I've taken TONS of pictures of Sawyer this week, but just my luck, I lost my transfer cord for my camera. I had it at the hospital, but we can't find it in ANY of the bags that we brought home and we called the birth center and they didn't find anything in my room. Personally, I just think they don't want to get down and check under the furniture in the room, but whatever. So now I've had to order a new cord that will HOPEFULLY be here by the end of the week. So new pictures soon!! Just not soon enough. So I'm gonna post a few more that we took while we were still in the hospital.
So where do I begin with the story telling? I don't want to drag on forever and bore everybody, but that's kind of one of the things that I'm really good at: talking way too much. So here we go.
This was the easiest c-section that I've had so far. I was really nervous going into it. I'm such a pessimistic person, I always think of all of the bad things that could happen. It seemed to go really fast. I had the best nurse by my side from the time that we got there and she stayed with me throughout my time in the recovery room. She was also the one who took care of me on my last morning and checked me out of the hospital. Her name was Cara and she was awesome. I wish that I would have taken a picture of her and Sawyer together.
I took the advice of my friend Bobbie and refused the "anti-itching" medication that they offered me, and I'm so glad that I did. Though the itching from the spinal block did drive me crazy until the next morning, it was worth it because I wasn't completely blacked out in a stupor from the extra meds. I didn't throw up during the surgery like I did the last time, but I DID puke pretty much the rest of the day. I think 5 or 6 times. And let me tell you, dry heaving hours after your stomach was sliced open, is not the most comfortable thing in the world to go through. The worst was at the end of the night. Chris went downstairs to meet a friend of ours and bring him up to the room, my nurse had just come and given me a new IV bag, and left me in the room alone. I felt the nausea coming right as she shut the door, grabbed my little barf bag, held it up to the side of my face, and completely missed my target. I had puke all over the front of me. All I was able to eat was some jello, apple juice and a couple of crackers, but when it's all over the front of your chest and down into your sheets, it seems like a lot more. I went to reach for my call button to get the nurse back to help me, but the controller was about 5 feet away on the couch. So I had to sit there for 5 or so minutes until Chris got back, covered in vomit and crying. Good times.
Sawyer was absolutly perfect. His brothers both had breathing problems and had to be kept in the ICU for days before they could go home, but he had no problems whatsoever, so he was immediatly put in the room with us. He pretty much hasn't left my side since he's been born. It was such a blessing. We were really worried that he would have the same issues and were overjoyed when he was given a clean bill of health. He did have a little rash thing that made him super zitty on his face, have little chicken pox looking marks all over his body, red patches all over, and there was one night where his little eyes were so swollen shut, he looked like a boxer after a bad loss. But that was gone after the first couple of days.
The recovery this time was much easier in the hospital and I only had to stay for 3 nights. I could have come home after 2, but they gave me the option of staying longer, and I took it. I kind of wish that they would have let me stay a little longer :S Being at home the first couple of days was really rough and I started to kind of get a little depressed. But Sunday was a turn around day for me and it's been great since then.
Breastfeeding this time has been a bit different and a heck of a lot more painful. I know it's going to get easier, but sometimes, it just kills me and I want to give up. I won't though, because I want to give Sawyer the best that I can. So I'll go through it for him. He took to breastfeeding right away. Within 30 minutes of his birth, we were in the recovery room, Chris handed him to me, I put him in position, and BOOM, he knew just what to do. He is a little pro at it. But that's where the problem has been. With the other boys, they were on feeding tubes for the first few days and so I had to pump and the nurses would give it to them through their tubes. By the time they got the the part where they had to eat on their own, my body was ready for them. Since he's taken to it on his own, it's been EXTREMELY painful trying to get my breasts used to the feedings. Sometimes it's worse than others, and it's only for the first minute or so of each feeding, but in that first minute, sometimes I feel like I'm going to pass out. I've tried the cremes, the cold compress, the heating pad, the shield, everything. Time is the only thing that's going to make it better. So like I said, I just have to wait it out.
I'm so glad that he's finally here. He is absolutly perfect in every way. I can't believe how small he is! I got so big during my pregnancy, I expected him to be a little beast, but he's so dinky!! Aparently I had a lot of fluid in there. That's what they were saying when they were cleaning up after the surgery anyway. We are overjoyed that we have another angel in our family. With that being said though, I miss being pregnant!! I miss my big belly, I miss that "glow" that I had, I miss the cute belly hugging tops. The belly has mutated back into a saggy, flabby stomach, the cute clothes have turned into a daily uniform of sweat pants and a granny style nightgown, and my pregnant glow has been replaced by a wild haired, worn out, black circles under my eyes, haggard, run down, drained mommy dullness. Don't get me wrong, I was tired of being pregnant and was in a lot of pain towards the end, and I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon, but when we do decide to have the next one, I'll gladly embrace the experience.
So this first week has been filled with highs and lows. We're all adjusting to the new change in our family. It's been much easier with Chris home to help out, and he does more than his share (he's changed 10 times more diapers than I have). I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband. Luckily Brandon is on Spring Break this week too, so that's one less thing for us to worry about right now. The boys are doing great with the baby and Logan just wants to hold him all the time. We've even found a way to include them in some of the "baby chores". They like to put the diapers in the nifty diaper pail that we have. They're great big brothers. I showed them how to use one of my digital cameras so they could take their own pictures of the baby and I thought it would be fun to chronicle this time in our lives from their point of view. Unfortunatly they seem to have more fun taking pictures of things like the TV rather than feedings or bath times. I'm looking forward to loading up the photos though and seeing what they've caught. Hopefully they'll be a few keepers.
Ok, I think that's enough babbling for now. For the few of you that stuck around to read this whole blog, thanks!! And I hope I didn't gross you out too much with some of the gorey details. Keep checking back for new pics. Like I said, hopefully the new cord will be here by the weekend. Until then, here a few more from the hospital.
Sawyer and his Auntie Geri
He really didn't like his first bath.
