Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote. Even though it's only been a couple of days it feels like an eternity! A LOT has happened.
After staying in labor and delivery for a little longer. The nurse anesthetist and dr came in and talked to us. They told me about the pain meds and the procedure and how everything would play out. They gave me some nasty grape flavored stuff and then took me into the OR. I was pretty nervous and it was pretty chilly in there so I was shaking quite a bit. They gave me the spinal which numbed me pretty well from the ribs down, but thankfully also took away my shivers. It was a crazy feeling not being able to move my feet or really feel anything. The nurse joked that if I could wiggle my left foot he'd pay for the procedure. Lol. But no luck! No matter how hard my brain tried to tell my feet!
It took a little while, after the spinal, to get started because of an emergency c section in the room next door. They stole almost all our staff! Apparently there was a mama going through labor and suddenly had a problem with her placenta rupturing or something of the sort. It was pretty crazy how fast they were able to deliver her baby though!
So then they came back into our room and as I watched the reflection in the lights, they cut me open and got going pretty quick as well. I told Chris not to watch because he gets queezy pretty easily. And it was actually really nice because they let him be up by me for almost the whole thing. It was very comforting to have him there holding my hand. What a wonderful husband I have!
And I think it was actually better for me to watch in a reflection rather than live because it was pretty graphic. But also really awesome! Especially when they started pulling little girl out! She was, as expected, feet first. And as they continued to pull her out they seemed to struggle a bit with one arm and her head. I asked the nurse later and she said it looked like she had her arm behind her head and that's what made it so hard to pull the last of her out. And it made me pretty grateful that we hadn't tried to get someone to do a breech delivery. If she was that difficult to get out of a simple incision, imagine how much harder it would have been on her trying to come out of the birth canal! It made me really think that this was the way this little girl was supposed to be born. It was the will of the Lord--He knew what would be best for her.
After they took her out she was quiet for what seemed like forever. Then we finally heard her first little cry. And it made me cry--but crying out of joy. There's just something about that first cry that just calms all the fears and brings such joy to your heart. She's alive! All those months of waiting and wondering. She's here and she's safe and sound.
They cleaned her off a bit and then they brought her over to us on the other side of the curtain. They put her right on my skin and we just soaked it in. What a beautiful and tiny little lady!
She weighed in at an even 6 lbs and was 18 inches long. She was born at 9:06 am on the 31st of July. We didn't choose right then, but later in the day finally decided on her name: Katherine Candace McCleve. Born on her grandma Candy's 62nd birthday! (As well as her great grandpa Lester McCleve's birthday, I later found out)
I was loving holding her for a while and mostly feeling alright until they started putting me back together. Probably THE WORST thing I've ever had to go through...well, besides the hours of back labor with Mae. But still, I couldn't "feel" any of the pain, but I could feel them pushing and pulling and my stomach was not happy and I told the anesthetist and he gave me all sorts of things to get rid of the nausea. It took a while for it all to kick in. (He later told me he gave me everything but the kitchen sink to get rid of that nausea and dry heaving). Thankfully it eventually subsided, but in that time of struggle I had them take Katherine away and Chris went with her into the other room.
They finished sewing me up and then took us all back to the labor and delivery room until they were able to get us a room in postpartum. The baby was able to try nursing a bit and did fairly well. It seems that she might've taken after her sister and has a bit of a tongue tie. That and she's just really small so I think that makes a difference in getting a good latch on the nipple. And in the past couple of days she's been improving so I'm hopeful she'll become a pro soon enough!
The time here in the hospital has been pretty good. The first day and a half or so I was hooked up to a bunch of things: IV, catheter, pulse ox and of course all the tags and wristbands that go with it. Not my favorite, but I'm glad I was well taken care of.
The night of her birth Steve and Alissa and their girls came in with Mae (they had picked her up earlier in the day from our friends house). The girls were so curious about the baby and mostly about the room and my dinner. lol. And Mae was really good with little Kay. She wanted to climb up on the bed and play all around. We taught her to say baby Kay and baby sister and she's caught on pretty well! She wasn't too interested in the baby, but when she did take a look she was very soft and sweet. I think it's been good practicing with a baby doll at home the past few months. We even got her to give little Kay a sweet little kiss. ❤️
Steve and the girls left that night, but Alissa was actually scheduled to be working in the nursery. So she stopped by and talked for a little bit later in the night. And she also was the one who gave Kay her first sponge bath! It was nice to have a familiar face in the hospital.
Since then it's just been a lot of checking in on us. There was one point where I felt like there were so many different people coming into our room that little Kay was hardly able to rest, much less her mama. And at the beginning we were actually having a hard time keeping her temperature where it needed to be. And I thought, just leave us alone! No wonder she's cold--you keep unwrapping her or taking her away from warm skin to skin with her mama! Ugh. Her glucose was also low the first time they measured, but we were able to knock it up pretty good after just a couple of feedings. That colostrum is good stuff!!
She's gone down in weight a bit (5lbs 7 oz) but they said it was only 7% and up to 10% is normal. We've been working on her nursing and even though it's still a little painful still the milk is starting to come in a bit and she's been able to latch a little bit better. So hopefully she keeps improving! The lactation consultant said it's pretty normal for early babies to struggle a little more with nursing at the beginning. (Kay was only 37 weeks and four days gestation).
The first night was a little rough with sleeping. Kay is definitely a snuggler and loves to be held. Chris was a champion and held her a lot of the night so I could get some rest. The next night she did much better and both of us were able to get more sleep. Hooray!
Chris has been AWESOME this whole time as well. He's been staying with me in the evening and through the night and then going and picking up Mae from the Bradfords, bringing her here to visit us and then going back and taking a nap with her at home. It's worked out really well! (And been an eye-opening experience for him--realizing how much of a full-time job it is to take care of Mae. Makes me feel pretty good when he has days like that. He just seems to love and appreciate me that much more. :) )
Overall I'm pretty content and happy. This new life is such a miracle and I thank God for the opportunity to be this sweetie's mama! I'm a little nervous about the recovery. My abdomen is starting to go down, but is still quite swollen and tender. And I'm super nervous about having my first bowel movement. Ah! Thankfully, Chris's mom is coming tomorrow night and then Mom and Caitlin will be coming next week. So I should have lots of help. I've also had many women in the ward offer help watching Mae or helping with the house. It's amazing the people that come out of the woodwork! Im so grateful to have such willing hands to help us.
We are so blessed!!
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