Welcome, Baby A.

 

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 was done, things rolled into motion very quickly. Nurses got me lying on the operating table. A drape was put up. Someone moved my arms for me. Someone moved my legs. Someone positioned my head. Everyone was on the move. Someone went out to get W. 

Similar to the pressure I felt during the injection of the spinal block, I felt a lot of pressure down in my lower abdominal area during the surgery. I could feel my body being pulled, like when sutures were being put in, but never any pain. Nothing sharp was felt. I could, however, feel the change in temperature. I could feel the coldness of any tool that was placed on me, but that's it. It's such a strange feeling. Just before Baby A was born, I began shivering - as expected as it's a common reaction towards anesthesia. I remember crying uncontrollably because I started to fear for the worst. It's weird. I wasn't scared of the idea of a c-section. I was the one that suggested the surgery to my ob, she simply approved my request. I was excited for the surgery - was still excited even during the operation - but at that moment, while shivering uncontrollably and crying with high emotions, I began fearing complications could happen and worried that I'd had limited time to be with her.

Everything went smoothly. The surgery itself lasted a little more than an hour. The part that was most time-consuming was getting everything sewed back. Apparently, this might sound odd and unexpected, at least that's how it was to me when I first found out, my uterus was taken outside of my body. It was done so to allow for natural contraction in a controlled environment. Then, my uterus was put back inside me after Baby A was delivered. Just how odd does that feel when you say that out loud? Yep, I thought so. 

My recovery room was great. It was spacious enough for me, Baby A, and W during our 4 nights stay at the hospital. The room had its own bathroom with a shower stall. My room & the bathroom got cleaned once during our stay (I think it was during our second night there).

Baby A slept in a clear bassinet. It had wheels so it was easy to roll her around. We took her on walks (around the nursing stations) in it a few times.

The meals were better than expected. Everything was made to order. The earliest time to place an order was 6:00 AM and the last order was 7:00 PM. There was a printed menu with everything on it - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, and desserts. Orders could be placed by phone, or through the smart TV in my room. I could order ahead or request food to be sent asap. If I was hungry in the middle of the night, my night nurse could fix up something (bagel, sandwich) and always had boxed juice ready. Each day, I had a quota for 5 orders. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks. Overall, the food was good. I thought there was a good selection of food on the first day. Then, by dinner time on the second night, I wished they had rotated the menu because I realized it was the same menu every day 😂. Food was included during my stay. W couldn't order, but the nurses encouraged us to just order as much as wanted and they don't mind that patients share with their guests. So that's what we did. I ordered for two and just shared with W 😎 Occasionally, W brought takeout and we'd save the meal from the hospital as late-night munches.

The night before we went home, my feet started to swell.

 This was taken just hours before we got home. I thought that was bad, I didn't know it could get a lot worse. The swelling lasted until I was about 8 weeks postpartum.

Breastfeeding turned out very difficult to begin with. Baby A developed juandice and had a hard time feeding off of me. Bottles, syringes, and Supplement Nursing System was introduced to Baby A when she was just 3 days old. Nurses and 6 lactation specialists came to help with breastfeeding and pumping. They offered advice on helping Baby A to latch correctly and how to establish my milk supply. Feeding a newborn every 2-3 hours everyday was a very hard task. 

Those first few days at the hospital actually was the easy part because we had people cooking food for us, cleaning up after us, and could catch naps here and there with nurses around to help if needed. Once home, we had just ourselves. Well, except the first two nights home. We had the help of a postpartum doula for the first two nights. Then, it was truly just W and me, and Beibei, Lulu, and Duke to bounce around Baby A.

 

Baby A did so well on the way home from the hospital - she fell asleep 😂

Beibei, Lulu, and Duke all took her in immediately. She's part of the pack from the first day home!

Our first homemade meal was pasta made by my postpartum doula - Lisa. It was simple, yet delicious. She stayed with us from 8pm - 8am on the first night and 8:30pm-9:30am for the second night. She made dinner and breakfast, as requested, and did laundry while we slept. That was the last time we had more than 4 hours of sleep for a while - as we only slept 2-3 hours each night for about 8 weeks straight. It was intense. 

Nonetheless, it was all worth it.

💗CM