I was nervous about having another c-section. Not just because of the recovery... but the actually surgery. I've had some weird reactions to the anesthesia in the past when I had spinals. Davis' birth wasn't as bad... just about 5 minutes of feeling panicked and nauseous, but they gave me something and it passed. With Calvin I honestly felt like I was going to die. My heart rate dropped and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I remember looking at Haws and thinking that I might not make it through the surgery. They gave me something to keep my blood pressure and heart rate regulated, but I still had to fight to keep my eyes open. I remember just feeling so out of it when Calvin was born.
This time around, we told the nurse who was prepping me about what had happened in the past. She gave me 2 extra bags of IV fluid and said it would help. My anesthesiologist was AMAZING! I seriously feel like Heavenly Father knew I needed a good one, who was caring and took his time.
In the operating room he gave me a warm blanket and a pillow to snuggle with while I turned on my side and he gave me the spinal.
The funny part was, once the spinal was in, they lay you on your back and you are just laying there naked from the chest down. The operating door was open and I could see doctors and nurses walking by. It was like "hello world, have a good look at what is going on in here!". It was more funny than embarrassing because I figured they have all seen this before.
They tested me to make sure I was numb and I wasn't, so it took a little longer to get started. They wanted to make sure I couldn't feel a thing before they got started.
Haws looking good in his operating gear. He sat back and watched... they held up a mirror so I could see what was happening and then they said "there is a lot of fluid in there". No surprise there. I tend to have a lot of amniotic fluid. And then Dr. Froerer said "he's got a lot of dark hair!" What the?!?! I had this feeling his hair was going to be dark, but my babies have never had a lot of hair!
Then we saw the cute little guy...
He was a screamer!
I was so happy to be alert and able to finally hold our little Hank.
Once I was put back together... they wheeled us to our room. I started feeling sick on the way and then dry heaved once we arrived in the room. Not fun right after having your stomach cut open! I threw up a couple more times after the surgery, so I wasn't able to eat until the next morning. It was fine really.
My parents were awesome and watched the boys while we were in the hospital. They brought them that evening. It was so fun seeing how excited they were to see their new baby brother. I felt overwhelmed after about 10 min! Those hospital rooms feel really small when you pack a bunch of boys in them.
They were pretty stocked on their gifts from Hank.
Here are some more pictures from our stay.
Look how cute our crew is!
I love the hospital stay. You get to just sit back and relax. Not worry about a single thing in the outside world. And have that special alone time with your brand new baby. The perk of having a c-section is that your hospital stay is extra long! I am so sad that this is our last time doing this. That there will be no more births, no more stays in the hospital. But I feel so blessed for the boys I have and their healthy arrivals. I will forever cherish these moments.
