God blessed us abundantly with a second beautiful baby girl...
Layla Grace
February 17, 2012
9:00 a.m.
7 pound 10 ounces
19.5 inches long
Here is your story sweet girl: (warning, this is a somewhat long and detailed story of Gracie's first day, more for myself to have a record of it before I forget! Feel free to skip to the pictures!)
This pregnancy was so much easier than the first. Maybe it had something to do with everything being familiar, you know, less of a shock when you see your body go through such crazy changes. The unending nausea, hunger, and growing isn't as big of a surprise the second time around. Or maybe sweet Gracie was just taking it easy on her Momma - I like to think she was already portraying her laid back "second child" personality. I had less nausea with Gracie than I did with Ella, my back didn't ache 24/7, my hunger was a little more controlled (as in I didn't have to eat PB sandwiches at 4am this go round!), and best of all, I gained MUCH less weight with my Gracie. Oh beloved second child, I owe you already :)
All along I assumed I would be having a c-section since I had one with Ella. My new doctor just so happened to specialize in VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean section) but never acted as if it were an option for me throughout pregnancy. I honestly didn't mind, considering the thought of a regular delivery scared me to death - call me crazy, but I was perfectly comfortable with a c-section. Well as my due date drew near, my doctor could not believe how low Gracie was positioned and that I was already starting to dilate. She told me I could opt for a VBAC if I wanted to. She also told me that Gracie could come "any day now" - this was at my 36 week appointment. Well, 3 or 4 weeks later I had only progressed to 1.5cm so the decision to stick with the planned c-section was pretty obvious (whew!).
The pregnancy flew by and before we knew it, we were sitting at home the night before we were to meet our Gracie. My family came in that evening since the surgery was scheduled for 8am the next day. I was getting so nervous and anxious about the surgery that I couldn't sit still. I just ran around the house doing random cleaning, laundry, packing, whatever I could to avoid sitting still and thinking about the surgery. All the memories from my first c-section were suddenly at the forefront of my mind - the pain, oh goodness, I wasn't ready for that again.
We attempted to go to bed, but I'm pretty sure neither Nolan or I slept at all! We had our alarms set for 5:30am since we had to be at the hospital by 7:00. If you know me, you know I don't make it a habit of getting up before 7 - I guess this was as good a time as any to make an exception! Well 5:30 came quick and unfortunately Ella decided to wake up sometime after 6 - not according to my plan. Luckily we got her settled with Grammie and some cartoons and off we went, running a little late, but out the door none the less.
We got to the hospital, checked in, and were sent to the the pre-op room where they prepped me for surgery. Talk about nerves - I don't do well early in the morning with no food in my stomach. Usually the first thing I do when I wake up is grab some DP or iced tea, sadly I could have neither. As we sat in pre-op, the sleepless night hit me and I could hardly keep my eyes open. Thankfully, our families arrived shortly after. Just knowing they were there helped to calm our nerves.
As the nurse was going over the procedure with me she told me that normally I would be getting a drug called Duramorph, but there was a shortage so I would be getting something else. Fine by me, I assumed the alternative must be just as good or they wouldn't give it to me. Then the anesthesiologist came in to go over his part. He proceeded to tell me that he found two vials of Duramorph that morning and I and the lady ahead of me would be receiving it. The look on the nurse's face was priceless. She said "oh you're so lucky!" I didn't think much of it until later.
Finally it was time to go meet Gracie. I was so nervous about going into the OR and getting the epidural without Nolan being there. It was so surreal being in there. I remember watching them count all of the surgical tools, sponges, and gauze and thinking how glad I was that they do that! The epidural was not bad at all, and before I knew it, Nolan was there. My doctor came in and looked at the iv and said "oh you got Duramorph, I thought we were out." (Again, no idea why this was a big deal).
The surgery began and before we knew it, we got to hear our precious girl's cry for the first time. It's the best sound ever. The moment I saw that beautiful little girl and her head full of black hair I had flashbacks to two years ago when we met her big sister. She looked just like Ella! I remember when they held her up for the first time, I thought "wow she's so much smaller than Ella was." Boy was I wrong! Miss Gracie was actually seven ounces BIGGER than her sister. I guess I just forgot how tiny they look as newborns.
Thankfully, we remembered to bring the camera to the OR this time ;-) so Nolan was able to capture plenty of Gracie's first moments. The nurses cleaned her up and brought her over to me again, she was perfect, so beautiful. While my doctor finished me up, they took Nolan and Gracie back to a recovery area to wait on me. None of our family got to see her for awhile, which was different than with Ella. Once I was back in the recovery area with Nolan and Gracie I was amazed at how different I felt than with my first c-section. Last time I was in so much more pain. I'm not sure if it really was because of the Duramorph but I was actually not uncomfortable. After Gracie got a bath and I was able to nurse her for the first time, they began wheeling us to our room. I was doing good until we started moving. Then the nausea hit. Right as we rounded the corner and my family was in sight, I felt like I was going to be sick. Throwing up after a c-section is not fun. But I'll take that any day over the pain I felt the first time around. I also was more awake this time, not narcoleptic like last time. So I feel like I actually got to enjoy everything afterwards. I'm guessing I didn't have the better medicine the first time?? I don't know, I just know it was soooo much less painful, and every nurse or doctor that came into my room said how lucky I was to have gotten the Duramorph. I agree VERY much.
I didn't get to see Ella's reaction when she saw her baby sister for the first time, so I'm thankful we have some pictures of their first meeting. I know Ella was so excited to finally meet you, sweet Gracie. We all were!
The next few days in the hospital were filled with visitors, flowers, and not so good food. My mom brought Ella to visit each day, we had missed her so much!
Gracie loved meeting her cousins, who LOVED coming to the hospital - I wish I had pictures of the play room on our floor. Ella and her cousins practically lived in there! It was so nice having a place for them to go burn off some energy while the adults got to visit and hold Gracie. Such a great idea!
After four nights in the hospital it was time to go home. While I appreciate being there and having help from the nurses and especially from the lactation consultants, I was beyond ready to go home. That room was feeling pretty small and I was super restless and missing my Ella.
So, home we went. And the adventure of having two sweet daughters at home began. I am forever grateful for my mom's help over that next week.
