So, Monday morning October 7, I woke up around 9 and decided to kill time before going to the hospital by taking a long shower and doing my hair and makeup, which hasn't happened a lot lately (the getting ready part, not the showering-- let's get real, we don't skip showers in this house!). By about 10:30 I was headed down to the hospital! I had told DJ to go to work since he only teaches the first 3 class periods of the day, and he had cleared with his principal to leave after that instead of staying for his prep period. When I showed up at the maternity ward alone, the nurse seemed slightly concerned that no one was with me. I explained that DJ would be there in about an hour, and she felt better about that! I hadn't been able to eat or drink-- even water-- after 5am, so when the nurse went to put my IV in it didn't work the first time. She kept apologizing, but I reminded her it wasn't even CLOSE to the worst thing that I was going to be put through that day! I had to take some pills and some gross liquid medicine which was crappy since, again, I couldn't even drink water to wash it all down. After DJ came we just sat in the room until the doctor showed up around 1:10. I walked to the OR on my own and they put the epidural in. It was kinda weird, since last time I had had my epidural for like 10 hours before they wheeled me into the OR. Something was going on with the epidural this time around, cause they ended up poking into my spine 3 times. Again, not the worst thing I was going to feel that day. Honestly I don't think epidurals are a big deal. They don't hurt worse than any other shot, in my opinion. After the epidural was in I laid down on the table and they strapped my arms down and waited for the meds to kick in so they could start. It was taking a while, and they decided to give me some additional drugs through my IV. Those ones made me pretty loopy. Since I hadn't been in labor for 12 hours prior to this C-Section, it was a very different experience. Last time I don't remember ANYTHING that happened. I didn't feel anything-- I was barely even awake. This time though--- ouch! You may think a C-Section isn't a "real" birth-- but it's real for me. I couldn't have babies without C-Sections. And it was seriously painful. I can't say anything about vaginal births cause I've never done it and never will, but until you've been cut open in the abdomen, had your insides taken out and had a baby pulled out of your stomach, then had your insides put back in and gotten stapled up, don't judge C-Section deliveries! Obviously I didn't feel the actual cutting into my abdomen, but the pressure was way painful. Especially once they were ready to actually deliver Mia. They pushed down hard on my upper abdomen to push her down and pull her out. I'm pretty sure I was groaning like I was going to die. It really really hurt! When she came, she was screaming her head off! DJ turned to me and said, "She looks just like Lexsi!" She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long. That's just barely smaller than Lex, who was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20.5 inches. I got to see her for a quick second and then they whisked her off to clean her up and check her out. DJ went with them, and I was left in the OR with my doctor and nurses. They put my insides back in me, then started pushing on my abdomen again--- seriously, it sucked. I was pretty out of it, but I did hear them say a couple things that stood out: #1, how awesome my incision from last time looked. They said it healed better than most they've ever seen. #2, when I was cut open my doctor mentioned it was a good thing I decided to go the C-Section route instead of trying a VBAC, cause my uterus was super thin. And #3, the nurses kept saying how skinny I was when they were stapling me back up. I felt pretty great about that!
When I got back to my room, I waited about 15 minutes before DJ and Mia showed up from the nursery. I took Mia and started nursing her and was THRILLED when she actually latched on. That's one of the things I was most concerned about-- Lex was a terrible latcher, and I only nursed for like a week because it was so frustrating and painful. Mia is the complete opposite-- she's such a good eater! It's still a little painful, cause hey-- it's nursing. No one seems to tell you that it hurts for a while and it kinda sucks. But it's worth it, so there's that.
After about an hour the nurses took me to a new room in a different part of the hospital, and that's where I stayed for the next 3 days. We had been in Provo for General Conference the weekend before Mia was born, and left Lex with my mom there on Sunday night. My mom came up on Monday afternoon and brought Lex to the hospital to meet Mia. She was not impressed. She pretty much wanted nothing to do with her that first day. She was content to sit in bed with me and eat french fries though! Over the next few days, Lex grew to LOVE Mia, and thinks she's super cool now. Whenever I carry Mia somewhere in the house, or wrap her in a blanket or change her diaper, Lex follows me around with a baby doll and copies me. It's so adorable!
The rest of the hospital stay was good. I hate that they make you feed your baby every few hours even through the night when they're sleeping peacefully, but whatever. The nurses were all impressed with how quickly I was recovering, so that was good to hear. By the time Thursday came around, I was ready to go home. It was really nice to be in my own space and my own bed. DJ was off of work Wednesday-Monday, and it was awesome to have him around helping me out.
Mia has been such an easy baby! I was worried about splitting my time between my girls, but I really haven't had to. I've been putting Mia to sleep in her crib in Lexsi's room when she sleeps during the day, which has been great. It gives me one-on-one time with Lex, and I think it will help with the transition for Mia when she sleeps in that room at night instead of my room in her cradle. Lexsi has adapted so so well! Honestly I haven't noticed any change in her behaviors. She's 20 months old, so obviously she has her moments of fit throwing and grumpiness, but I think that's normal for her age and has nothing to do with having Mia home. I'm quite certain she has no recollection of life without her little sister.
DJ went back to work yesterday, and I was worried about being home alone with the 2 girls. I woke up Tuesday morning though, and I felt fine. Like, my incision wasn't even hurting any more. I attribute that 100% to the prayers of my family. I'm not on any prescriptions any more, since Monday. I figured a week was long enough on drugs. I've taken over-the-counter Tylenol a few times since then, but that's no big deal. I'm very very grateful that my body is so good at healing! It makes me hopeful that I can still have several more kids. I've lost over 25 pounds in the past week, which feels great! Obviously I still have a little gut, and I'll need to work on the shape of my body more when I can actually work out, but I'm feeling awesome that I'm less than 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight! I could totally fit into my jeans by now, but the waistline hits right at my incision and it doesn't feel good to have denim rubbing across it so I'm sticking to sweats for a while. All in all, I'm so grateful for what's going on in my life-- my babies are so awesome, my husband is amazing, modern medicine allows me to even HAVE babies (no C-Sections would mean no babies in my life!), my body is healing fabulously, and everything is good!
And now for a serious picture overload!
The morning of the delivery (39 weeks):
DJ suited up for the OR:
Love this girl! She looks way chubby in pictures but she's not in real life:
Lex meeting Mia:
Mia snuggling Grammie:
Day 2:
My IV went crazy and filled my hand with fluid!
Me and my girl:
Lex loved my hospital bed:
Such a sweet face:
Sister love:
Headed home:
Daddy and his girls:
Love these two SO much!!!:
One week old:
