I know it has been way too long since my last post. When I last left you, I was about to get off of bed rest and was very, very much looking forward to it. On December 22, I was off bed rest and spent most of the day having regular, although not super painful, contractions. We went and got checked out, but it was a false alarm. We had a very nice Christmas with Sig and Alex that weekend and I very much enjoyed being able to move around and get back to my normal activities. The next week at my OB appointment, my blood pressure was high enough that they wanted me to go back on bed rest. I had one week of freedom before being trapped on the couch yet again.
At this point, I started going in for appointments twice a week so that they could monitor my progress, my blood pressure and Connor. I don't think anyone expected me to stay pregnant for very long. Connor had a different opinion though. He was all snuggled in and not ready to go anywhere. That didn't prevent me from having frequent and regular contractions though. After a couple of weeks of this, my OB decided that it was time to go ahead and have a C section. We scheduled the surgery for 1/13/12, six days before my due date and one day before our anniversary.
Surgery day arrived and I spent the morning trying to get everything ready. Mom and Sig came down so that they could be there for Connor's birth. At 2:00 we checked in at the hospital and only had to wait a few minutes before they took me back to prep for surgery. I got hooked up to all of the IVs, got my blood draw, took my pre-surgery meds and answered all of the healthy history questions. R got dressed in his funny surgery get up and at 4:05 pm they brought me to the OR. They gave me my spinal and started the surgery. At 4:38 pm, Connor Grey arrived, weighing 8 lbs, 1.7 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He actually tried to cry before he was even born. I heard the OB say "You can't cry yet. You're not even born yet." It was the most beautiful sound in the world when he did finally cry. R went with him to the warmer while they got him dried and checked him out. He also gave him his first bottle right there in the OR. I spent the whole time watching them while my OB finished my surgery. Finally, R was able to bring him over to me and I was able to see my son for the very first time. I couldn't hold him but I was able to stroke his cheek.
When the surgery was over, they finally placed Connor in my arms for the ride back to recovery. I won't ever be able to explain how incredible that felt. Our baby boy has got a set of lungs on him. He screamed all the way from the OR to recovery and his grandmas were able to hear him coming. I got to hold him skin to skin for the first little bit. After an hour the grandmas were allowed to come in and he was given his first shots (vitamin K and Hep B), and got his footprints taken. Then we were moved to our postpartum room and settled in. I didn't sleep at all that first night. I was too enthralled just watching his sweet little face and listening to his cute little noises. I'm so incredibly in love with him.
We ended up spending 2 days in the hospital. On Saturday, my aunt Lily, our friends Matt and Jessica, and his big sister Alex and his Farmor came to visit us. Of course everyone absolutely adored him. He barely fussed at all and was happy just being cuddled. I got up out of bed and walked the floor several times. I was attempting to get my insides moving again so that I could have a Jimmy John's sub, which I had been craving for my entire pregnancy. I was hoping to have it as a celebratory anniversary dinner with R. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get things going in time and we had to have our subs the next day. Either way, having Connor the day before was absolutely the best anniversary gift I ever could have asked for. We also had some screenings done for Connor. He passed his hearing screening with one of his ears, but not the other. They said that is pretty normal, particularly for C section babies as they often still have some fluid in theirs ears. We also found out that he was mildly jaundiced. Both tests would be repeated the next day.
On Sunday, the OB came and checked on me. She said that I was doing so well (having pass gas the night before) that I could be discharged. She said that if Connor's jaundice was bad enough to require photo therapy, we would be admitted to the peds ward. They came and redid Connor's hearing test, which he passed and then checked his bilirubin levels (for the jaundice) again. The pediatrician came by and said that while his levels were increased they were still not high enough to need photo therapy. We called Sig and let her know that we would be headed home that afternoon. While we were waiting, it started snowing heavily. It was so beautiful to watch from the hospital. Later that afternoon most of the band came by to meet Connor. It was interesting to see all of their different reactions. Eventually it was time to go. We bundled Connor up, packed up all of our stuff and headed out into the cold. While it was gorgeous out, the ice made for bumpy roads, which was not comfortable for me. Connor passed out as soon as we got in the car. I think he is going to like car rides.
I think that is all I am going to write for now. I will try to get back on and write about his first week in the next couple of days. I will add some photos at that point as well.
- J
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