But I LOVED this birth. Absolutely loved everything about it. I'm not sure if my experience was due to fantastic nurses and doctors, this being my fourth c-section, or simply the fact that I went into the hospital knowing that this was it: my last time giving birth. I think it's safe to say a combination of factors was involved.
Ben and I checked into the hospital at 8:00 am, leaving our house shortly after Granti arrived. The surgery was scheduled for 9:30, and we spent the the extra time changing clothes (gown for me, scrubs for him), laughing lots, watching tv, talking with our nurse, loading up on lots IV fluids (for me) and gearing up for what was to come: FOUR kids!!!!!
I headed into the OR a little before 9:30. I got my epidural and they prepped my body for surgery before bringing Ben in. I don't remember much (the whole experience is always so surreal), but I do recall being able to see a reflection of my body in one of the lights above me before they hung the cloth. I didn't get to see any real action, but it was such a strange experience!
Ben came in, camera ready, and things got rolling. Benjamin Thatcher Haynes was born at 9:49 am and weighed in at 9 lbs even! He was 20.5 inches long.
While I knew to expect lots of pressure throughout the procedure, I actually ended up feeling quite a bit of pain once they got that little boy out of my body. I'm not sure what caused it (the only thing different this time around was that I got my tubes "tied"), but the sensations I felt around my bladder and bootie hole were so much more than pressure! I let my awesome team know I was in pain and they fixed it quite quickly, but it was not fun. Thankfully, I had Thatcher's sweet cries to distract me. :)
They got everything sewn up (again, very strange to feel people tugging your skin back together) and we headed into the recovery room with our new bundle of joy.
I was able to nurse immediately, and Thatch latched on like a champ. Once everything died down, I realized how completely exhausted I was! Ben called Granti and the kids to let them to know to head up to the hospital. Harris' first question, once Ben told him that we were with the baby, was: "Is he still bloody?!?!?!" Harris then called back twice to verify Thatcher's hair color (dark brown).
The main thing we learned about Thatcher while in the recovery room was that the boy is a finger sucker. He had no trouble at all getting his fingers into his mouth (his hands are HUGE!) and soothed himself by sucking constantly.
After the baby nursed, Ben and Thatcher headed up to Mother/Baby so Thatch could get cleaned up and have his blood sugar tested because he was so big (it was completely fine!). I ate a few ice chips and PASSED OUT. It literally became impossible for me to keep my eyes open, so I slept for about thirty minutes before moving up myself.
While I was sleeping and getting situated in my suite (yes, we splurged on the big room and it was worth every penny!), Thatcher was getting bathed and dressed.
The big kids missed the bath (thanks to traffic caused by an MLK day parade) but arrived in time to check him out through the nursery window.
It took me quite a few minutes to get adjusted. My blood pressure was extremely low, I was still absolutely beat, and my nausea got the best of me (thankfully my stomach was empty!). I've never experienced those side effects before, which was quite strange, but after about an hour I started to feel like myself again.
It's a good thing I was able to get feeling better quickly, because what fun it was to introduce Thatch to our family...
Stay tuned for pics of everyone's first impressions!
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