our little one. Aaron was wonderful taking care of me! He made sure I took my medicine, fixed my meals for me, and got up with me during all hours of the night for feedings (and occasionally to help pull me up out of bed!). We were really sad when he had to go back to work!
We are so happy that our little Layla arrived safe and sound and that I didn’t have any complications!
Welcome to our family Layla Joy!
