Moving On

Lylah was 17 days old the first time she attended church (on Halloween!). She slept on Grammy the entire time :).

The "Happy Birthday" texts started arriving at 6:57am and came at regular intervals throughout the day. Fortunately, though, my phone was on silent mode because I was able to sleep until 9:15am! Lylah is a wonderful sleeper and Mom has been getting up with M, so I woke feeling very rested! I came downstairs to a BIG hug from M and a rousing rendition of "Happy to yooooou!!!" which was sung to me every time Mom reminded him it was my bday throughout the day! He's enjoying the whole concept of birthdays, even if they're not his own!

Then, Mom and Yana took M and Brea to storytime at a local library, so that left me with even more free time... I almost didn't know what to do with myself...but I quickly found a thing or five million to do which kept me occupied until Little Man came home around 11:45am. Little aside: I had signed up to get a ton of free things, mainly food!, on your birthday, so my Inbox has been flooded with some good deals. One such deal was a free sandwich or salad from Au Bon Pan, and since ABP is at a nearby mall, I asked Mom if she minded watching Lylah so M and I could go there together for lunch. Of course Mom didn't mind, so M and I enjoyed some Mommy-Son time. I've missed spending one-on-one time with him, so it was a great bday gift!

After M went down for his nap, Lylah and I got to spend some quality time together before she dozed off too. It was a cold, rainy day... Perfect for wrapping yourself in a blanket and reading... Or catching up on stuff with your iPhone.

All the while Mom was busy making a delicious lasagna dinner with homemade rolls and an Italian Love Cake for dessert, which made the house smell soooo good. I'm not into store-bought or boxed cakes at all, so I appreciated the extra effort Mom took in making this wonderfully yummy cake!! Everyone, as in G&G, Rita, Ry & Yana, came over for dinner and we all had a good time watching the kids play and catching up on life.

D, who has been a great help in keeping Lylah awake and/or entertained in the evenings while I nap, surprised me with a new laptop. I love mine and don't really want a new one, but he's been bugging me about getting a newer one to replace my "dinosaur." apparently he found a good deal because when I got up to feed Lylah a few early-mornings ago, I saw an email confirming the purchase of a new laptop. Slightly confused and convinced I was dreaming, I didn't ask him about it until I saw the email again the following afternoon. I wasn't dreaming and our newest purchase should be here in a few weeks! Even better? He got my some Milano cookies :)

I know God didn’t design us to have babies via C-section, but I’m sure glad he gave someone the idea and even more glad that today’s medical technology has become so advanced that I could have one and be home and functioning one week later. Without any pain medication!

Mom, David, and I trekked into hospital at 7am on the (Thursday) morning of October 14th all prepared to see our new baby by 10am the latest. My section was scheduled for 9am, but some poor woman had to have an emergency one, so I was bumped until noon, on the dot, actually. So we all hung out in my little triage room passing the time that went by quickly. Mom snapped a few last pictures of my hugeness (uh, thanks, Mom!?!). I hadn’t been able to eat or drink since midnight, but did sneak a few sips of water with David’s permission, which is probably the most discomfort I suffered. Finally the time came when my operating room was available and D and I walked (yes, walked!) there. D had to get his scrubs on while they gave me a spinal and prepped me. I think they actually made the first cut before getting him, but he was there for the rest. Everything went very smoothly, praise the Lord, and forty-three minutes later, we heard our daughter cry for the first (and almost the last, this girl is an angel baby!!) time. Everyone in the OR was excited to find out Baby’s gender with us; they said they hardly ever get surprises anymore and enjoy being part of them. It was cute to see everyone peeking over to see what, in fact, came out! The nurse anesthetist told us later that Lylah had a girly face, but didn’t want to say anything in case she wasn’t a she! After checking over the baby and putting her under the heat, everyone kind of ignored her and went about whatever they do to put me back together. D was able to go over to her and snap some pictures and talk with her. After a bit, they wheeled the scale over to where I could see and weighed her 8 pound, 10 ounce self. Then they wrapped her up and gave her to David who brought her over to me. I couldn’t believe how much she looked like Micah at birth. They literally had the same face, it was so surreal. I kept saying to David, “Of all the combinations we could possibly make, they’re the same!” After a bit, though, her puffiness went down and she definitely got her own look about her. I was expecting her to be completely opposite of M, but you can certainly tell they’re siblings. The doctors who were pulling her out commented on her abundance of hair, and she does have a good tuft on the top of her head, but it dissipates as you move closer to her neck and forehead. It’s dark, though, so you can definitely see all that she has. Another thing I remember thinking right away is how peachy and perfect she looked right from birth. She didn’t have to go through labor, so she basically came out looking like an hours-old baby. Her little nose was all formed and pointy, too. I’m sure the nurses say it about all the babies, but they kept going over to look at her, saying how beautiful she was. They kept her with us the entire time in the OR and in Recovery, which was different from my first experience. I really, really enjoyed this bonding time with the three of us. D was on cloud nine.

The entire surgery from the time I set foot in the OR until they wheeled me out in my bed/home for the next few days, took on hour. The doctors (my OB and a resident) said I had very minimal scarring from last time, so that didn’t hold them up at all. And I guess my uterus was in fine shape because they ended up having to vacuum her little head out. I’m dramatic and was thinking about uterine rupture because I heard a story once… Anyway, all went well and they wheeled me into Recovery for about an hour where they kept pushing on my belly to get as many of the clots out as possible before the spinal wore off and they couldn’t push so hard without it being painful. Again, all went well there and I was even able to breastfeed Lylah, which went very well. She was born making the sucking noise and trying to stuff her fingers in her mouth (literally) and she hasn’t backed off since. She has a powerful little suck, unlike her brother, and she gets the job done in a quarter of the time. She even pulls off when she’s done, which, again, her brother never did. It’s interesting to see their different personalities, even in something like feeding.

Dad, Mom, Yana, and Brea were all waiting in my room when I got there (I guess Ry was there, but had to leave for work). We had met Rita in the hallway as I was being wheeled to Maternity, so she joined in the party, too. Of course, that’s when the nurse came and took Lylah to the nursery to check her out and clean her up, but so it goes. They did bring her back with enough time for everyone to see and visit with her.

This hospital stay was even better than my experience the first time, if you can imagine. I thoroughly enjoyed the nursing staff and the care I received. It was cozy, too, being cooped up in the room for a few days with David and the baby. Kinda weird, I know, but it’s better than having an awful experience! Still more to come…