Hello Again Beautiful People!
Thanks so much for allowing me a wonderful week off with my little guy… I’m surprised it took so long for the “blogger bug” to come back, but here I am! I also want to thank all of ya’ll who sent e-mails and/or Facebook messages – I truly appreciate you taking the time to write, and hope to get back to all of you soon!
We are so blessed announce the arrival of Reid Michael (Reid-a-Roonie), born Friday, May 21st at 10:20am. From the start, he’s been a sweet, agreeable little baby. I suppose that after Ryder, who’s a force to be reckoned with, we’re very tough skinned around here :)
Since every woman has this innate desire to share her labour story with anyone and everyone who asks (and sometimes with people who don’t), I thought I’d break mine down into the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good: For those in the know, I actually had a planned c-section for Friday morning. I didn’t necessarily reveal this beforehand as I wanted to give Reid the chance to make his debut on his own terms, but like the good little baby he is, he gave his mommy a free pass from labour!
The Good: You know what happens when you have a planned birth? You stroll into L&D on the day of without a care in the world. Your hair is done, your teeth are brushed, and you try to avoid the eye of every labouring gal who strolls by you, clutching her midsection and breathing hee–hee–hoo. You fill out your paper work and joke with the nurses on duty. Hell, you even take the time to check your e-mail.
The Bad: The intravenous tube (IV). It SUCKS. I took offense to a tube being shoved up my hand. “Is it supposed to hurt?” I asked the nurse on duty. She gave me a funny look as a woman in the next room screamed in agony. “Never mind…” I responded.
The Good: My surgeon. The spitting image of Tiny Fey (no joke), the obstetrician scheduled to handle my c-section was affectionately dubbed “Stitch” by the nurses. “She uses dissolving stitches and sews with an accuracy that would make Yves St. Laurent green with envy,” the head nurse assured me.
The Good: The spinal anesthetic. One shot and you’re good to go. Literally seconds after the needle went in, I felt an icy cold tingling creep down my back. And then, before I could count to 10, I couldn’t feel my legs. Nice.
The Bad: Sometimes, besides the anesthesiologist’s best efforts, the spinal spreads a bit high. Within two minutes, I couldn’t really feel my arms. Then it seemed to spread even higher…
The Ugly: And I became semi-comatose as the anesthetic spread to my brain. The anesthesiologist jumped into action and repeatedly injected the IV with various shooters (I could see what he was doing but was too high to care). Mike asked “Are you there? Can you hear me?” in a panicked voice. Chill, I felt like saying, I’ve never felt better in my life. Rock on, Metallica.
The Good: Fabulous news! Being completely wasted helped the time fly by, and I didn’t feel, hear or process a thing. Before I knew it, in the distance I heard a baby cry. And that was all I needed to pull out of my drugged state. “It’s a boy!” Dr. Rogers exclaimed. “Let me see him,” I whispered. The nurse pulled him alongside my face so I could kiss him. “Mmmm,” I inhaled. “Baby.”
The Absolutely, Heavenly Good: My son, Reid Michael. A squirming, perfect little angel.
The Bad: Drugged states. The nausea was overwhelming. WTH? I had been fasting since the night before. What could I possibly have to throw up?
The Ugly: Oh, I see. The drugs. That’s what I can throw up. And I did; all throughout the day on Friday – green, slimy, You Can’t Do That on Television-style vomit. EIGHT TIMES. And, to add insult to injury, the nurses banned all food and liquids of any sort until I got it out of my system, which didn’t happen until Saturday morning. Sheesh.
The Good: Making Mike hold my catheter collection and IV and walking around the ward at 10:00pm. I considered it a small victory that I was on my feet just 12 hours after my surgery, but damn, did I ever feel disjointed. Mike revealed that a lactation consultant had spent one hour with me earlier that afternoon – I had no recollection of this, or of feeding the baby. Damn, how do druggies do it?
The Bad: The next day. Holy Hannah, THE PAIN. To all my c-section mamas, you know what I’m talking about. Wowzers! I couldn’t get enough Advil to save my life.
The Good: Trillium Hospital. The nursing staff was absolutely wonderful. I was even reunited with a nurse who was around when I delivered Ryder. 8,000 births later, she remembered me! Now that’s attention to detail!
The Good: My discharge papers were prepared just 48 hours after I checked in. On Sunday morning, they assured me that I was just fine, the baby was just fine, and that I could go home.
The Bad: I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to face a crazy toddler, household responsibilities, and the 16 stairs that take me to my second floor. I didn’t want to do anything but lie in the hospital bed and hide for one more day.
The Good: I love Trillium. I told them I wanted to stay, and they said okay.
The Good: Returned home on Monday morning to find Ryder absolutely enamoured with his tiny baby brother. Only a few warnings of “be gentle, don’t poke” and he seemed ready to assume the role of protector. “Weed,” he announced happily as he cuddled baby’s head. “Rrrrreid,” I corrected. “Weed,” he affirmed.
The Good: Healing. At one week postpartum, I’m off Advil and feel relatively normal, save for the intermittent pain and soreness at the incision site. I’m taking it easy and not overdoing it, but know it will take a little longer for me to feel close to 100%. Still, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
The Good: Reid-a-Roonie comes to the bar often for a drink, and has regained his birth weight quickly.
The Bad: The bar is overstocked, and I have to pump out the excess at least 1-2 times per day to relieve engorgement. Ah well, if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it with gusto!
The Ugly: Why-oh-why do women have a milk letdown when they hear babies cry? I’ve got a two year old who throws tantrums, for Christ’s sake! I’m leaking all over the place!
So that’s my L&D and homecoming in a nutshell. I’ve got the most fabulously supportive husband who has been at my beck and call for the past week, and an awesome mama who drops by every day to do the dishes, change diapers and make sure we’re set for dinner. All in all, life is a bowl of cherries!
Awe congrats hun!!!What a great story, I loved your good, bad and ugly rendition!I had an emergency c-section with the Twins and was knocked out all day. I met them AFTER everyone else did…so, when I woke up, I was mad and I swore a lot. I got in trouble from the nurses for my language. But, it was the drugs and I don't remember. That was my bad.My incision got massively infected and I had to have 3 months of home-care to help it heal. That was so painful, especially with Twin babies and a hubby who went away to work for 3 months just one week after they were born.That's my ugly.My beautiful Twin girls, and I managed to survive the initial chaos.My good.Hey, I've never blogged my story -maybe I should one day. I'll put that onto the all-mighty to-do list.I miss you around here, can't wait to see more of your beautiful family!!:)HUGS and a huge congrats again!Tammi
Congratulations! What a handsome little boy you have there. Loved how you summed up your experience.
epic You Can't Do That on Television reference! congrats again!!
Congratulations Lena! Reid is absolutely GORGEOUS!! :-D I remember when my little Roman was that small, a year ago actually…cherish every second of 'chaos', because – as all us mom's know – they grow too darn fast!!!! :-D
Congratulations!! He's a heartbreaker already..he's looking more like mommy than daddy IMO.. :) I miss the newborn stage..I have no idea where the times goes because I now have a daredevil 9month old and it seems like just yesterday I was walking around the L&D floor thinking "why oh why did I want to do this!!"Well I'm glad you're back you've been missed!
Congratulations! What a beautiful boy & family:) And missy you look amazing.
Congratulations on the safe arrival of the newest member of the family.
Congratulations Mama Lena! What a beautiful little baby!!!! Try to take care of yourself and get some rest. I hear you….it's hard to do! My littlest baby is now almost a year and I can still remember all the details. Crazy pain…..Enjoy the time with your new baby. Tracy
Lena he is gorgeous, congratulations from a fellow c-sectioner!!Was happy to see your update today.
Thanks for all the wonderful wishes!@Tammi – OMG. OMG! Seriously, I have even more respect for you after hearing about your good, bad and ugly. Can't begin to imagine what you went through (emotional on top of the physical) but damn, woman, you did it!@Tricha – thanks doll!@chinwhat – I know how much you love my old school references ;)@Josie – Happy Birthday sweet little Roman! And congrats to his lovely mama for surviving the first year! @Erin – thanks so much… and for pointing out that Reid favours his mommy! Yes! And best of luck with that little dare devil :)@Monica – aw, you're making me blush, thank you!@westottawamommy – thanks girl! I have to catch up on your posts this week!@Tracy – thanks so much hun! The pain! Enough said, ha ha!@Tanya – Ah, a fellow c-sectioner! Just another elite club that I belong to :) Thanks for the good wishes!
Lena such a wonderful story – thank you for sharing!! Congrats on your beautiful boy Reid! So glad to hear your labour went relatively smooth! If you can get back to blogging just after a week of giving birth then I don't have an excuse!
ahhhhh – what a beautiful boy!! Love the monkey pjs. Sounds like you're recovering nicely. Good work mama!
Congratulations bella! xo
Congrats!!! Gorgeous family…check you out looking perfect while delivering a baby:) Reid is absolutely yummy…can't wait to meet him:) I like the breakdown of the labour story! Rest up and see you all soon:) xoxo
Wow,you look great. I'm so happy for you. Congrats again
Congrats to you and your growing family! Hugs!
Congrats – beautiful baby!
Thanks dolls!@Makeup Junkie – ha ha ha, I've got lots of help and a baby who sleeps around the clock at the moment… I'm taking full advantage of it!@Kathryn – Carter's, my friend – they have the cutest sleepers ever!@NIrwin – thanks bella!@Lotus – can't wait to see you too! As always, much love to you!@TinyTotsx2 – aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate it luv!@anya – Thanks girl! HUGS!@Jen – so sweet! Thanks for stopping by :)
Congratulations Lena! He's absolutely adorable. Can't believe your're back to blogging already…you rock.
Thats a great story Lena!! thanks for sharing the good,bad and ugly! and Reid is absolutely beautiful!
Congrats Lena! Love his monkey sleeper. You must be having a pretty easy time now, I see lots of blogging already!
Congratulations Lena amd Mike! Little Reid is so adorable and he looks so chilled and happy in that picture. What a sweetie! Sorry to hear about the slightly rocky delivery, but glad to hear that everything turned out well in the end. Enjoy the Tiger Tail ice cream (you just gave birth, I think you totally deserve to treat yourself!) and take care…Helen :)
Congrats to the new addition Lil Baby Weed!
Love the play by play Charlene – it was as if we were there hehe! Glad that Reid arrived safe in sound into our world! Can't wait to see him again and I'm soo happy I got to see him last week! He is so precious! Love ya chica!xoxo
congrats on ur beautiful baby!! hope your resting. Glad to have u back!
Beautiful baby and beautiful story :)Congrats! I was coming back every day while you were on a break waiting for an update!
Congratulations!! I have no children yet so I can't 'feel your pain' but thank you for sharing the experience none the less! he is a beautiful baby!