Birth Story!

I just want to document this for me - if I go much longer I won't remember everything I remember now!

After our call on Wednesday about the change in plans, I sulked around the house for a few hours.  To be completely honest, I was totally bummed.  I wanted so much to have those first memories.  It took time for me to be OK with the fact that it simply was not possible. 

After I let Alex know what was going on, he left work to come be home with me.  However, my sweet husband made a quick detour on the way home and surprised me with a dozen red roses and a birthday cake for Kat(i)e.   I had been talking about wanting to get a cake to celebrate her birth but never got around to ordering something - Alex remembered that and picked something up at Kroger. 

He said he had the right to put Katie Beth on the cake as he was the one that got it!

After eating some cake for lunch, my in-laws came in town and we visited for a while and packed our bags.  We all went out to my favorite Mexican Restaurant (El Tiempo) for dinner.  After dinner we came home, took one last picture as a family of two, packed the car, and headed to the hospital.

Last picture as two!

We were put in a L&D room as soon as we got to the hospital.  My nurse for the night was amazing!!!  She delivered her second son under general anesthesia and was able to give me her personal experience about what to expect - both with the baby and what to expect pain wise after the c-section given that I was having general anesthesia and not local.

We got my first IV started with no problems - that is a big deal for me and my crappy veins!  However, I had to have a second line started (with a 16G needle) for my platelet transfusions (I got 2 transfusions total - one right before surgery and one about 6 hours after).  That was a nightmare.  Three nurses and four blown veins later, the anesthesia team was called to get it started.  My right arm looks horrible - it is so bruised from all of the failed attempts to start that IV.

We didn't rest at all Wednesday night - we were nervous, excited, uncomfortable (that bed was SO hard), and just on edge. 

Our wake up call came at 4am Thursday morning.  My nurses got everything ready and Alex took one last picture before I was started on my platelets and taken back to the OR.

Tired, excited, and anxious to get surgery started so I could wake up and meet my girl!

As soon as I had to tell Alex goodbye and go into the OR I got so nervous - I think I may have cried a bit but, again, my nurses were amazing and so calming.  Alex was taken to a little waiting room and I hear he was a nervous wreck. 

At 6:42am on August 19, 2010 Katherine Elizabeth entered the world.  As soon as she was stabilized by the NICU staff that was in the OR, she was wrapped up and taken to her Daddy.  This picture makes me cry every time I see it.

Does he look proud or what?

Kat(i)e was taken to the transition nursery for observation, her first bath, and just to make sure everything was OK after being exposed to the general anesthesia.

Getting her first bath!

Showing little peanut off to the family

While sweet girl was getting cleaned up, I was waking up in excruciating pain.  Since I did not have local anesthesia, my pain management was not started until after I got out of surgery.  It took a solid 45 minutes of the worst pain of my life before my morphine pump kicked in.  Other than remembering pain, I have little recollection of my time in recovery - and really, I don't remember much of Thursday due to the amounts of pain medication I was on. 

After about 4 hours, I was put in my room and Katie was brought up for our first meeting.  Tessie - our baby nurse for our stay - had Alex change his first diaper ever before handing over the most perfect little girl.

He looks like an old pro!

Then, I finally got my hands on my girl - she needed to be fed so we bonded over a bottle.

Love at first sight!

After a few hours of family bonding time our parents came in to meet her.

With Bebe (Alex's mom) - we didn't get a picture with PaPaw (Alex's Dad)

Meeting Mimi  and Pops

Thursday was a big blur for me and felt like a millions days.  The meds really messed with my state of being.  But, the memories I do have are amazing and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

I'll post about the rest of our hospital stay soon!