It's hard to believe that tomorrow night marks two whole weeks since we checked in to the hospital to have Quinn. Everything - everything! - has changed since she got here, and in the best ways! We are kind of obsessed with our new addition. She is pretty much perfect in every way.
The story of Quinn's arrival, as remembered by her mother:
Part 1: Hospital Check-In, Labor, Labor, and More Labor
Spenser and I arrived on the Labor & Delivery floor around 5:45 p.m. for our appointment to be induced. We were directed to our room and soon thereafter nurses arrived and started hooking me up to various machines and drips (external contraction monitor, fetal heart rate monitor, IV fluids and penicillin). I had been in light labor throughout the day and everyone was very encouraged to see that I had made some progress to 2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced, which bode well for a successful vaginal delivery as planned. The nurses gave me Cervidil to get things going. Spens and I ordered egg salad sandwiches from the cafeteria and watched the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We are kind of amazed that this movie is shown to children; we both watched it multiple times during our childhoods but agree as adults that it is probably one of the creepiest films ever made.
A few hours after they gave me Cervidil, the contractions really started picking up and it was NOT a pretty sight. I am not good with pain. I am a serious pansy! Haha. The lighter contractions of early labor just felt like menstrual cramps but once they ramped up I started to feel like someone was ripping me in half at the midsection. I think I might have been able to cope better if I hadn't been hooked up to so many monitors and drips; they made it hard to move around so pretty much all I could do was sit on the edge of the bed, clutch the side rail in a white-knuckled grip and drool on myself/shake silently. Eventually a beautiful, beautiful man they called Gabe the Nurse Anesthetist came to our room with his magical epidural toolbox and made the pain virtually disappear. I pretty much wanted to kiss him on the mouth and I don't even think Spenser would have held it against me. At this point, I was dilated to 5 cm.
The next 20 hours or so passed relatively uneventfully. I slept off and on, Spenser paced the room like a caged animal and nurses and doctors periodically popped in to check progress and attempt to speed it up. I had my water broken. I had an internal contraction monitor placed (the external contraction monitor can tell you if you're having contractions, but not measure how strong they are). But no real progress; I had only dilated to 6 cm. So finally around 10 p.m. on Thursday night after 28 hours of laboring in the hospital, Dr. Fox called it and said we would be going the Cesarean route. Part of me was just relieved (yes! Get her ooooooooooooooooooout!) but part of me was disappointed. I knew that surgery would impact my participation and it would be a while before I was able to cuddle and care for my daughter.
Part II: Quinn Arrives
Right after we all agreed to proceed with the c-section, the nurses got things going and said we would proceed directly to the OR. They gave Spenser some fancy scrubs and a funny hat, and instructions on when he could enter the room and what his role would be in that setting. I was exhausted and soooo ready to get the show on the road. Also, for whatever reason the pain of contractions started to return which really put me on edge. Unfortunately, someone else on the floor needed the OR before us so we had to wait another hour and a half or so before it was our turn. It seriously felt like an eternity but what can you do?
In due time, Gabe's comrade Landon the Nurse Anesthetist showed up and administered anesthesia for the surgery. People started poking me and asking if I could feel anything; I couldn't, really. They wheeled me in to the OR, put up a curtain around my neck and started their routine. Spenser joined us. Then there was lots of tugging, tugging, tugging and then CRYING! That was the coolest moment ever. All the doctors and nurses started exclaiming "Wow! She's such a beautiful big baby!" and big she was - 9 lbs 15.6 oz, just 0.4 oz short of 10 lbs. She was born at exactly 12:00 a.m. on Friday, August 17th. I was so excited and had tears pooling in my eyes which Landon dabbed away for me because I was flat on my back and had my arms strapped down. Eventually they handed her to Spenser and he brought her over to my head. They had swaddled her and put a little cap on her head. She was incredibly calm and alert; she just laid there, moving her big dark eyes around slowly, taking it all in. I couldn't get over how perfect she looked; I was prepared to see some bruising or uterine fluid remnants but her skin was absolutely flawless and soft and her features were so beautiful. It was awesome!
Part III: Recovery, and Getting To Know Quinn
I was so anxious to hold her but it seems there are many things to attend to when a person has had major abdominal surgery. We were all temporarily wheeled (well, Quinn and I were wheeled - Spenser walked ;) back to our labor room, where the nurses started to knead my abdomen to shrink my uterus - PAIN! Eventually I got to hold and feed her for a few minutes before they wheeled us to our recovery room.
The nurses in postpartum were absolutely amazing and so incredibly helpful, but that first night was still probably one of the most difficult of our married life so far, haha. I was still hooked up to a bunch of stuff that made it difficult (or impossible, actually) to leave the bed, and in a certain amount of pain to boot. I thought pregnancy swelling was bad? Holy cow, try post-op swelling. I couldn't even bend my legs. So if Quinn woke up (which she did - a lot), Spenser either had to get her and calm her himself or at the very least get her and bring her to me...so I don't think he slept at all. We were so excited to be with her but it was a challenging situation! I was pretty anxious to leave the hospital and get into a more comfortable setting.
After we were discharged, we stayed at my mom's house for a week or so and mom, Vince and Whit were a huge help with night shifts and everything else! Spens, Quinn and I are back at our apartment now getting into our own little routine. I can't believe we got so lucky: a beautiful, healthy (a miracle in its own right) little girl surrounded by people who love and support her. This baby thing is pretty awesome! ;)
Getting acquainted at the hospital.
First bath at home!
Learning about our family's sacred Sunday afternoon nap tradition.
And practicing her many adorable facial expressions/learning how to use her eyeballs!
We LOVE you, baby girl! Welcome to our family!!
