Aubrey made her appearance on December 17th, 2012 at 10:08am. She weighed 8lbs. 10oz and was 20 inches long. The delivery was so smooth and a really great experience. At the time, I was SO nervous and anxious that I didn't think it was that great, but in retrospect it was pretty awesome. Ben and I left for the hospital early that Monday morning. Both sets of grandparents were here at the house to help with Ava and Macy. They got them dressed in their "Big Sister" outfits, took them to school, and then headed up to the hospital to wait for the arrival of their newest granddaughter. I didn't know how long I would be in recovery and how long it would be before Ava and Macy would actually get to see Aubrey, so I thought it would be better for them to go to school that morning to keep them busy. That worked out well because it let the grandparents meet her first and let me get settled in my room before they came up to see her. Anyway, when Ben and I got to the hospital, we had to wait for about 30 minutes in the waiting room which was not good for my nerves! Once we went back to the prep room things moved really fast though. The nurse started my IV, took some labs, asked a million questions, and got me ready for the surgery. Different doctors and nurses were in and out of the prep room for a while and the next thing I know, they are ready to take me down to the OR. I remember thinking, "It's already time to go? I don't think I'm ready!" When we got to the OR, it was just as scary looking as the first time I had a c-section. I know millions of people have surgery every day but walking (yes, I had to walk from the prep room to the OR wearing nothing but a hospital gown) into an operating room is SO frightening. It's so bright and white and intimidating. Anyway, they gave me my epidural and spinal block which worked this time!! (It did not work with the girls.) It was so nice to have Ben in there with me this time. He had said that he wasn't sure he was going to be able to watch the c-section but he ended up watching the whole thing. It seemed like it took forever but they finally got her out and this is what I heard, "Whoa! She's a big baby!," "Look at those cheeks!," "Where were you hiding her?" This was all before I actually got to see her so I was picturing this monster baby. Then they showed her to me, and she was really big but probably not as big as I was picturing in my head. They took her over to get her cleaned up and then brought her to me so I could meet her. It was a very sweet moment and all of my anxiety was gone once I got to hold her and really look at her and see that she was here safe and sound. A few things I remember thinking when I saw her were how crazy long her fingernails were and how big her cheeks were. Also, she came out sucking on her fingers which was funny to me that she could get her hands to her mouth and suck on them even though she was only about 10 minutes old! Once they got me all stitched up, we went to recovery. Recovery was a bit stressful because her blood sugar was a little low so they wanted her to eat immediately. Since I am nursing, I was feeling a lot of pressure to get her to eat right away. Even though it took a while, she was hungry and was able to eat and bring her blood sugar up. Mom came back to recovery during all that to meet her. The other grandparents stayed in the waiting room b/c I was practically naked trying to feed her. After a couple of hours, they put me in my room and everyone was able to come in and meet her. After getting a little bit of time with her, Ben's parents went to get the girls at school. The girls were really excited to meet her and hold her. Macy was totally freaked out by me being in the hospital bed with an IV. It was really sad, because you could tell she was worried about me. I kept telling her that I was fine and that the IV was just giving me water but she still wouldn't even come near me. Because it was all kind of a blur, I asked the girls the other day what they thought about Aubrey when they saw her for the very first time. Ava said, "I thought she had crazy hair. I didn't like her hair." Okay... not the sweet, heartfelt reaction I was expecting. Macy said, "I thought she was cute." That's better.
Aubrey, Ben, and I spent 3 nights in the hospital. The hospital was amazing! Everyone was so friendly and took such good care of us. They do a "celebration dinner" for the parents of newborns on the last night in the hospital. It was steak and lobster and it was delicious! In fact, all of the food was really yummy....not regular hospital food at all and Ben got a tray every time I did. Ben's parents stayed with the girls while we were there. They brought them up every day to see us. I know it was a hard week for Ava and Macy because things were changing and Ben and I weren't at home, but Grammy and Pawpaw stepped in and did an excellent job of taking care of them and keeping things as normal as possible for them. We came home from the hospital the Thursday before Christmas and I have to say that we are 3 weeks in and so far life has not been THAT crazy. Mom was here until last Wednesday, Ben has been home from work a lot, and Aubrey is a really good baby (thank you Jesus!) so it has been totally manageable. Things might get crazier, but for now, we are doing just fine. I will post more about Christmas and life with Aubrey during her first few weeks soon. Here are some pictures from Aubrey's birth day.
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