The night before her birthday, we couldn't sleep. I was so excited and a little nervous about what the next day would bring. 4am on Jan. 10, 2011 came pretty quickly and we got up and dressed and to the hospital at 5am. Blood work was done, I got hooked up to monitors (monitors showed I was having contractions, which I didn't feel!) IV started, papers filled out, Dr. L came in to tell us the plan, Alan got gowned up and it was time to go.
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| waiting to go back to the OR |
Back in the OR I got the spinal (which didn't hurt near as bad as I thought) and then I started to go numb, which is a good thing when you are going to be cut open! After the spinal, Alan came back and sat by my head. I got sick a couple of times, the doctors and nurses were great and were joking around with us. A few tugs and pulls and out she came. They held her up over the curtain and I smiled and Alan went pale. They had to give him oxygen and take him out of the OR! They came back to tell me that dad is doing better!
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| She's here! |
Meredith Grace Vaesa weighed in at 6lbs, 8oz and 20 1/4 inches long. Benjamin weighed in at 7lbs 90z and 20 inches, so she is a bit smaller.
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| 6lbs 8oz 20 1/4 inches long |
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| Mama, meet your daughter. |
After spending about 2 hours in recovery (had to wait until I could wiggle my toes) and being able to breastfeed, we headed up to the mother and baby unit. Family came in, I was in a daze, the pain pills were too much and made me sick.
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| Alan feeling better |
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| Bonding in recovery. |
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| She has dark blue eyes. |
By the second day I was feeling much better and we got my pain meds under control, which made life much better.
Alan spent the first night with me, and then I stayed by myself after that first night so Alan could take Benjamin home and sleep in their own beds. Alan and Benjamin came and visited every day and the nurses loved him! He didn't think much of his lil sis at first, much more interested in the buttons and other cool hospital equipment! On Thursday both the pediatrician and my doctor gave us the green light to go home, discharge papers were filled out and we were home around noon.
So far things have been a chaotic, fun mess! Three days after being home I came down with the stomach bug; throwing up isn't fun after a c-section. Then it made its way around to Benjamin, Alan, my sisters and my dad. Thankfully Meredith and my mom were spared the sickness. After we recovered from the flu, Alan had to go to Canada for work. We couldn't have made it without our family helping us out, we are truly grateful and not sure we could ever pay you back for everything you all have done!
Taking care of two babies is a little crazy, the hardest part was not picking up Benjamin for 2 weeks, which I had to break the rule a few times when Alan came down with the stomach bug. Meredith and I have both been back to the doctor and we are doing great. She left the hospital weighing 6lbs and is now back up to birth weight. I am about 5lbs away from my pre pregnancy weight and the incision is healing.
Meredith seems to be a little more laid back than Benjamin, or it could be that we as second time parents are more relaxed. Not sure. She eats about every 3 hours and sleeps really well for a newborn. There have been plenty of days of me being awake for 22 hours at a time, but those are getting further apart. Last night at 3 weeks old, she slept from midnight till 4am and then fell back asleep at 5:30am and slept until 9am. I can't complain. Of course, Benjamin was running a fever so I was up with him. I guess that's the thing with more than one child, if its not one, it the other! Oh well, I love my little life and all the craziness that goes with it!
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| It's all worth it. |
