Lena's Birthday Part 2

Part one - the actual birth story - is below. Here are some more details.

While the nurses were working on Lena, the doctor was finishing up with me. I felt the placenta come out - something I didn't experience with Lucy. But I purposely did not look at it. Haha. Gross. Then I waited anxiously to hear if I tore. Having just delivered a baby 3 oz. short of 9 lbs who came out totally sideways, I was pretty nervous. You can imagine my surprise (and immense relief!) when the doctor said I didn't tear at all!! Praise the Lord!

After we were both checked out, Lena and I got to do skin to skin and attempt nursing for the first time. My breastfeeding experience with Lucy was not ideal - especially those first few days/weeks. She could not figure out the latch so it was frustrating and exhausting for both of us. So I was amazed when Lena rooted around for a minute, then latched right on and sucked like a pro!! More on that later.

Finally, they gave her a bath and let Justin hold her for the first time. Then our families got to come in. I always feel bad that they have to wait so long. My mom and Niki were standing in the hall while I was pushing, so they heard Lena cry (and saw all the NICU nurses rush in!) but then had to wait over an hour before they could come meet her. Justin did go out and give them the details so they weren't totally out of the loop. They called my dad and told him to head down to the hospital with Lucy, so she was there too when it was time for everyone to come meet Baby Sister for the first time.

Lucy was so adorable. She came in with the biggest smile on her face, climbed right up in bed with me, gave me a kiss, and checked out her sister excitedly. She held her and kissed her and exclaimed about how she was sticking out her tongue. I thought I'd be a basket case when they met for the first time, but I really wasn't. So funny how my emotions surprise me.

Eventually it was time to move up to recovery. Of course I was still completely numb and couldn't move. It always amuses me. The nurse decided not to try and get me in a wheelchair, but put me on a gurney instead. It was very strange - she made Justin help move me. They threw me onto the gurney and my leg flopped off. I was like, "Justin, will you put my leg back on the bed please?" Haha. Things you never expect to hear yourself say . . .

Unfortunately we got put in the janky wing of the hospital. With Lucy, we had a nice, updated, big room. This time we got stuck in a closet. I didn't even have my own shower! And the room was so tiny we could barely fit my bed, Justin's chair/bed, and Lena's bassinet side by side. You can imagine how tiny the room felt when we crammed it full of visitors! Haha.

My family left shortly after we arrived in recovery, and we tried breastfeeding again. Seriously, the girl is amazing. She latched right on and ate for 20 minutes on each side. I could hear the tell-tale suck, suck, swallow so knew she was actually getting some colostrum! Such relief! And if I wasn't already proud enough of my little rockstar, she slept so well that night! I woke her up at midnight to try and feed her, but she was sound asleep and refused to budge. I asked the nurse if it was a big deal and she said not to worry about it and just try again later. So different than with Lucy! The nurses were so on me about nursing every 2 hours then. Anyway, Lena slept a good stretch and I tried to sleep, but could feel the epidural wearing off and the pain creeping in. I'm actually pretty disappointed that despite not tearing, I've still been in a lot of pain.

I know the doctor was really digging around in me trying to get her to turn while I was delivering, and she came pretty fast, so my body certainly had a fair amount of trauma and I'm feeling it. Yuck. I've also been surprised by the amount and painfulness of the cramping - especially while nursing. It feels just like those first contractions I was having. I don't remember cramping hardly at all with Lucy. But again, Lucy never nursed as well as Lena did those first few days. Also, the nurse said it gets worse with subsequent pregnancies because the uterus has to work harder to contract down to size. Oy.

That first night, Lena was sleeping in her bassinet at the foot of my bed, Justin was out cold, and I was dozing when I heard her gurgling a little bit. I told Justin to go check on her, and when he lifted her up she puked all over the place! Great. We have another puker! Haha. The nurse said it was actually a good sign because it meant she was definitely getting good feedings!

She did even better the second night. It's kind of a blur, but I'm pretty sure I got two 3-hour stretches of sleep that night. Amazing! And breastfeeding has continued to go well. She's usually eating every 2 hours, but occasionally makes it 3. She's hurting me a little bit, so we had the lactation consultant stop by before we checked out yesterday. She gave me some techniques to help Lena latch better/correctly, but I'm not sure how well they're working. Hopefully it's just a matter of time and practice. The good news is my milk came in last night! That's a huge improvement over last time when it was 7 days before it came in!

One more bit of good news: So far, I'm doing much better this time on the anxiety front! I know there's still time, but I'm feeling a lot more stable. Maybe it's because I knew a little more what to expect, or because Lena has been an easier baby so far, or because Justin took more time off work this time. I just don't feel as out of control. I've even been eating! Woohoo! And I don't feel too badly about eating, because I've already lost 20 lbs! That's my kind of diet. :-)

Well thanks again for reading to the end. I also have to thank our huge support system - all the people who have watched Lucy, brought meals, came to visit, brought gifts for Lena, brought gifts for me, brought gifts and cake and balloons for Justin - did I mention yesterday was his birthday? :-) We are so so blessed and loved. Love you all!