Gracie Arrives.

I have been meaning to get into the habit of posting. I think about it every day. Then, the day gets away from me. But, I know there is so much that I am going to want to remember so I am going to try really hard to get something posted every week-day. May as well set the bar high, right? =) So, I thought I would start with a recap of Gracie's birth.

Wed Oct 15th: We have our 39 week doctor appt. We are scheduled for an ultrasound before the dr visit. The ultrasound shows that the baby is 8 pounds 14 ounces. Mommy is a little stunned and has a hard time getting up and leaving the office. We see the dr and he explains that the baby could be one pound bigger or one pound larger than the weight the ultrasound showed. Either way we are looking at an 8-10 pound baby. Mommy is still in shock. The dr checks me and determines that nothing is really happening and things are not favorable to induce the baby. We can wait and see if I go into labor or we can schedule a c-section. If we get to 41 weeks and there is no baby, they can induce. It seems likely that we might still end up needing a c-section. So, we make the decision to schedule a c-section. We will have the baby on Monday.

Fri Oct 17th: We have a dr appt to fill out paperwork and get everything set-up for Monday. The dr checks my blood pressure again since it was high on Wed. It is high again but enough to deliver the baby so we will still have the baby on Monday. We go to labor and delivery and meet with anesthesia. Everything is ready for Monday. 

Sat Oct 18th: We have a great, relaxing Saturday. We go out for Mexican food in the evening.

Sun Oct 19th: I have to go and have blood drawn so they will have blood available during the surgery. 

Mon Oct 20th: It's Baby Day! We get up at 4:45am so we can be at the hospital by 6am. When we get there, they start getting me ready for surgery. They give me a lot of i.v. fluids, which make me very nauseous. Thank goodness for anti-nausea drugs and air-conditioning. They take my blood pressure several times and put me on a monitor to check the baby's heartbeat. Everything sounds great. They also put me on a monitor to see if I am contracting. It shows contractions, but I am not feeling anything. The nurse gives me Lovanox (a blood thinner, due to my history of a DVT) and then the dr comes in and checks on everything. Things are moving right along and we should have a baby between 7:30am-8am. I get up to go to the bathroom, again, and when I come back the dr and the anesthesiologist are in the room. They have determined that they cannot give me spinal anesthesia so soon after giving me Lovanox. We are going to have to wait to have the c-section until 5pm. They let me eat breakfast and then it is no food or water for the rest of the day. We spend the day hanging out in the hospital room, watching HGTVand trying to nap. I am feeling pretty horrible by 6pm when they finally take me to surgery; but, I am ready to have this baby. They take me down the hall to the operating room while Daddy gets his paper scrubs on.He will join me right before they deliver the baby. When I walk into the o.r. I feel like I am walking into a spotlight. There are people all the room and things are very bright and overwhelming. My dr is in the middle of room and I am glad to see a familiar face. They get me up on the table and give me the spinal. He had to try 3-4 times and I am getting pretty anxious. Finally, the spinal is in and they lay me down on the table. They put oxygen on me. Nate finally comes into the room as they are starting the surgery. I can see him behind me, slightly to my left. I can't feel much, and can't see anything but then I feel a ton of pressure. I know I should hear the baby soon. I feel the pressure again and then I hear the baby cry. They hold the baby up so I can see hear. It is all very surreal. They take her off to the side and the pediatrician checks her out.I can hear her crying and I know that Nate is over there with her. After a few minutes, we walks over holding her. I start crying. He brings her closer so I can see her better and then they take her off to the nursery. Daddy goes with her. They bathe her and check her out some more. She is great. The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. After about an hour, Nate comes in with a nurse. Apparently, I had been in there quite a while and they weren't sure where I was. The surgery went well. I have been shaking since I woke up and they give me some medicine for that. Since the spinal is wearing off and I can move my legs, they take me to my room. I am very hot and don't feel very good so I keep my eyes closed while they push the bed to my room. Once I am settled in my room, they bring Gracie in. I can see her in her little plastic bed. The shaking has worn off, but I am still feeling pretty hot and shaky so I don't feel comfortable trying to hold her just yet. They give some ice chips and I slowly start to feel better. They have me wearing DVT bands that contract every minute or so and I realize they are making my feet fall asleep. The nurse finally takes them off and I feel so much better. I hold Gracie and I am simply amazed. She is beautiful. I nurse her and hold her. Life is good.