Our hospital story

Having a scheduled cesarean birth is a somewhat surreal experience.  It was like going out to dinner, but instead of ordering up a nice entree, I requested a baby.

We had a quiet morning, just killing time until we could head into the hospital.  We stopped and bought some   fancy coffee drinks for the boys on the way in.  I was already hungry and nervous but couldn't have anything.

At the hospital they asked me if I wanted/needed a wheelchair, which I thought was funny.  I walked up to the maternity floor and Mike got my mom and Lawrence settled into a waiting room before coming back to hang out with me.  There was lots of paperwork and lots of waiting, although we were ready to go in about an hour.

Mike must have asked me "are you excited" about a hundred times.  It became a bit of a joke after awhile. Neither of us knew what to talk about really.  He admitted later that he was pretty nervous, but I didn't know that at the time, he seemed really calm.

Finally, they wheeled me away to the operating room and I started to feel even more nervous.  The anesthesiologist came and gave me a spinal block and my legs instantly got too heavy to move and I was really wishing Mike was with me.  The doctors and nurses got everything prepared and finally Mike was led into the room all dressed in scrubs.  He held my hand and we tried to talk, but it was mostly just more "are you excited" and some nervous laughter.  Then there was the cry of our little guy and they lowered the screen a little so Mike could see.  I didn't get to see anything then and was disappointed.  Mike told me later that the first sight of our baby was actually a little scary, all grey and covered in goo, so maybe I didn't miss anything important.  He also admitted that he was a bit teary, but he didn't seem shaken or overwhelmed at all, just happy and proud of his boy.

They kept the baby in the OR while I got stitched up and Mike was able to be at the warmer and watch him get cleaned up and even trim the umbilical cord.  He brought the baby over to see me and then carried him to the recovery room next to me as I was wheeled down the hallway.

I was overwhelmed by how quick and 'easy' the whole process was.  I had originally said absolutely NO visitors the first day in the hospital because I remembered being exhausted and generally feeling (and looking) like crap with Lawrence, but this was so much better I actually let my mom and Lawrence come in for a few minutes right away.

Then Mike and I had a lovely few hours to ourselves before visiting hours started.

The hospital stay was fine, a little boring actually. The private room was lovely, the food was delicious (not kidding!) and the only bad part was how often someone (nurse, CNA, pediatrician, intern, OB, etc) came into the room to poke and prod at me, Ellsworth, or both.  Nursing went well right from the beginning which was such a relief.  I was ready to go home right away but had to stay because my blood pressure was staying really high.  Finally after 4 nights in the hospital we got our walking papers and came home where big brother and grandma were waiting for us.

Today is the day!

In a few short hours we will be headed to the hospital to bring Ellsworth out to meet us!  Right now the house is quiet and we are finishing up some chores (that could wait) to pass the time until we need to get into the car.

Everyone is so excited for his arrival, its been both a welcome and anxiety filled couple of weeks with the well-wishes, questions, and plans to visit.  I am hoping for at least a few hours today in the hospital to soak up our little one without anyone around except Mike to have share him with.

I am nervous about the surgery, but I know it will be better than last time, and I'm honestly not sure I could go another day with these puffy ankles waiting for him!

Four weeks from today we will be in the hospital, hopefully thinking about heading home.  Ellsworth will be 2 days old and we'll officially be a family of four.  We are ready to welcome little Ell to our little home and can hardly wait!

Countdown

One month!  4 weeks from today we are scheduled to welcome Ellsworth Loren Harper (Little Ell) to the world.  He is on track and healthy, wiggling around and keeping me up at night already.  Lawrence (Big L) is excited, but that may only be because I hinted that Big Brothers might get a gift to help pass the time at the hospital...I don't think he really has a good vision of what a baby in the house will mean.  Then again, I don't think I have a very good vision of it, but I'm so looking forward to the next month flying by and our family getting started with our next great adventure.