Jacob Thomas Nielson made his debut Thursday morning, July 28, at 8:29 am. As you know from my last post, we ended up needing to do a cesarean section. I was quite nervous having to do this. But it was much better having a scheduled one instead of waiting a week or two, being induced, going through labor, and then ending up in a cesarean anyway. Then I would just have had double the pain and trouble from having to go through both types of labor. So here's what happened:
I was scheduled to go to the hospital at 5:30 am on the 28th. I got up around 4:10 am in order to take a shower and get ready. I only slept about 3.5 hours that night, so I was pretty tired when I got to the hospital, but honestly, I think it helped me to relax and not think about the impending surgery I was about to go through. Once I was settled in my room, my nurse came in, took some blood, and then set up my IV with some antibiotics and fluid. I hung out in the room until just before 8 am, when the anesthesiologist came in to get me to walk me down to the OR.
In the OR, the anesthesiologist put in a spinal block while his assistant held on to me and kept me calm from the front. It didn't hurt too bad. The worst part was the numbing shot they put in before the spinal block goes in. While the block was going in, I felt a few shooting pains down my legs as they were getting it in all the right spots, but that is normal. It wasn't bad at all, just weird and uncomfortable. They then laid me down on the table and set everything for the surgery up. I started feeling a bit sick and ended up throwing up a tiny bit, but then I felt much better. During the cesarean I could feel the general areas where they were working, but didn't feel anything specific or any pain. The hardest part for me was when they were getting Jacob out, one of the doctors was pushing down from the top of my belly, which made it hard to breathe for a few seconds. When they pulled him out, the first thing my doctor said was, "this cesarean was the right decision; his shoulders and chest are really broad and probably wouldn't have fit." The next thing I knew, he was crying and they brought him up to see Bryce and I. We got to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to get all cleaned up and get his stats. My mom watched the whole thing from out in the lobby and Bryce was in the OR with me, holding my hand. He did get brave for a few seconds and looked over the tarp that was blocking our view. He didn't really see anything because the incision was so low and my belly was in the way.
After getting the baby's initial vitals, Bryce went with him and the nurse to the nursery while I got stitched up and taken back to my room. Not long after that, Jacob, Bryce, and my mom were all in the room with me. I got to feed Jacob and hold him for a bit and then we both got some sleep.
The hospital I delivered at was awesome. The nursing staff was amazing. I had one nurse dedicated to me for each shift (2 nurses per day) and they were so incredibly nice and helpful. I almost didn't want to leave because it was like being in a hotel-- every meal brought to me, getting my room cleaned every day, and anything I needed at my fingertips. I did get pretty stir crazy, though, and because I was doing so well, they sent me home a day early. The nurse I had on my last day was probably my favorite. She gave me a ton of great tips on breastfeeding, holding my baby, taking care of my c-section, etc. She also hooked me up with a ton of stuff for myself and baby to take home.
I have been doing really well since getting home. Jacob has had high bilirubin levels, so we've had to get out every day to get his blood drawn. I have been walking around a lot and doing enough to keep myself active and that has helped a ton with recovery. And now on to an overload of pictures from baby's birth day:
We are so happy and feel so blessed to have such a cute and healthy baby boy. He is everything we could have hoped for and more! Plenty more posts and pictures to come!
I was scheduled to go to the hospital at 5:30 am on the 28th. I got up around 4:10 am in order to take a shower and get ready. I only slept about 3.5 hours that night, so I was pretty tired when I got to the hospital, but honestly, I think it helped me to relax and not think about the impending surgery I was about to go through. Once I was settled in my room, my nurse came in, took some blood, and then set up my IV with some antibiotics and fluid. I hung out in the room until just before 8 am, when the anesthesiologist came in to get me to walk me down to the OR.
In the OR, the anesthesiologist put in a spinal block while his assistant held on to me and kept me calm from the front. It didn't hurt too bad. The worst part was the numbing shot they put in before the spinal block goes in. While the block was going in, I felt a few shooting pains down my legs as they were getting it in all the right spots, but that is normal. It wasn't bad at all, just weird and uncomfortable. They then laid me down on the table and set everything for the surgery up. I started feeling a bit sick and ended up throwing up a tiny bit, but then I felt much better. During the cesarean I could feel the general areas where they were working, but didn't feel anything specific or any pain. The hardest part for me was when they were getting Jacob out, one of the doctors was pushing down from the top of my belly, which made it hard to breathe for a few seconds. When they pulled him out, the first thing my doctor said was, "this cesarean was the right decision; his shoulders and chest are really broad and probably wouldn't have fit." The next thing I knew, he was crying and they brought him up to see Bryce and I. We got to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to get all cleaned up and get his stats. My mom watched the whole thing from out in the lobby and Bryce was in the OR with me, holding my hand. He did get brave for a few seconds and looked over the tarp that was blocking our view. He didn't really see anything because the incision was so low and my belly was in the way.
After getting the baby's initial vitals, Bryce went with him and the nurse to the nursery while I got stitched up and taken back to my room. Not long after that, Jacob, Bryce, and my mom were all in the room with me. I got to feed Jacob and hold him for a bit and then we both got some sleep.
The hospital I delivered at was awesome. The nursing staff was amazing. I had one nurse dedicated to me for each shift (2 nurses per day) and they were so incredibly nice and helpful. I almost didn't want to leave because it was like being in a hotel-- every meal brought to me, getting my room cleaned every day, and anything I needed at my fingertips. I did get pretty stir crazy, though, and because I was doing so well, they sent me home a day early. The nurse I had on my last day was probably my favorite. She gave me a ton of great tips on breastfeeding, holding my baby, taking care of my c-section, etc. She also hooked me up with a ton of stuff for myself and baby to take home.
I have been doing really well since getting home. Jacob has had high bilirubin levels, so we've had to get out every day to get his blood drawn. I have been walking around a lot and doing enough to keep myself active and that has helped a ton with recovery. And now on to an overload of pictures from baby's birth day:
Jacob's first picture:
Such a cute dimple:
He got his first bath while I was getting stitched up:
All cute and clean. I was tired and oh so puffy.
Look at that chin dimple:
3 comments:
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. He's darling!
yeah! i'm so happy the procedure went well and mom and baby are healthy and happy. jacob has a dimple chin like baby jay also! congrats mama!
Super exciting! Cute pictures too. After 9 months of Bryce teasing me that I should name my firstborn after him, Kathi and I laugh that he named his firstborn after my third. They even have a matching dimple on the right cheek. :) Jacob is a beautiful name for a gorgeous baby. Congrats to you both.
Post a Comment