Tuesday (guess I'm going back more than 48 hours now...) Mom (Granna) drove up from Memphis and she, Seth and I made a lot of progress around the house in prep for the arrival of our then-Watermelon. We received new couches, did several loads of dishes, and cleaned out more items from the nursery that I had stockpiled there with the intention of going through this week since our little girl was to be born on the 14th originally. It was a very productive day and by the time we were done that evening, I felt pretty good about the state of the house and nursery.
Tuesday night, Seth and I tried to go to bed early (for us, and for Seth in particular) at 10pm. I took a Benadryl and I think that helped. I was surprisingly calm and wanted to stay that way and get a good night's rest. I did wake up around 1 or so for the usual bathroom break, but I was able to go right back to sleep. The alarm went off at 4am, and that's when a wee touch of panic set in. Nerves about the surgery had finally surfaced for me. But as I was standing in the shower, worrying, I thought to myself of all the times Seth and I have discussed starting a family over the last 5 years and have decided to put it off. And how many times we have spent time with my niece, nephew, or young cousins and talked about how very cute they were and how we couldn't wait to have one of our own. And of doctor's visits I've had in the last 2 years that have given me not-so-great news and made me afraid we might not be able to have our kids. And suddenly the worry over the surgery was replaced by complete joy at the thought of welcoming our little girl into the world in just a few short hours. A smile crossed my face and stayed there all morning. I just became so excited at the realization that it was finally time.
Seth and I finished getting ready, said bye to Mom who was going to stay at the house to let our dogs out (she's a stellar dog-Granna too), and had a leisurely drive to the hospital during which we discussed our projections on how much hair our baby would have, whether she'd cry or not, and other little details about her appearance or personality. I also thought to myself how glad I was that my delivery was scheduled and not a mad rush during contractions to pack the car, get to the hospital in rush hour traffic, etc. There was something very peaceful about knowing when your time to go in was and just doing it - no muss, no fuss, no rush.
At the hospital, we met Dad (Grannadaddy) who had driven up that morning from Memphis, and went through an abundance of paperwork at admissions. Soon we were in the waiting room area with Dad, waiting for the nurse to come back and get us. A short 10 minutes later, Seth and I were escorted back to a room where I got to go to the bathroom (YAY!), changed into a gown and lovely bouffant, got an IV, baby monitor, and all kinds of other medical goodies. We stayed in the prep room until 7:15am. They let Dad come back too, once I was all situated, and he, Seth, and I went through topics of conversation ranging from the transit of Venus the day before to the arrangement of the hospital we were in, in which I had been born just 29 years and 51 weeks earlier.
Soon enough, 7:15am came and I said bye to Dad and Seth and I were off to the OR. They took me back first, got me transferred to the operating table, and started looking for the place to do the spinal. It was freezing in the room, of course, and by this time I needed to go to the bathroom again, plus I was having to hunch over so they could feel my spine. This was probably the most uncomfortable part of the entire surgery. The anesthesiologist was very good, but it is pretty painful to have someone pressing so hard on your spinal column. Finally she gave me the spinal and a warm rush came over me from mid-ribs down, which was heavenly since I'd been shaking with the cold. The spinal acted so quickly! They had to turn me around onto the bed the correct way and lay me down.
More prep work with some unpleasantries, and then Seth came back when they were putting up the drape. He had a seat near my head, and then Dr. Kyzer came around to chat with me. I did have some nausea, but they gave me something that made it go away very quickly. Dr. Kyzer asked if I had any questions, and, hearing none, said, "Let's get your baby!"
Seth and I chatted to distract ourselves from the sounds and smells of the surgery (which were actually not bad at all). I really could not feel anything they were doing, which was excellent. We talked about non-baby-related things so I wouldn't get nervous about anything: Mom and Dad's upcoming trip to Australia, eclipses, and our count of how many of the 50 states we have been to together (the answer is 20, if you want to know).
Then, Dr. Kyzer said, "We're about to pull the baby out," and one of the nurses asked Seth if he wanted to look, which he declined since he faints at the sight of blood. Then in just another moment came a little wail and then a long cry. Dr. Kyzer said, "Oh, she's feisty!" which I already knew from her kicks for the last several months. I started crying, Seth teared up a bit, and then suddenly there was an adorable face being held over the curtain. I didn't get a very good look because of the angle and how my glasses were sitting on my face, but Seth was able to see her and pronounced her beautiful. Baby was taken to a corner of the room for her evaluation and Seth was able to go over and be with her during it. From my position on the table, I could watch her getting cleaned, weighed, etc. and could see all of her beautiful hair and her tiny little body.
The subsequent 30 minutes or so was a bit of a blur of getting sewn/stapled up, while Seth and the baby were snuggling. I did get to hold her a little, but my arms were shaking a lot from the excitement and the spinal so I didn't want to hold her on my own. But I loved seeing her and Seth snuggling. Then, half an hour later, I was unbound from all my surgery accouterment and they transferred me back to a recovery bay.
Recovery was a little longer than I thought it would be since the spinal took a long time to wear off. I started out extremely cold and shaking. The shaking was definitely the worst part since I wanted to hold and attempt to feed the baby. Seth held her, though, and the look in his eyes melted my heart. We started discussing our name options we'd come up with and decided: Evelyn Victoria. Evie's sweet disposition made us choose this name for her over the other we'd considered. (I'll write up an explanation behind the name soon.) It was hard, though, to start calling her Evie since we'd gone 9 months with calling her by a fruit or vegetable name! (We are getting the hang of it now, though.)
During recovery, Evie cried very little, and enjoyed sleeping in her Daddy's arms. She snuggled with me some, and was just as sweet as could be. We enjoyed looking over her face, noticing her curled little ear, her sweet little lips, her tiny fuzzy eyebrows... We were definitely in love.
Once I was finally able to bend my legs - which was about 11:30am, we were dismissed to a room. It took a bit to get us settled in but room 7728 was soon occupied by Mayne, Party of 3. Granna and Grannadaddy came up shortly after they got me transferred to the hospital bed, and we were able to introduce Evie to one set of her grandparents. I think they were pretty taken with her. Phone calls to friends and family and the announcement of her name took a bit of time, and then, we rested. The rest of the day is a blur.
In fact, yesterday is a blur too, other than the fact that the pain got worse yesterday before it got better. But part of that is my own fault for not taking only 1 percoset when I was offered 2, and for rubbing my back where I'd gotten the spinal. Other than about 2 hours yesterday where I was hurting, the pain has been minimal. I was able to get up and shower yesterday, and last night I was finally able to lean over some.
Sleep has been tough to find, mostly because of the nurses and other hospital staff that come in and out. Yesterday morning by 8am I'd already seen about 7 people who needed or wanted things from me. Hospitals are definitely not places to get any kind of sleep. But Seth, Mom, and Dad have been very helpful in getting Evie situated. Dad left yesterday morning, but Mom will be here through Sunday, so we'll have some help getting transitioned home.
This entry feels more like a clinical review of my hospital experience than a "birth story", but I want to write both. A more emotional entry will have to come later as I am currently overcome with a desire to sleep, and anticipate that Evie will be wanting to eat soon.
Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers for us. We are continuing to do well!
Evelyn Victoria Mayne
born Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 7:49am
7 lbs, 2 oz, 18 inches
I'm surprised they let Seth in as they were putting up the drape. For both of our girls' deliveries, I was brought in right before the girls were pulled out. (Not that I complained though, I would have fainted at the prep stuff, too.)
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