Hannah Jean's Arrival!

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write this but obviously the first week as a new Mom is a very busy one!  So here we go....

A planned C-Section was scheduled for Thursday, October 4 when I was 37w4d.  It was scheduled early because of pre-eclampsia and a c-section because of my low lying placenta.  I arrived at the hospital around 11am and they began taking blood and setting up an IV.  My blood pressure was pretty high at 169/110 (the highest it had been).  After a few hours, they sent me in for my spinal.  I was pretty nervous at this point and it was really hard to not have my husband with me, but I like to think I was pretty brave.  I did as they told me and just did some breathing exercises through it to keep myself from getting too worked up.  The spinal was pretty painful but the pain didn't last long so I can't complain too much.

The feeling of my legs and torso going numb was definitely very strange for me.  The first few minutes before they began cutting I was feeling very uncomfortable and restless.  I knew I was breathing because I could talk, but I couldn't feel myself breathing....if that makes sense.  They finally brought my husband back in and that made me feel much better.  I only had one small moment where I felt some nausea and the anesthesiologist promptly gave me something in my IV that made it go away.  My anesthesiologist was wonderful by the way.  She was so sweet and kept rubbing my arms to keep me calm. 

Everything felt better honestly once they officially started the surgery because then I had something to concentrate on.  I could feel a little pressure but no pain at all and felt very calm.  The worst part about it all was the shaking.  I was shaking SO badly from the spinal (which is very normal) and it was just a pain in the ass more than anything because nothing I could do would stop it.  It went by very quickly.  They did some quick pushes on my chest which was some uncomfortable pressure but not terrible and then a nurse said, "You're about to meet your baby!".  Then another said, "I see some hair!" and then I heard the sound of her cry and oh was she wailing!  I immediately started crying and begging them to show her to me.  They brought her around the side and I was shocked how she didn't look like me AT ALL, lol.  My husband promptly left my side and went over to where they were checking all her vitals.  This part was tough because I couldn't see anything and they were working on putting me back together.  I was feeling so many emotions but was just kind of stuck there.  Then I heard my husband say, "She has Kellie's toes!".  I have a funny little toe deformity that I got from my Dad, and apparently passed it on to Hannah.  This totally made me smile.

Now for the vitals of her birth.  She came into the world at 3:33pm weighing 7lbs 11oz and measuring at 19 3/4 inches long.  Apgar was 9/9.  She was so healthy that once they brought me into recovery, she came right with me and my whole family got to meet her which was wonderful.

We trying getting her to latch to my breasts but I have inverted nipples.  We even used a nipple shield and my nipples started bleeding within 3 minutes.  The lactation consultant was honest and told me I probably wouldn't be able to BF from the nipple but pumping would be a great option.  This decision didn't come lightly though and it took awhile to finally realize this was the best option for me (because of my breast reduction as well).  I was very overwhelmed the first day and very scared of breaking her.  I loved her already but felt like I had no idea what I was doing.

By the second day at the hospital things were much better.  Once family left I had to be more hands on with Hannah and that's when everything changed.  We made eye contact for the first time and I fell so deeply in love in that moment that it just overwhelmed me.

 Hannah is now a little over a week old and the absolute love of our lives.   My husband is completely enamored by her and I am so happy we both work from home so that we can spend every day with our princess.  She is such a well behaved baby and we are feeling so incredibly blessed.  I totally burst into tears a few times a day because the amount of love I feel just overwhelms me.  Cheesy, but true.

As for recovery, some moments are tough...but I do not regret the c-section.  I am healing very well and have been up and about since the day after it.  I am losing weight like crazy, already at 5 pounds below pre pregnancy.  The pumping and lack of time for snacking sure helps. :)

All in all, life is very good right now.  I am exhausted but I don't even care.  I had a difficult pregnancy but I can happily say now that YES, it was all worth it in the end.  And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I'm having a baby this week!

Yesterday was a crazy day for me!  I had my OB checkup at 2pm and we decided to schedule my C-Section for THIS Thursday, October 4th!  I was happy with this date especially because it is my Pepa's (my Mom's Dad) birthday and I just love him to pieces and Hannah's middle name Jean is after my Mema (my Mom's Mom).  They are both still very much alive and a huge part of my life so I love the thought of having her name and birthday connected to them forever. 

Anyway, so we scheduled the C-Section because my BP has been up again and they wanted me to have her before 38 weeks because of it.  Also, my placenta is just too damn close to the cervix and they are not comfortable having me try naturally.  With the combo of the placenta and pre-e this is just the safest option for me. 

After my regular appointment I had a NST with a nurse and Hannah was not cooperating and failed the NST.  SO they made me go to L&D for a what they called a BPP which is where they monitor the baby on an u/s for 30 min to check her movements and breathing and make sure everything looks normal.  Test came back great which means baby was just lazy earlier.  They also hooked me up to monitors and we saw I was having contractions every 6 minutes or so.  They weren't super painful but starting to get very uncomfortable.  So they let me go saying as long as they didn't start coming 3-5 min together I should be fine.

So I decided to get a bite to eat with my parents since I hadn't eaten yet.  On the way there and AT the restaurant I started timing the contractions which had become way more painful and close together.  They were 3-4 minutes apart lasting over a minute each.  We decided not to run back to the hospital quite yet and just go back to my parents house so we could drop my Dad off and my Mom would take me either back to the hospital or home.  (By the way, my husband had been with me earlier in the day, but I made him go home to finish work stuff because I knew he was slammed and had my parents helping me instead.)  So we get to my parents house and the contractions are still coming, very painful, and my BP has shot up to over 150/90.  So we call L&D and they said to come back in.

As soon as I get there and get hooked up to the machines, I swear things just stalled and stopped.  I was still having contractions about 5-6 minutes a part but they just weren't as strong anymore.  My hubby met us there because we thought this baby was coming so I felt kind of stupid when it became clear that it was just more false labor.  Regardless, my doctor was great and said not to feel stupid at all, and that if it happens again, just come in again because they do NOT want me dilating on my own...not with a low lying placenta as least.  (I am dilated 2cm so far and they wouldn't want me going over 3 at this point.)  Sooo I came back home, took a warm bath and finally fell asleep.  I had contractions all through the night but nothing that made me feel like I should rush back in.  I'm hoping all stays quiet the next two days so I can get things done and organized before Hannah's arrival on Thursday! 

I'm very excited and of course a little nervous.  During my u/s the tech said it looked like she has a ton of hair and it just made me smile imagining what she looks like.  This pregnancy has been tough of me physically, but Thursday will be the moment I have been waiting for.  Can't wait to hold my little girl in my arms!!!!!