Avery's Birth Story

We woke up dark and early Thursday morning to get to the hospital for my c-section. I was greeted by several very nice nurses and then taken back to the holding area to get my pre-op stuff done. After I got hooked up to the monitors, I started feeling "crampy". I figured it was nerves, and then I looked over at the monitor that kept track of contractions, and sure enough, I was having some! Of all the days to go into labor...

I was pretty nervous about being cut open, but all the nurses and doctors were so kind and understanding and reassuring. As scary as having surgery while still awake is, it was way better than the risk of tearing again. And it's a very good thing I opted for the c-section since Avery was bigger than Emily! Eeek!

While the doctor and nurses were working on getting Avery out, I had some referred pain in my shoulder that hurt pretty badly. I was given some medicine in my IV (Demoral, I think), which made the pain somewhat better, but the room looked as if it was tilting and so I kept my eyes closed and felt very out of it. I nearly missed seeing Avery presented over the curtain that separated my upper body from my lower body. I did get to see her face and a foot. But guess what! Rob watched Avery being pulled from my stomach! I am so proud of him! He did GREAT!!! What a neat experience for him.

What I hate about being so doped up is that I didn't get an opportunity to really look at Avery while I was being sewn up, and I didn't even try to touch her. I was just so out of it! It was crazy and surreal. After I was wheeled into recovery, they asked how my pain was, and I said it still hurt, so they gave me something else (maybe Toradol), which actually got rid of the pain and then as the crazy medicine wore off, I was able to send a few text messages announcing Avery's birth and her birth stats and then I got to hold her.

It was just awesome looking at her. She looks so much like Emily! She's a cuddley baby and a super nurser. I'm so glad she's out of my belly. I can lie on my back and it just feels great. The pain from the c-section is way better than the tearing I had with Emily. All in all it was a good experience and I'm so glad it's over! Now we've just got to get Avery's sleep schedule straightened out and we'll be good to go!