We arrived and the nursing staff got me all checked in. My midwife arrived a few minutes later and she checked me just to make sure I wasn't dilated and that the baby might actually be on his way without the surgery. Obviously not, and so we just hung out in the prep area talking with one another and getting me all checked in and ready.
After a couple of hours, they had me walk down into the operating room. Craig waited in a room across the way while they put in my spinal. Again, my midwife came in with me and she helped me through that terrifying process. For some reason, the epidural/spinal is the scariest part for me. With Henry, something weird happened and my legs started uncontrollably jerking around. But thankfully, that did not happen again and, though it took a long time, it all went in smoothly.
Once I was laid down on the table, I got very nervous. I do not like the sensation of being unable to move and the numbness goes all the way up to your chest, so I wasn't even able to rely on my old nervous cough to work out the nerves because I couldn't get a deep enough breath to cough. I started to get very nauseous and freaked out, and again my midwife jumped in and said "you're not looking good kiddo. Are you gonna be sick?" And I said "I think so" and before I could even blink an eye, the anesthesiologist had some medicine in me that made me immediately lose the feeling of nausea.
FINALLY, after prepping me and putting up the little curtain between my head and belly, they brought Craig in the room. He sat down next to me on my right side and held my hand which had mercifully not been strapped to the table this time. They just started working without really telling me and Craig and I talked quietly, though I've no idea what we talked about at all, while the doctors and midwife and nursing staff all quietly joked around with one another. Their quiet conversation -- about their kids and vacations and stupid jokes they'd heard recently -- was so comforting to me. I wasn't tuned into what they were saying, but they all seemed to get along so well and be friends and to enjoy their job and it made the whole thing like 20 times less scary.
After about five minutes, they began to pull Gus out. This was incredibly uncomfortable. Lots of pressure. And immediately, the whole crew working on me started laughing and going WOW! Oh my GOSH this is a big baby!! Everyone was laughing including Craig and I. I expected a big baby, you know. Because both Sam and Henry were so big so I thought maybe Gus would be a ten pounder.
It seemed to me that a lot of time passed between the time they pulled him out and when I heard his first cries. I asked Craig what was wrong and why hadn't we heard him cry yet and, as if on cue, he began wailing just then. Craig was able to sneak over to the area they had Gus and he snapped a few photos of him for me to look at while I waited. When they got his weight, everybody was incredulous and very excited. For about half of the staff in the room, he was their career record for biggest baby. Not sure how I feel about that. But they certainly were excited!
Finally, they brought him over to me and a nurse held him right up to my face and let me nuzzle and kiss him and talk to him for a while. He was just peaceful and quiet and alert, looking around. Craig held him for a long time too and the anesthesiologist took pictures of the three of us there together.
After a while, they asked Craig to take Gus into the room across the hall while they stitched me up. It took about 15 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. I could hear Gus crying across the hall. But again, my midwife stood next to me and talked to me and distracted me while my doctor finished the job. She said the labor gods must have been smiling on me to make sure I didn't go into labor after all. I agreed with her on that.
When they wheeled me over to the recovery room, I was able to nurse Gus right away. They took his blood sugar and saw that it was quite low, which we expected. It's common for larger babies to have low blood sugar and since Gus was an extra large baby, we sort of saw it coming. They said they could wait an hour and test again, but if it was low they'd have to send him to NICU. Or I could supplement him with formula, which was the best chance of raising it and him getting to come to our room with us. So Craig gave him a bit of formula and lo and behold his blood sugar went right up and we were taken to our room on the mother baby unit where we spent the next several days.
My parents came to visit that day and brought the boys who were super sweet meeting Gus. They were both very excited. Right as they were coming in though, I got another bout of nausea and, as they came in all smiles and excitement, I was holding a little bowl in one hand and Gus in the other desperately trying to look calm and healed while not puking. Sam and Henry both took turns holding Gus and then headed out to Valpo with Grandma and Papa.
And we settled in to get to know our boy. Craig took great care of me as I was really sore. Way sorer than I remember being with Henry. And the nurses took good care of us both.
We were discharged on Sunday night and headed home to meet my parents who were bringing Sam and Henry back to us.
We had a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry long first night home in which Craig and I took turns being up with a frantically hungry or just sort of screechy mad awake Gus all night long. Monday night, was better in that he slept most of the night, but only when being held. Last night, he ended up having two good stretches of sleep in his bassinet and that was AWESOME! And right now as I'm typing this, we're on hour 2 of Gus trying to sleep but not being able to. He's nursed like 3 times and keeps falling asleep and then waking up hysterical like 3 minutes later. We're all still just sort of figuring things out. (After finishing the post, he fell asleep for like 2 minutes, woke up, pooped extraordinarily loudly and then sat there looking around all alert and content in his bouncy. I got up to use the restroom before changing him, and by the time I got back up, he was asleep. So now I have that horrible struggle. Do I wake the sleeping baby that we just worked for 2.5 hours to get asleep to change his diaper and start all over, or do I let him sleep in his poo? UGH.)
Sam and Henry are being great with him. They were all over him on Sunday night and since then have taken an interest in him, been loving and appreciative of him, and also been sort of annoyed by the amount of crying -- which who can blame them? Newborns certainly can wail.
Craig has been doing an incredible job juggling taking care of Sam, Henry, Gus and me. He is working his butt off, honestly. And it is hard for me to not be able to get up and assist him with the more arduous chores. Looking forward to being physically healed ASAP.
Gus had his first doctor's appointment yesterday. It looks like he does not have jaundice or need to be treated for it, which is something they were watching for at the hospital. So that's good news. But the part that had me SO happy was that he has started gaining back some of the weight he lost in the hospital. If a baby loses more than 10% of his body weight, then they ask you to start supplementing. Which is very taxing for the breastfeeding mom, because it means you still do all the same amount of breastfeeding, but then, you also have to pump when he gets supplement. Which is just... a lot of breast action if you know what I mean. But Gus does not need supplement. Hallelujah. And it was all very encouraging.
So, that's about where we're at. Craig goes back to work on Friday and I'm a little sad about it. I've so enjoyed this week with him. It's been hard, but it's been amazing too. My parents are going to be here helping me out over the next few weekdays, thank God. But then Sam and Henry finish school on Thursday and I think we'll have our first day with the three boys and I on our own. Should be interesting.
Hope you all are well. Thanks for everything this week. You've all been super supportive and helpful as we've welcomed Gus into our family.
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