Four Days in the Hospital

My four day stay in the hospital passed more quickly than I thought it would. Since Ryan's parents were staying at our house and could take care of Saisha, Ryan was able to stay at the hospital with me every night. We didn't watch any movies. I didn't pull my laptop out once. I turned the TV on maybe twice. We kept busy cuddling our new baby, receiving visitors, napping, going for short walks around the floor, and working with nurses and doctors who came by to check mine and baby's vitals, check my incision, ask questions, give me medication, and help me breastfeed.

First bath

Between groups of visitors on Friday (my mom was still there), a nurse from the nursery came to give Dean his first bath. This was also the first time I had stood up since surgery--I needed help standing up and had to hold onto the bed for support, but I managed with help from Ryan and my mom.

Dean couldn't have a real bath until the stub from his umbilical cord came off, so this was just a sponge bath. He hated it. He voiced his displeasure from the time his blanket came off until he was all clean and dressed in pajamas we brought from home for him. The nurse was quick, but gentle. All she did was strip him down, wipe him down and wash his hair. She instructed us as she went and even wrote the recommended water temperature range on the board in our room so we could make note of it. Washing his hair was the worst part...he hated having his head held under the faucet!

Breastfeeding

Friday morning while Ryan was home showering and changing my nurse helped me breastfeed. Breastfeeding was new to both me and Dean and it wasn't going well. He wasn't really latching on and when he did he didn't stay on long. It didn't help that I had no idea what I was doing.

My nurse was very motherly and so helpful! The first step was teaching Dean what to do. She hand expressed colostrum from my breast into a plastic spoon and then poured it into Dean's mouth. She would squeeze his cheeks to get him to swallow it and then repeat the process to feed him more. When it seemed like he had gotten swallowing down, she started pouring the colostrum into his mouth then immediately putting her gloves finger into his mouth to teach him to suck and help him relate the taste of the colostrum to the action of sucking. She also checked to make sure he didn't have a tongue tie or something that would make breastfeeding difficult.

She taught me the football hold and helped me position myself with a bunch of pillows to make the process as easy as possible. She worked with us off and on a couple times that day. Finally that night during our 2:30 am feeding Dean successfully latched on and sucked for a full 10 minutes! It felt like such a big accomplishment!

Unfortunately our trouble didn't end there. Within a day my nipples were so sore that I was practically in tears every time I fed him. I was getting little blood blisters. Another nurse felt in his mouth while he was feeding and said his latch seemed fine and he wasn't thrusting his tongue or anything like that so I should be feeling better once I got used to it. Another nurse gave me tea bags to put on my sore nipples after feeding because the tannic acid in black tea supposedly has healing properties. I was also using lanolin, but nothing seemed to help. (Unfortunately we are still struggling with this so I am using s nipple shield off and on as I heal and work with Dean to try and perfect his latch--which I have since determined is not so perfect).

Our baby lost 14 ounces in his first few days of life. Finally on Monday my milk started to come in. By that evening I was so full I was in pain, and our little baby just couldn't eat enough. So I sent Ryan to pick up my pump with the prescription from my doctor. When he got back I only managed to pump about an ounce of milk but that was enough to feel a little better. I was pretty proud of that ounce and sent it to be stored in the nursery until we left. Once Dean was eating my milk for a full 24 hours he gained 6 of those lost ounces back! By the time we left the hospital he was 7 lbs 7 oz.

Poop

One annoying thing about the hospital is that you have to keep track of everything! Every time I fed him I had to let the nurses know what time he ate and how long he fed on each side. They also tracked every diaper and whether it was wet or poopy. Dean was peeing and pooping like a champ. In fact the first diaper I changed in the hospital was not until Saturday night and it was a bad one (our fabulous nurses and nursery staff were so good at changing him I never got the chance...but I wasn't about to complain!)

Saturday night while Ryan was home watching a boxing match with his dad, Dean was extra fussy. I couldn't calm him down when he wasn't eating, but he wouldn't nurse for long either. So I was walking around the room bouncing him and trying to soothe him when suddenly he let out a huge belch followed by a long, loud wet fart that I felt rumble in his diaper. He immediately stopped fussing...until I had to change him, then the fussing started all over. I couldn't believe that amount of poop could come out of someone so small (it was still the nasty black, sticky meconium that babies poop for the first few days). Sucking on his fingers seemed to calm him somewhat, so I asked the nursery for a binky. We ended up not needing it that night but it did come in handy later.

Our poopy problems didn't end there. On Monday morning the nurses were concerned because Dean had not had a poopy diaper in over 24 hours. He was supposed to poop at least once a day. It was nearing noon and he had only wet diapers since 8 am on Sunday. My nurse called the charge nurse to voice her concerns and within 10 minutes the charge came walking into my room armed with a thermometer. I watched as she undressed my baby and proceeded to stick the thermometer up his butt while he cried (like he did every time you undressed him or changed his diaper). Her trick worked and in less than a minute, nasty black poop came oozing out. He stopped crying as soon as he was diapered and dressed again. I think the experience was more traumatic for me than it was for him.

Choking

The scariest part of our hospital stay was seeing our baby choking over and over. It happened the first time the very first day and would happen often throughout the day. He would be laying there content then suddenly he would gag, turn red and silently choke. We would rush to turn him on his side, pat his back and suction mucous out of his mouth with the blue suction bulb then he would be fine.

The pediatrician said that babies sometimes swallow stuff during birth and end up with mucous in their stomachs that their bodies take a few days to learn to digest. We were assured that it would stop on its own. It was still so scary because he usually didn't make a sound--he would just suddenly be gagging and his face would turn red.

It scared us enough that we did not feel comfortable sleeping with Dean in our room so we sent him to the nursery at night. I was afraid he would choke while we were sleeping and we wouldn't wake up--especially with how sleepy the pain killers made me. Every two to three hours the nurses would bring him in for me to feed him and then I would soothe him back to sleep then call to have them take him back to the nursery until it was time for his next feeding. Typically he would have two choking spells while in the nursery between each feeding so I knew we were doing the right thing having him sleep in there.

On Sunday night one of the nurses offered to have his stomach suctioned out to see if that helped. After 3 days of dealing with him silently choking I was all for it. I sent him off to the nursery where they put a catheter down his throat and suctioned out the mucous. I didn't even want to imagine how upset this was making him! I tried to focus on the good it was going to do: no more gagging on mucous. They brought him back about 10 minutes later. The nurse said they had only suctioned out about 6 ounces of mucous. I wonder if I misunderstood her. I couldn't believe they got so much-he didn't even eat 6 ounces at a time-that sounded like a lot to me!

I fed him and he seemed perfectly fine, but after he spit up. In fact he spit up after every feeding that night. If was probably because his little tummy was irritated from the suctioning. The food new was though that he didn't gag or choke again that night or at all the next day. He didn't spit up much the next day either. Suctioning out all that mucous had worked. On Monday night I even felt comfortable letting him sleep in our room, and we both felt so much better about taking him home on Tuesday!

Doctors and vitals checks

Every morning bright and early between 5 and 6 doctors would start checking in on me. Usually 2 residents and then one of my doctor's partners would come by just before breakfast (my doctor had the weekend off so we didn't see her again until Tuesday morning). They all always asked the same questions: how was my pain? Was I getting up and walking? Was I passing gas? Peeing? Pooping? Then they would check my incision and go on to their next patient. It got a little repetitive, but I had given permission for students and residents to check me and shadow my doctors...I wanted to aid in the learning process, but I wish they could have all come at the same time--and after the sun was up!

My nurses also checked my blood sugar several times for the first couple days (normal every time, thankfully), and my vitals (heart rate, temperature and blood pressure) every time there was a shift change, which was usually at 7 am and 7 pm, but sometimes there was a middle shift change at 3 pm too. This wasn't too bad.

Dean, however, had a vitals check every two hours. They would take his temperature under his arm, which he hated, and listen to his heartbeat. I would've been fine with it if it didn't wake him up almost every time! Once a night they also took him to the nursery to be weighed and for the first few days they would prick his heel to check his blood sugar twice a day--at one point the poor little guy had 3 little round band aids on one heel! He screamed during weigh-ins, again, my kid does not like to be naked and cold-but did pretty good with all those heel pricks. Fortunately his blood sugars were all normal so he only had to endure that for a couple days.

Visitors and Passing Time

We had visitors every day. The first day there it was mostly my family: my parents, my sister and her kids, and my great aunt and uncle who had so patiently waited for hours in the waiting room while I was in labor. My youngest sister graduated from college that morning so after her graduation all of my family started filing in. The only one who didn't come was my youngest sister. She called and said she would rather wait until we got home so she wouldn't have to bring her young kids to the hospital and worry about keeping them out of things--especially her rambunctious almost one year old who is crawling and into everything. I was still tired and a little groggy from the pain medicine so the whole afternoon kind of rushed by in a blur for me.

My mom was the only one still there, and was about to leave when she found out her sister was on her way with my cousin and grandma, so she waited to see them. My best friend showed up with my favorite dessert: tiramisu. It was a welcomed treat now that I could eat sugar again! Around the same time, my aunt, cousin and grandma came to meet Dean.

That evening after everyone left, the nurse finally took my catheter and IV out. Just in case there were complications and I needed to go back into surgery or something they had to leave both in for 16 hours post op. I was actually looking forward to being able to pee like a normal person again!

My nurse helped me get up to walk (just to the bathroom and back to bed). I could feel my legs fine but when I walked they felt like jelly--weak and unsteady. The nurse helped me to the bathroom and showed me how to take care of myself with the bleeding I would have for the next few weeks. She also helped me change into a fresh gown.

On Saturday we were expecting several visitors but most decided to come Sunday instead so we had a free day to just relax as a little family on our own. Ryan went home first thing in the morning to shower and change his clothes. When Ryan got back, we walked Dean to the nursery so Ryan could help me take my first shower post-op. It felt so good to be clean! I put on my own pajama pants and a nursing tank top. I even did my hair and makeup so I could feel fresh and ready. We did get one group of visitors: Ryan's oldest sister and her husband and kids came by to meet Dean. They all got a chance to hold him and we filled them in on the details of the my delivery.

That night Ryan had plans to watch a big boxing match on pay-per-view with his dad. Originally we thought we'd be home by then, but because of the complications with delivery and my c-section we were in the hospital longer than planned. Shortly after my mom showed up with my nieces, Kenzie and Brinlee, Ryan left to go watch the fight. They went for a walk around the maternity floor with me and stayed for about an hour after Ryan left. I spent the rest of the night snapping pictures of and napping with my new baby boy. Ryan wanted me to wait to send him to the nursery until he got back so he could spend some time with him first.

On Sunday, Ryan's dad stopped by to see his new grandson first thing in the morning. He didn't stay long, but he would get lots of snuggle time in later once we were home. Ryan's sister also came by with her husband and two of their six boys. They took turns holding their new nephew and cousin while Ryan snapped pictures. Next came Ryan's cousin and his family. They drove all the way from Logan to visit us! Their little girls just adored baby Dean. It was fun to see them all. Their baby is close to a year old and looked huge next to Dean--it's hard to believe he's going to be that big someday!

They left when my aunt, grandma and cousin showed up. I was glad my grandma got the chance to visit a couple times; she lives in Idaho and doesn't get to see us much. She and my aunt took turns holding Dean and grandma told me how grateful she was that we have Dean my grandpa's name for his middle name (actually William is both of my grandpas' names). Later that day Ryan's mom came to the hospital as soon as she got back into town from St. George (she had driven home the night Dean was born to take Ryan's sister to the airport in Las Vegas). She held her grandson for a while and walked down to the cafeteria to get dinner with Ryan when my dinner arrived.

Monday the visitors slowed down. I think our moms were about the only ones who came by. I was distracted by my full aching boobs! Both moms were there when I was pumping for the first time, cheering me on. Ryan and I got to have our congratulatory dinner from the hospital that night (I had steak, he had salmon) and his mom got dinner in the cafeteria again. I don't remember much about the visit. Ryan and his mom left around seven to go watch the Rockets basketball game at home and my mom left not long after (she had come straight from work and had not been home yet). I spent my second night alone watching TV and cuddling my baby. Ryan got back before bedtime and got in some cuddles of his own.

That night we planned to send Dean to the nursery, but I ended up keeping him in our room. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling better about taking him home after a successful night sleeping in the same room! Tuesday brought some new experiences.

Checking out

I was sad to leave the hospital (I actually enjoyed my stay) and excited to get home and adapt to life with a new baby. That morning we turned in paperwork for Dean's birth certificate and social security card. Dean and I had our last vitals checks. A nurse went over all kinds of instructions and tips for caring for a new baby, including when to call a doctor. She also went over my discharge instructions, telling me what I could and couldn't do, for how long and, again, when to call the doctor. I was told I couldn't lift anything heavier than my baby for SIX WEEKS! She made sure I had an abdominal binder, got me some extra pads to take home and gave us a goody bag (a simple diaper bag) with a bunch of coupons, some ice packs and a small bottle cooler. My doctor came by to check on me and see how Dean was doing. A nurse took out my staples and replaced them with sterile strips to protect the healing incision for a little longer. The pharmacy delivered my medications to take home.

Then came the pediatrician. She checked Dean out earlier in the morning then came back to take him to get circumcised. Ryan went with him for comfort while I stayed and packed up our room. Poor little Dean was stripped naked, strapped to a board and given a binky with some sweet syrup on it to distract him from what was about to happen. Ryan was there to touch his tummy and head in an attempt to soothe him. He said he only cried for a minute, but it was a terrible sad cry! He seemed fine when they brought him back to our room. I nursed him for extra comfort while Ryan made several trips taking all of our stuff down to the car (somehow our stuff multiplied during our stay!)

I dressed Dean in the pajamas I had bought right after our first embryo transfer more than a year earlier. I had bought them with the intention of dressing our new baby in them to take him or her home from the hospital someday...someday was finally here! Finally a nurse helped us buckle Dean into his car seat for the first time, and then walked us down to the car and made sure the car seat base was installed correctly. I climbed into the front seat and changed my mind almost immediately, getting back out of the car and getting in the back with Dean. I couldn't let him ride all the way home facing backwards where we couldn't see him and make sure he was okay! He looked so squished and tiny in that big car seat. Before noon we were on our way home to start our new life as parents!

Although I was happy to go home there are some things I miss about our hospital stay:

The Service: nurses brought me everything: my baby, medications, fresh water...all I had to do was push a button and ask and someone was there to wait on me. They even take your baby to the nursery when you need some sleep and change his diapers whenever he needs a fresh one. It was like staying in a hotel, but the room wasn't as nice and the service was better.

The Food: I was brought three meals and a nightly snack every day. With breakfast I got a menu to check off my selections for the next 3 meals: everything from the main dish to sides and choice of drink. I even got dessert with every lunch and dinner--the chocolate mousse was my favorite and I had it with both lunch and dinner almost every day. I also like these rolls they had and chose those too whenever I had the option. The food was great and there was such a variety that everything at home just seems boring now.

The Hospital Bed: after having my stomach cut open, a bed that would sit me up with the touch of a button was just what I needed. I also miss the rails on the side of the bed--I could use those at home to help pull myself out of bed.

The Clear Bassinet: I loved being able to lay in bed and and just turn my head to see through the clear plastic and watch my baby sleep! It was also so handy being able to wheel him anywhere we needed to go!