The Rest of our Hospital Stay

On Saturday, about noon or so, I finally got my catheter out, the IV unhooked and out, the leg warmers off, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and walked around in real clothes! I felt like a brand new person, even though I moved slow. Vic's parents came again earlier that morning and then they left and went to the house to see the kids. GG and Atticus and Grace came up later that afternoon to visit and snuggle Hazel. Hazel had her hearing test that day, which she passed. Nursing was going ok but still painful at times. The lactation specialist came in and got her latched better, but as usual when she walks out the door, I was having a hard time re-creating the latch. It's interesting because I KNOW what a good latch is and I KNOW it's not supposed to cause pain. So, we asked her about a possible tongue tie and she said there was none. We asked both neonatologists that came in throughout our stay and both said no tongue tie. And while I agreed that it didn't look bad and it didn't pull her tongue back and she was nursing with her tongue out far enough (unlike Everly who was nursing with her bottom gum until her tie was cut), I really thought something still wasn't right. But, during the hospital stay, I felt like she definitely did NOT have a tongue tie since everyone said she didn't. But, I was wondering if something else might be wrong with her latch.

Otherwise, we snuggled her and napped occasionally and I would have bursts of energy and feeling good and then times of being more tired. Her bloodwork came back fine and her bilirubin levels stayed in the correct range. She had her 24 hour newborn screening done and as we later found out, everything was normal. Also on Saturday, Vic's cousin Melissa came to see us. And I had Subway to eat again. GG stayed with me on Saturday night and we also sent Hazel back and forth to get some sleep at night. On Sunday, Meghan got to come see Hazel! This was especially special because she and Cecilia were the first people I told at 4 weeks that we were expecting! I never tell anyone that early, but we'd left story time at the library and while we were sitting in Meghan's new car visiting, it came out! So, she has had to listen to the 100 names we've thought of and she had her entire family contributing ideas! It was always fun to get a text from her that had more name options in it! So, Meghan came and snuggled our Hazel for a little while. That evening, Vic and I had a "date" and he picked up Cafe Eccell for dinner, including a Strawberry Tart which is the most delicious dessert. Vic stayed with me on our last night in the hospital. The next morning, we just hung out for awhile and packed up and dressed Hazel in a teeny tiny outfit to go home. By this time, Hazel was causing a lot more nursing pain and I was already contemplating seeing a lactation specialist outside of the hospital that might help us more. I was starting to bruise and my nipples were cracking and bleeding (TMI, I know!). Also, at this point, I was really feeling good on my c-section recovery. I really didn't have any pain around my incision like I usually do. And overall, I just felt good. The only tough part was that for the last 24 hours in the hospital, I was having TONS of cramping when Hazel would nurse. I remember this with Everly too. I mean - they were the WORST cramps and although normal since my uterus was still contracting down and the hormones were coming while I nursed, it could really take my breath away. It was like having contractions. These lasted another day or two at home before they finally went away. It was right around lunchtime that we were discharged and headed home. We stopped for another subway sandwich for lunch. They were just so good! And then we began life at home as a family of 6! And, I will say that I will miss delivering babies so much. I love meeting a new little addition to our family and I love the surprise of what they look like, the surprise genders, naming them, and figuring them out. It's just so very special and I feel like we are always in a bubble when we are in the hospital. It's the special, precious little bubble that you can't just recreate any time you want. I know that, overall, my delivery experiences have been good, and I know everyone's are not. So, I take it seriously and love these memories so much. Okay, sentiments are over. :)

 I finally got out of bed and could walk again!

 Melissa stopped to see us.

 So much hair! It really doesn't look as dark with the light shining on it, but we think it's darker than any of our other kids at birth.

And Meghan met baby Hazel!

 

 This was us at our "date" night.

 Clearly, at the hospital, we did a lot of eating, sitting and snuggling Hazel.

 Grace colored pictures for me for our hospital room.

 Hazel got some earphones for her hearing test. So cute!

 And we are headed home!

 Waiting at the hospital for mommy's very important, very wonderful pain meds!

So, when Everly was born, the kids and Vic made a Welcome Home Everly sign and it has never come down from our door. I don't know why we didn't pull it down, but eventually, it was there for so long, that we just left it. Well, they made a patch for it with "Hazel" so now it's current again! :)

Ready for a new adventure!

Our Hospital "Hotel" Stay Day 1

I have said many times, after all 3 girls' hospital stays, that I love being in the hospital. It's just nice to have nothing else to think about, except the new baby, for a few days. And this time was the easiest, calmest, most relaxing "hotel" stay yet! First of all, I don't know if I was just more relaxed or because this was baby #4, but I felt like the nurses didn't need to check in on us as much so it just seemed quieter the entire time. After the first 24 hours in my postpartum room, and once I had gotten out of bed and gotten unhooked from everything, they really only came in for the normal vital checks, medicine doses, and regular checks. Plus, whether we were ordering hospital food or Vic was bringing food, we were fed. And someone came in to clean the room and take away our food trash. And, I always ask if I can stay one extra night (so 3 nights instead of the regular 2) and Dr. Bertsch has always said yes. So, it really was like a hotel stay. An expensive one, but still a hotel stay. Here are some details of our days starting about 3pm on Friday afternoon, Hazel's birth day.

Day 1: First, the Seidel's came in for a visit. We were not expecting them until the following day, but they arrived in College Station and came to visit us for a little while.

Then, the moment we had been waiting for finally arrived! Vic headed out, when his parents left, to get GG and the kids to come meet Hazel. It had been a long day for them to wait. But, due to it being after lunch before we got into a room and then Everly needing a nap and then the Seidels coming, we could not get to the kids until after 6pm that night! So when they arrived, I was full of tears and emotional. Atticus and Grace were SO excited to see the baby and Everly was interested, but really loved running around the room more! ha! Atticus wanted to hold Hazel immediately and they all loved her name! Grace was more hesitant to hold her - just a little nervous on this first day. I can't tell you how fun it was so see them all check her out and love her immediately.

 

 I think the tears were excitement to finally get the kids here but also because I felt like every moment was "our last" because this was our last baby to bring home. So, every moment was so important!

It took him no time at all to ask to hold Hazel.

 

 GG finally got her hands on Hazel too!

There's really nothing more fun than checking out the hospital room! Grace snuggled up in my bed; Everly climbed up and down off of the couch for awhile; they ate all the snacks we had in the room; they went to the bathroom; they found a way to play Hide and Seek where Grace actually found hiding spots and one spot was in a cabinet (she actually fit!)

 Everly was not into Hazel much at this point, and when she found Disney on Vic's phone, she was officially in her own world. But, it was still so special to have them come meet their new little sister! Oh and even funnier, when it was time to go home, Atticus and Grace BOTH wanted to stay the night. Atticus, especially, told me he wanted to stay and help me. I'm not sure he would have been much help come about midnight, but it was a nice thought! 

For Friday night, Vic stayed the night with me. I was in bed and not really feeling any major pain; those drugs are good! I was noticing a little pain when nursing, but waiting to see how it would go. I was on a liquid diet until about 10pm that night when I thought I could handle real food and thank goodness I could because I was starving! I ate the most delicious subway sandwich - that tends to be my first meal after every delivery. The nurses bathed her and did the normal checks while I was stuck in bed. During the night, we sent Hazel back to the nursery in between feedings so we could get a little sleep. It was a good night!