A few things happened while in labor, delivery and post delivery that I want to document.
1. When we got to the hospital, Chris pulled up to the door and got me a wheelchair to sit in. My water had broke at home so I wasn't able to make it very far without having water leak out of me (seriously so gross and a ton of water!). We didn't pack very light and despite me telling Chris to leave some of the stuff in the car we were hauling a ton of stuff in. I had a rolling suitcase that I was pulling along the side of me while Chris pushed me down the hallway to the labor and delivery area. It was late (11/11:15pm) so there weren't many people around. We were going down one hallway and there was a nurse pushing a huge cart down the hallway coming towards us. Chris tried to get as far over to the right side so we wouldn't hit her and he ran the suitcase I was pulling and me into the wall and backed up and kept hitting the wall so we just stood/sat there and laughed at how ridiculous we most likely looked. The nurse just walked by and kind of stared at us like we were crazy. Later in our delivery room the same nurse showed up to help turn me over after I had my epidural. Chris and I choked back our laughs when we saw her come in the room. Pretty sure you had to be there, but it was hilarious and the perfect way to start our delivery process!
2. We had awesome nurses that helped us during our whole stay! I can't even begin to say how much we appreciated the support through everything. Our first l&d nurse (Deb) had to leave around 7 in the morning so she wasn't able to deliver Bailey. She promised that she would find an equally amazing nurse to deliver our baby girl and she did not disappoint. Our next nurse (Kari) was incredible and sweet. I finally got dilated enough for them to put my feet in the stirrups and begin pushing. I can't remember how we got on the subject but we were chatting and we realized that Kari was a neighbor of ours...that we've never met...until now when I have my legs spread apart in stirrups and am about to start pushing a baby out. Pretty much beyond awkward and I was soooo embarrassed but then realized that she had already seen everything and this was her job so she's very used to it. I wouldn't change Kari being the nurse that was there to deliver Bailey for the world. She was a great cheerleader for me while I was pushing and so very sweet. It will be fun to see if we run into her this summer while out on walks!
3. Bailey did not take to breastfeeding as well as I had dreamt. She was tongue tied (if you don't know what that means, click on the link for more info) which did not help getting her to latch on. I pretty much wasn't able to feed her for the first 24 hours other than manually expressing some colostrum (sorry TMI). If you have difficulty breastfeeding in the hospital, this is pretty much a green light for any and all nurses/doctors that enter your room to try and help you with their version of "the best method." This involves them seeing your boobs and handling them to get the best latch. Super uncomfortable for me a person that is very self-conscious of their body and doesn't like to be exposed - ever! I realize that they were all trying to help me and I, now, can truly appreciate what they were doing, but at the time it caused a lot of stress/tension/anxiety for me, Chris and Bailey. There were quite a few meltdowns (including tears being shed) in the hospital, but we were able to successfully breastfeed and Bailey got her tongue untied (a simple cut of tissue under her tongue) before we left the hospital.
I hope you fellow bloggers have a great labor and delivery experience. I think the best thing is to be open minded (plans can change in seconds!), try to take the experience light-heartedly (you will be in a lot of pain) and just know that when you're done you have an amazing baby to enjoy!
Do you have any funny stories?
Love these stories! a fun alternative to the traditional "birth story" (which are also good reads!)
ReplyDeleteNo funny stories, but I think it's neat that you have these recorded. What fun memories. Well except the flashing of your boobs to everyone who came in to help you nurse. That doesn't sound too fun.
ReplyDeletehahaha...laughing so hard at this! Every story is different. I love yours!!!! Hopefully mine will be just as memorable.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I love the wall story. So funny! :)
ReplyDeletethis is a great idea becky! i should go back and think about the funny stuff we encountered, like... the WACKY nurse that shared WAAAAAAAAAAAAY TOOOOOOOO MUCH INFO with us about her personal life. Something about her son or husband eating cereal with stored breast milk. yeah.... true story.
ReplyDeleteWow very entertaining post. Ive notice that there are many 1300 Number in Australia that giving to a business to give them many clients. Most busineses are using smart numbers to easily remember by their clients most especially in labor.
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