I can honestly say that the 'planned C-Section' was harder for me that the one we had with Isabella. Part of it was because I already knew what to expect. So, I kept thinking about it for weeks. It's a major surgery, and the thought of me being awake for the entire thing freaks me out. I mean they are literally cutting into my uterus to get the baby out - nuts.
We arrived at the hospital at 5:45am on Monday, August 20, 2012. I had to do a lot of blood work before the surgery which is why we got there so dang early. I was the first surgery of the day - I planned that :) I wanted to make sure that the doctors were well rested, and not tired from having to do other surgeries all day long...no mistakes.
I was taken into the operating room at 7:18am. Stephen had to stay out until I received my spinal. It was HORRIBLE. There’s no sugar coating this whatsoever. I hate needles. Hate them. I was told to lie down immediately after the spinal was done because I would start to feel a very warm sensation in the lower half of my body and then go numb. Sure enough, it was instant and I lay down quickly. It was not a good feeling – the thought of my spine being tampered with is just not my idea of fun.
I was an emotional mess during the delivery. Stephen was amazing; so sweet and calm, and most importantly – supportive. I just remember him telling me, “You are going to be alright, he’s almost here.” Those are the words that honestly got me through the experience. At 7:44am our big guy was born. He came out crying – and at that moment, I knew that he was healthy. He had quite the pair of lungs on him. All of the doctors / nurses in the room kept saying, “oh, my god – he’s huge!” Well, duh. Did they remember the size of my stomach!? He was set on the scale and weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces and 21 ½ inches long.
Daddy went with Ethan to the nursery to get ‘checked out’ and I had to be sewn up. That part I was totally fine because all I was thinking about was holding my little boy. I was wheeled into a recovery room and wanted to see my mom right away. I was the same way with Isabella. There’s just something about having your mom there that makes you feel safe. I was pretty much exhausted by the time Ethan arrived into my room. I had so much medication in my system that I was vomiting, and itching, and could barely keep my eyes open. I did however want to hold and nurse him right away.
We had lots of visitors at the hospital, but the one visitor that I couldn’t wait to see was little Miss Isabella. After all, she is the new “Big Sister” and I couldn’t wait for her to meet her brother. We waited a day for her to come in, so that I could get some rest – I wanted to make sure to give her a lot of attention once she arrived and I couldn’t do that on the same day as my surgery.
Isabella meets Ethan -
Let me just start off by saying, when you have a baby, that you love with all of your heart and you feel like you just can’t love any other child the same (I know a lot of parents go through this)…well, it’s not the case – because when I held Ethan for the first time, I feel in love ALL OVER AGAIN.
When Isabella arrived to the hospital, she looked like she had jumped into a time machine and had grown up about 7 years. Seriously, she seemed so much older. She was wearing her “big sister” shirt that we bought for her before we went to the hospital. We planned out how we wanted to introduce her to her brother. I had gotten advice from another parent at the pediatrician’s office that when introducing siblings for the first time, have daddy hold the new baby, so that mommy can welcome in big sister / brother in with open arms. That way they don’t feel ‘replaced’. So, she walked into the room and I was sitting in the hospital bed ready to give her the biggest hug and kiss ever. She was so happy to see us. Stephen then brought Ethan over to me on the bed and I held them both…okay, even writing this makes me tear up, because honestly this was the most amazing day of my life. Holding BOTH of my kids in my arms was the greatest feeling in the world.
Fast forward about 5 months –
Ethan is 5 months old (as of Sunday.) He’s a smiling, drooling, laughing out loud machine. Bella is so incredibly smart. She knows her ABC’s, she counts to 20 (skips 15 & 16), knows just about every single kind of animal, knows everyone’s names, sings TONS of songs – and is just over all sweet. We are attempting potty training…again. I will say that majority of it depends on the parents. If we could dedicate a solid two days and not go anywhere and sit close to a potty all day, I think she would get it. But, as soon as we decide to go somewhere, we have to be prepared to stop the car and find a bathroom ASAP. It’s tough. Plus, we have a baby too.
This past weekend we took Isabella to Disneyland to have a mommy/daddy date. She needed it. Lately, she’s been acting out – and craving attention. We spent the entire morning at California Adventure, and Bella had a blast, so did her daddy and I…she even got to meet Jessie.
Now that I think about it, I'm going to have to do a post just on Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas 2012...man, I'm behind.
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