On Baby A's birthday, the c-section surgery went as planned. I walked into the OR around 9:30am and was pushed out around 2 hours later. W was instructed to wait outside while the team was getting me prepared for anesthesia. He then got invited to come in and sat next to me while the team worked on getting Baby A out of me 😂. W was a good DJ and Baby A was born while Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was being played. So...did I feel any pain during this life-changing surgery? No, I didn't. I had a spinal block. I never felt any type of pain during the surgery. Getting the anesthesia injected - however - was the most uncomfortable part of the surgery. There was a lot of pressure. I felt my back being pulled or pushed, or something. It just felt very uncomfortable, not painful, but very uncomfortable. It was also hard to try leaning toward the source of that uncomfortableness. Learning to relax while being uncomfortable was a very hard thing to do. But it was necessary. Once it...
Week 37! This is the week that we started parking at the "special parking spot" at the hospital's parking garage. Walking is a chore itself for me. I wobble like a penguin. I make sound effects unconsciously whenever I stand up and walk or when getting in or out of the NST bed. I'm definitely counting down the days until Eviction Day!
My NST appointments are usually at 10:15am (every Tuesday & Friday) and the hospital is only about 5 minutes drive from home. We tend to leave the house at least 20 minutes before the appointment so one would think there's plenty of time to be on time for the appointments. Whew, welp, this week has been a bit hard because apparently my legs now require more time to walk from the parking garage to the hospital lobby. Seriously. I get leg cramps multiple times a day, especially when I'm walking. Knowing it's taking longer for me to reach the hospital lobby, breakfast time is getting a dent on the days I have NST. One time I drank a yogurt drink in the car. The other time I just got a small cup of smoothie from the cafe at the hospital. The smoothie was actually pretty good (peach with 2% milk).
On the Friday of Week 37, we found out I was having contractions during the NST. I honestly wasn't surprised. I didn't know I was having contractions, but I was feeling uncomfortable. It didn't feel like "cramps" like how some people have described. I just felt a lot of pressure around my stomach and the baby was moving a lot. I thought the "extra-uncomfortableness" was from lying down flat on the NST bed while baby was moving a lot. Turns out my contractions have started. The nurse wasn't concerned. She said it's very normal to start having contractions around Week 37. There was no need for extra monitoring or anything. Just do things as how I usually do and contact the advice line if the 5-1-1 rule applies, or if my water breaks. Week 37 was also when I checked my glucose level in the car and at the hospital for the first time since having been diagnosed with GD. I had to check it in the car one time because I had 3 back-to-back appointments that day and wasn't going to make it back home in time for the poke. Then there was that time I pricked my middle finger in a bathroom of the hospital because I had another set of "things" to do at the hospital (NST, pre-op bloodwork, pharmacy for meds) and wasn't going to make it home in time.
The "pre-op appointment" took place during one of my NSTs during week 37. A nurse from L&D came to me while I was still hooked to the machines for NST. She gave me a stack of paper (pictured below) and went over the most important things like "using hospital provided wipes to wipe down the body after a good shower the night before going to the hospital," and "no food 8 hours before going to the hospital" and "no liquid 2 hours before going to the hospital" etc. The packet has a lot of information, though they all seem pretty straightforward. There's also a timeline that shows when to take which medication for bowel movement and a list of reasons to reach out to the hospital (signs of infection at the incision site etc).
Per the recommendations from the packet (and the nurse, doctor, and pharmacist we spoke with), we got everything that was recommended for post c-section. We figured it's better to have these prepared ahead of time rather than buying them when leaving the hospital on discharge day.
Aside from the pre-op and all of the hospital visits, this week has been just like last week- as in time is flying by fast! Baby has been super active this week - I would say it's the most active week so far and it makes sense! She's ready to come out soon! The picture below was taken when she was pushing her bum against my belly (see how the right side of my belly was raised)!
To my (and W's) surprise, I was able to walk the whole lap of the park. We spent close to an hour walking, bird-watching, poeple-watching, and enjoyed our last weekend of "freedom" while surrounded by nature 😊
Another thing we did during the 4th of July weekend was we visited BG's Food Cartel. It's a plaza of food trucks. I hadn't been there for a couple of months and was pleasantly surprised to see some new changes, including new food trucks and added umbrellas and extra seats.
Oh, and the nursery is finally complete! 💖
The last thing we disinfected was this baby gym. It's a gift from a friend (who also officiated our wedding ceremony back in 2015) and this little baby gym is just oh so cute!
On Tuesday, I went to a nail salon to get a pedicure (it's impossible for me to clip my toe nails at this point hahaha). It felt nice to get a bit pampered before the big day! I picked a turquoise-ish color - thinking it matches the nursery wall 😁 The massage chair felt nice at first, though I think it induced some cramps (or even contractions) after about 10 minutes of the back and "bum" massage. I had to quickly press the "off" button.
Tuesday night was also the last night Beibei, Lulu, and Duke slept with me on the same bed before Eviction Day. We decided it's best to not allow them to sleep with me on the same bed for those first few nights home from the hospital. The main reason being Duke tends to get excited when he sees/hears someone walking nearby (the bedroom window faces the street with sidewalks). He would run and jump to the bed (or jump up and shake his butt vigorously while barking at the window) and often get on my legs/feet. There have been times when he kicked my waist & thighs by accident (if he was sleeping between my legs or by my side then he suddenly "jumps up" because he heard someone walking/talking outside). Another reason is Beibei likes to "walk on me" in the middle of the night. She's walked on my stomach and chest many times before and during this pregnancy. We've been teaching her to not do this and she seems to be getting it for the most part, but even this week - she tried to walk on my raised belly once and I woke up with her attempting to do so. Since I'll be recovering from a c-section, we feel it's best to put up a pet gate for the first few nights home....so starting last night, I slept on our king bed alone. W slept with them in another room (Duke is more calm when at least one of us is with him). We think it's best to start doing this a couple of days before the big day to get them used to this, so it won't be a sudden big change on the day baby comes home. It's already going to be a big change for them with a new hooman, so I want to minimize new changes in addition to bringing a new tiny hooman to them. Just trying to make the transition as easy as possible. I'm excited the pregnancy is coming to an end. Also excited we're meeting the baby very soon. Very excited to bring baby home and introduce her to Beibei, Lulu, and Duke. I honestly hate having a gate that separates them from me when we sleep, but it's for the best for now (so Duke and Beibei won't accidentally step on my incision while I'm sleeping).
Less than 72 hours until Baby Day!
💗 CM
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