We're Home!

We were able to leave a little sooner than the 72 hour stay requirement for C-sections.  Even though I'm in a lot more pain this time around, there's something about being in your own home that works well for the psyche.  I'm looking forward to feeling better each day and can't wait for full recovery.

To capture the last few days, we arrived at the hospital at 11 am.  It took us 30 minutes in Registration (20 minutes of that was just waiting).  We then went up to Labor & Delivery where they got me hooked up with an IV...yay fluids!  When you haven't had anything to drink or eat for over 12 hours, you start to get a little dehydrated.  After the IV, we again waited for another 30 minutes.  The anesthesiologist and OB came in to do their consultation and then it was finally time!  Brian put on the "scrubs" and waited across the hall while they did my spinal block and got me prepped for the surgery.  The spinal block did not go very smoothly and they had to poke me three times, so yes I felt three numbing shots and several painful twinges when they hit some nerves.  I was so grateful she finally got it on the third try...I think I would have cried if not.  After they got the injection to work, I was really numb and can say I didn't feel any pain like I did when Hailey was born and I had the epidural.  What really got me was the nausea I felt right after going numb.  The anesthesiologist must have given me something additional for it (they gave me anti-nausea medicine in my IV and through a sour drink prior to going to the OR), because within about 2 minutes I felt much better and broke into a sweat.  When Clara came out, they brought her around to show us and Brian was even able to cut the cord.  We didn't get any of that luxury with Hailey because of the distress she was in from her heart rate dropping.  So, it was really fun to be able to experience that this time.  I spent an hour in recovery and they brought Clara in to attempt nursing.  She did great!  Again, this was something I didn't get to experience with Hailey.  After being in the room for a little bit, my mom brought Hailey over to see her new sister.  Hailey was sooo excited that it was a girl!  However, you could tell she was concerned about me and why I was in this hospital bed hooked up to so many things.  They finally brought Clara into the room and Hailey got to hold her for the first time.  She was so careful and in awe...it was very sweet.

Tuesday & Wednesday brought bonding time with Clara, nursing attempts, and what seemed like a revolving door of nurses, doctors, and paperwork.  One thing that really frustrated Brian and me was the inconsistency of the nurses' opinions on nursing.  Each one seemed to feel her way was the "right way", so even though they wouldn't force us to do anything, they would pause or say something to make you feel guilty that you weren't trying hard enough.  Clara passed the hearing test...they had to do the test twice.  Once on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday, because her left ear didn't pass the first time.  They said that given that she was only a day old at the time, there could still be fluid collected in the eardrum (normal for newborns) that would need to dissipate.  On Wednesday, her left ear was the first to pass and the right ear quickly followed.  The pediatrician also thought she heard an irregular heartbeat and ordered an EKG...this didn't surprise us as they thought Hailey also had the same thing when she was born.  EKG came back normal, though.

Clara is a great baby!  Very mellow (or so we'll see when the pain medicine I'm passing along to her wears off). :-)  She has had her moments of being very alert and looking around.  She has already taken a liking to her Daddy's voice and usually tries to look for it as soon as she hears it.  She's done pretty well with the nursing, but has a tendency to fall asleep two minutes in (Hailey had the same problem).  We'll keep trying!

So now begins our life as a family of four! :-)  We are very excited to experience this and forever grateful to the Lord for giving us this privilege.  My cup runneth over...

Waiting for the XL scrub boots...the hat really completes the look, don't you think?

Right after birth...sorry to those who are squeamish with these types of pictures!

Diapered and banded

Hailey's first time holding Clara.

Second day getting to hold her.

So excited!!

She does seem to prefer lying on her side.

So peaceful.

Going home as a new family of four!