Before I start talking about our Halloween or Christmas or sharing printables, I need to formally introduce you to our new baby girl. This whole experience with baby four felt pretty surreal. We have been so busy with the other three that it just seemed to happen so quickly.
Sunday night we finally went through clothes bins, only to discover that we had no warm clothes in tiny sizes– only a bazillion onesies, leggings and sweet summer dresses. Eleanor was a May baby, so it made sense. Procrastination at its finest.
Monday morning we hit up the Carter’s outlets to grab some warm footed sleepers in tiny new baby sizes. We were definitely on top of things (note the sarcasm). Monday night we were at soccer practice doing the normal family thing. After the kids were in bed Ross and I stayed up way too late, finally finishing up washing and folding her sweet tiny baby clothes and packing hospital bags.
I had Ross snap this picture of me on what will most likely be my last morning of pregnancy.
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Tuesday October 20 we woke up 4 am to get ready to head to the hospital. We had a scheduled c-section for 7:30 in the morning. We had to be there at 5:30 am and my mom showed up around five to take care of the kids.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I avoided thinking about this day. This was c-section number four so I kind of knew what to expect and I wasn’t looking forward to the pain. More than that, my brain can wander pretty quickly to all the things that can go so very wrong. My husband is a huge calming force for me and I’m so thankful to have him by my side.
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Once we were at the hospital there was a lot of sanitizing, IV’s, paperwork and waiting–oh, and hospital selfies.
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When it was finally go-time Ross was stuck waiting in the hall while they prepped me. This is one of the worse parts for me, I always feel so alone in the cold operating room, naked with masked faces busy prepping for surgery.
This is my fourth go, so I have the comfort of knowing what to expect. Things didn’t go very well with my spinal this time. There were issues finding the proper place and nerves were being hit that was sending shooting pain down my left leg. The nurse anesthetist had to numb me a second time for a second go around.
As I sat there attempting to curve my spine like a cat while she dug around in my back for 15 minutes, I definitely started to get light-headed, was sweating and the tears started coming. Eventually she got the proper placement, they laid me down, started the screening around my belly and brought in Ross.
He held my hand while they began. As usual, there was some discomfort with tugging and pressure, but no pain. It is a really strange feeling. Just like that, the pressure disappears and this amazing little miracle I grew is in front of me. That emotion is so big.
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There were tears. She was here, she was beautiful and she was screaming her head off! She calmed down when I kissed her cheeks too.
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Fiona Anne was born at 8:08 am on October 20, 2015 weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9. She was the picture of health.
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I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and after three months of counting every carb that went into my mouth and pretty much avoiding sweets and treats and checking my blood sugar four times a day, I was so relieved to see her here and healthy. Her blood sugars were a-ok– Thank God!
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Now that she was here and healthy, it was time for her to meet the rest of her family. Quinn and Eleanor had both gone to school that morning. Eleanor is only half day so she was going to be done at 11:30 regardless. Quinn had his first school field trip of the year that morning to a nature center.
Originally he didn’t want to go to school, because he was worried everyone would meet his new baby sister without him. Then he found out about the field trip and he was really conflicted. After I explained to him that we would never leave him out, he was good to go. My mom picked up both kids at 11:30 and they came to meet her.
This is one of the best parts of the whole new baby experience for me. I love watching my babies meet!
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They were all excited, but Hudson expressed his excitement the most–by far. I knew he was excited for her to come, because he has been talking about it for a long time, but I didn’t know how that was going to play out when reality hit.
Hudson kept telling everyone that, “Fiona popped out”. He still always wants to know where she is, what she is doing, asks to hold her and says that she is “so cute!”.
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It turns out that the day she was born was the kids last day of school for the week because of conferences. It was so nice having them home the week she came home.
The hardest part about baby number four is all the directions we are going now that we have older kids. I like us best together, so this has taken some adjusting. We will be soaking in every minute of togetherness over Thanksgiving break!
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I spent one night in the hospital and went home the next day. I just felt really good! Different then the other three c-sections. My doctor and I have a long relationship. He has delivered all four of my children and has been my doctor for the last eight years. He said I looked like a day 3 and couldn’t believe how well I was doing. The pediatrician cleared baby right away. I asked if I could go home, because I hate being in the hospital and they said yes! Everyone was shocked, but it really was the right decision for us.
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I was ready. Things have been going really well at home. Ross is still home–thank god. Things are also crazy and overwhelming, but that is a post for another day.
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The post Introducing Our New Baby Girl appeared first on Balancing Home.