So, back on April 1st, we headed out to Kaiser for my c-section and Maia's arrival!
When we got to the hospital, of course all the stork parking spots were taken, as were any spots even close to the front, so Josh dropped me off at the entrance where I was greeted by my sister in law AnJi, and inside by the rest of Josh's immediate family, including my nephews. It was great to have so much support before we headed up to labor and delivery and we had a quick prayer before heading up.
The walk down the 3rd floor hallway to L & D was so nerve wracking and I made Josh hold my hand the whole way down. We went in and had to fill out some paperwork and then we were sent to triage to get my I.V., get prepped for surgery, and to check my vitals and Maia's fetal movement. **As a tip for you ladies who like to get your nails done**I had my nails done with my mother in law 3 days before and the lightweight heart rate monitor they usually put on your finger was not able to penetrate through the nail polish! They tried my toe as well which only worked slightly better. Fortunately the higher powered ones worked fine in all the other rooms.
At this point I was a little less nervous, until I found out that I was going to the operating room to get the epideral by myself and Josh wouldn't be in there until the surgery was ready to start. I think going through the local anesthesia for the epideral would have been better if I was in active labor where you are so happy for relief, but I went in not in labor and not in any pain (other than the pulled muscle) and had to keep getting shot after shot until I couldn't feel them anymore :( I can handle a lot, but after the multiple shots in the back near my spine (that felt like bee stings), all I could do was grip the pillow they had me hug. After that though, the rest of the surgery was easy peasy lemon squeezy :). While the I.V. and shots were unpleasant and somewhat painful, it was still much less pain than I anticipated. I will say that our AWESOME doctor took her lunch break and came to the operating room to help with the surgery. She was comfort and a familiar face when I was feeling nervous.
After I was laid down and all ready for the surgery to begin, Josh was allowed back in and he stayed by my side for the short couple of minutes it took to get her out. He was then needed by Maia to help with her.
I cannot even explain how unbelievably happy I was to hear that first cry after months of worrying about her safe arrival into to the world. Josh immediately took a picture of her since I wasn't able to see her right away.
Our little girl came out 8 lb 3 oz and was 20.67 inches long.
Josh was able to hold her hand right away, as you can see in the picture above, and hold her whole body shortly after that picture so he could bring her to my face and show me her for the 1st time.
After I was all stitched and stapled up, I was taken to the recovery room where I got to hold her for the first time and breast feed for the first time. She had the rest of her vitals checked and then we headed over to the recovery side where we were greeted by the rest of our immediate families so they could meet Maia.
For anyone who's giving birth at Kaiser-don't over-pack :) I totally over-planned and had packed so much stuff that Kaiser provides for you and I never used most of the stuff I brought. We had such a good experience with Kaiser :) Great nurses (very caring), private room, big bathroom, need help at 3am-they're there :), decent meals
I was very happy with our time there from check in to check out. We even got a celebration lunch before we left :)
Maia continuously passed all her newborn tests to be able to leave the hospital :). I was up walking around the maternity corridor by the first evening with just a little uncomfortable pain. By the last evening I was doing laps with Maia. Our only complaint about the hospital stay was the "couch" they have for the father/significant other. It was SO uncomfortable Josh probably left the hospital in more pain than me and less sleep than all of us :( We were so happy to be on our way home :)
In the days after we left the hospital, I was in some pain, finding it difficult to even walk down the hallway to the bathroom. Josh has been an AWESOME husband and father. In the hospital and at home when I couldn't get up, walk, shower, etc. he was there to not only help me do so much but also for Maia. He changed every diaper the first week and a half, he got up with her to walk around until she went back to sleep, etc. The first week she was alive he probably didn't get more than 10 hours of sleep total. He was there for us both :) For those of you who have seen him since she was born, he has also had a very lovey-dovey part of his personality emerge when he interacts with Maia that I've never seen before :) It is very cute to see :)
Maia did start out pretty strong with the breastfeeding. Around day 4, when the secondary milk came in, she had a little trouble but I think we have it down now. Her only problem is that she wants to eat ALL the time! Finding down time for myself sometimes doesn't happen, including sleep :-/. However, I am so in love with her that I don't mind too much :)
She is 3 weeks old now and she's a little bit bigger, has "happy eyes" when you talk to her :), and she's discovered her tongue. 3 weeks post partum and I've lost 34 pounds since I was pregnant and I'm just a couple of pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. :) I've still got a long way to go to get to my "goal" weight but I'm doing well so far!
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| 39 weeks pregnant April 1st belly shot |
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| 3 weeks postpartum April 22nd belly shot |
Thank you to those of you who have dropped food by, and who have come to see us. We welcome visitors, however please let us know you are coming ahead of time, in case we are trying to catch a couple of zzz's when she is napping or to make sure we're home :) Please wait to visit if you are sick and no small children visiting her until she is one month old (after May 1st).
We love our little girl!
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