They finally took her to the nursery close to 11:30 so she could get a bath, and I was left alone in the labor and delivery room. The nurse came back eventually to help me change into a clean gown and all that fun stuff, and she told me that we were just waiting for a postpartum room to open up so they could move me. Then she left me alone again. Nathan was with Anna in the nursery, and I finally called him to find out what was taking so long. Apparently, Anna's blood sugar was extremely low, and her body temperature still hadn't normalized, so they couldn't even bathe her because they didn't want to make her cold. The nurses wanted to give her some formula to try to get her blood sugar up, and I reluctantly agreed, although I wasn't really happy that she was getting a bottle.
Finally, after another hour or two of waiting, my nurse came back to tell me that they were ready to move me to a room. She asked if I wanted to go by the nursery to see Anna, and of course I did!
She's Daddy's little girl already.
It was great to see my baby, but I wasn't really prepared to see the nurses sticking huge needles into my daughter's hands to try to draw some blood for testing. I think I felt the stick more than Anna did! It was too hard for me to watch them digging around in my baby's hand for a good vein and trying multiple times to get enough blood, so I asked to go back to my room. My parents were on their way up to see us and bringing the kids with them, so I waited for them while Nathan stayed in the nursery.
The kids arrived, and were immediately disappointed that their new baby sister was not in the room with me. I asked Nathan if he thought they would be able to see her through the nursery window (she was kind of in the back), and he said he would take them down there to see. So, I was left alone again. With no baby.
Eventually, they brought Anna to my room, all cleaned up and perfectly fine. The kids really enjoyed getting a chance to hold her. In fact, they were fighting over who was going to get to be next, and they all demanded second turns.
It was a little chaotic in my super-small hospital room, but we were happy that the kids were so excited to meet their sister.
It was a little chaotic in my super-small hospital room, but we were happy that the kids were so excited to meet their sister.
A sad attempt at a first family photo.
We'll have to try this again.
That night, after visits from my family, Nathan's family, and the kids, we tried to settle down and get some rest. No such luck. Anna was wide awake and very upset with me the entire night. I kept feeding her, in hopes that she would eventually fall asleep, but she never did. No one slept at all. Early the next morning, our favorite nurse came in and saw how distraught and exhausted I was and how upset Anna was. She said, "She is SO hungry!" Immediately, I felt like the world's worst parent. I had been trying to feed her all night long, but I guess she just wasn't getting enough to make her happy. Caroline (our nurse) suggested we go ahead and give her a bottle, just to see if it made a difference. Instantly, Anna was happy and sleeping. I burst into tears. Bad Mommy!
We continued to give Anna formula while we were at the hospital, since my milk hadn't come in yet and she was obviously wanting to eat like a pig. I was very discouraged, thinking that I would not get to nurse her at all. Whenever I tried, she would scream hysterically. She was so frustrated with me that she didn't even want to try.
We were finally able to go home Thursday morning, and it was a great feeling to be out of the hospital. Nathan and I were both looking forward to a shower and sleeping in our own bed.
Homeward bound!
Part three, the last chapter...coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment