We arrived at the hospital a week ago, merry and light hearted.  I was nervous, of course, but I was also very relieved.  I wasn’t going to have to go through labor.  And we knew that in just about an hour and a half, my massive belly would be opened up and our new little man–our third son–would be brought into this world.  My pregnant belly was measuring much, much larger than forty weeks.  I had an excessive amount of amniotic fluid, and our baby was measuring in the 90th percentile, based on our ultrasound measurements.  We walked down the hallway toward the elevators, and were right behind another couple, obviously also there to have a baby.  The woman was walking slowly, with her hand on her back, in obvious pain.  Her husband carried two bags and pulled a suitcase behind him.  We traveled lightly (and left all our bags in the car until after the surgery), and so it seemed like we were frolicking down the hallway compared to them.  We all got on the same elevator, and I was uncomfortable by how comfortable I seemed compared to the poor other lady who was in labor beside me.  James and I tried not to act to happy during our short ride.  We exited the elevator, went our separate ways in triage, and it was all becoming real that this was actually going to happen.

It’s funny how when you’re pregnant with your first child, you educate yourself a lot about what’s to come.  I read all sorts of books, we took a class, we were prepared mentally weeks before Brayden was born.  With our second, we brushed up a bit on our newborn knowledge.  I may have skimmed through What to Expect During the First Year.  And this time around?  Nothing.  It wasn’t until we were on our way to the hospital that I asked James if he remembers how to take care of a newborn.  Funny stuff.

We arrived an hour and a half before.  Time seemed to go half as slowly as normal while we waited.  Ten different people came in a asked the same questions.  They checked if the baby’s head was down.  They checked his heart.  They took my vitals.  They asked if I wanted a spinal or an epidural, explaining the pros and cons of each.  They asked a million things.  And then, finally, they wheeled me back to the OR and left James in the room until he was allowed to come back.  This is the part I was so nervous about–knowing exactly how my body reacted to my previous c-sections.  There were so many things that I wasn’t looking forward to.  Not to mention the sheer risk of the whole thing, and the fear of the unknown about our new baby.

There were so many people in the room.  They were all so kind though, and talked me through everything (though I did feel a bit babied–I think they were just trying to make me comfortable, asking questions and trying to keep up the conversation).  I had to drink this awful stuff before getting the spinal that almost made me vomit, and getting the spinal was horrible as well.  But after that, it wasn’t so bad.  And the whole experience was totally different–it wasn’t rushed, I didn’t get sick, I didn’t shake, I smiled a little bit at some jokes James was making, and I think I may have laughed once or twice.  I was able to talk through the whole thing.  Afterwards, when they wheeled me back to the recovery room, it didn’t feel like I was on a spinning ride at an amusement park.  Compared to Carter’s c-section, this one was cake.

Sawyer came out screeching like an angry cat.  We thought he was going to be almost ten pounds, but was just a little over nine–9 lbs, 2 oz.  He didn’t have any issues when he came out . . . Brayden had to be seen by the NICU right away because there was meconium in my amniotic fluid.  Carter needed to be seen by the NICU because he was very shaky.  And later on, Sawyer did end up needing to be seen by them because they thought he was having respiratory issues–but everything turned out fine.  James was able to show him to me after he was cleaned off and wrapped up.  I smiled and giggled a bit uncontrollably.  It seemed to take them forever to sew me back up–I think it was about forty minutes after Sawyer was actually out before the surgery was done. The whole thing lasts quite a bit of time, mine being about an hour and forty five minutes from beginning to end.

The first day is always a bit tricky after a c-section.  Sawyer’s blood glucose level was very low, so they ended up giving him quite a bit of formula right away.  Nursing is near impossible to attempt right after a c-section.  You can’t really sit up at all.  You can’t feel anything below your arms.  You have tubes and cords everywhere that get in the way no matter what you do.  And the baby is wrapped in three blankets.  So because of this, they filled him up so full that he didn’t end up eating again for about nine hours.  And of course, newborns who are sleepy don’t really know how to suck or know what the heck they are supposed to be doing at all, so they ended up having to give him more formula.  I was a bit grumpy about all of this of course.

I’m not like a lot of people.  I know many women who have babies and want to be out of the hospital the next day.  Me?  Well, I’d be fine staying there for two weeks.  I love everything about it.  The bed that goes up and down as you please.  The super comfy, stretchy underwear.  The extensive food menu that is actually decent food–and the fact that they bring it to you and take it away and you have absolutely nothing to clean.  That they take your baby in the nursery at night if you want them to and bring them back for them to eat, and then take them back again (though I did have a not so happy experience with it this past time when they gave Sawyer formula in the nursery more than one time without asking or telling me first.  Grrrr.)  There are no other responsibilities but just laying there resting, focusing on taking care of the newest little human that you just brought into the world.

Sawyer ended up dropping 12% of his weight, losing a full pound and two ounces.  I think now that my milk has come in, we are on the right track to weight gain though, so all is well.  And I’m still recovering, of course.  I have to constantly remind myself not to do too much.  The pain medicine definitely gives you a false sense of how your body actually is doing.

We are so incredibly thankful for our third child.  He has proven to be very sweet, laid back and quiet so far.  His awake times intrigue me–he loves looking around, making an O with his lips.  He’s a great sleeper, but definitely likes to be held while sleeping.  He’s getting the hang of nursing, which makes me so happy.  Carter is enamored by him, and I find this so sweet.  He’s going to be a great big brother.  Brayden is only slightly interested in him, but might turn around a bit once Sawyer does a bit more than eat and sleep.  Right now, he’s being a good helper if we need something, so that’s useful!

Some images of the first day: