Our Stay At the Hospital

I felt like my labor went exactly how I had pictured it and for that I am extremely grateful.  The staff at Virginia Baptist were all awesome and extremely helpful.  They were there when I needed them and gave me space when I didn't.

That being said, Cambria's delivery did not go as any of us would have liked.  We are happy that she was healthy and well taken care of but it was such a whirlwind and I was left WITHOUT MY BABY and extremely disappointed for OVER THREE HOURS.  

As I mentioned previously, the doctor came in, did the episiotomy, cut the cord, passed Cambria off to the nurses, delivered the placenta, stitched me up and took his leave all while saying very little to either Andrew or I.  We were baffled.  And inexperienced.  And I was left wondering if he had even seen our birth plan.  

I was finally given Cambria and was able to snuggle her and do a little skin-to-skin for about ten minutes.  Andrew said it was more like fifteen minutes and I felt like it was less than five so we will split the difference on how we remember that!

Cambria needed to be taken to the NICU for evaluation due to my fever.  I asked Andrew to go with them.  He did but sheepishly returned five minutes later.  I asked why he didn't stay with Cambria and he said the nurse had suggested he return because I "might need him."  No way.  I was fine.  I wanted one of us to be with Cambria.  I kept asking about Cambria and was told that she was fine and we would be with her as soon as she could.

We were transferred to our hospital room and the nurse suggested we get some rest.  How in the world was I going to sleep WITHOUT MY BABY?!  

(I know Cambria is "our baby" but since I am writing this from my perspective I am saying "my baby.")

I kept asking for Cambria and kept getting told that they would check on her and let me know.  Andrew was so exhausted that he was able to lay down on the couch and catch a few restless Zzzzs but not me.  I was so lonely for Cambria!  I can't even tell you how I felt!

Heaven!

Finally around 6:15, the nurse brought Cambria to our room and I was elated.  I could finally feel what it was to be a mommy and have my baby with me.  Cambria had been given an IV in her hand and I was told that I had developed chorioamnioitis during labor.  I asked what the criteria were for diagnosing it and they replied that my fever and Cambria's erratic heart rate were the clinical signs.  I wasn't necessarily mollified but better safe than sorry.

Okay, enough of the new mommy rant and on to the happy parts!

I love these photos so very much.  I can look and look and look at them over and over and never get tired.  They bring back such a flood of feelings that I had never before felt until the moment Cambria looked up at me with her sweet little face!

That sweet little face! She is perfection!

Cambria became pretty fussy after the above video was taken.  She had been through a lot and had this yucky IV in her hand as well.  She had been poked and prodded and who knows what.  Poor thing!  We finally got her settled down and then the parade of nurses, students, her pediatrician, the OB on call, someone about her hearing, someone about newborn photos, someone about filing her birth certificate, housekeeping, room service to deliver food, room service to pick up our trays, all started to file through.  It was exhausting!  And quite the rocky start for our family!  Ha ha!

We all finally got settled down and enjoyed being a family.  The nurses had dressed Cambria in this long-sleeved onesie that was sized 12 months.  We couldn't figure out how to roll it and make it fit her better so she just looked like a Jawa when she would flail her arms around.

I got loaded up with a ton of fancy hospital bracelets.  #swag

Cambria's introduction to the world via social media!

Some of the cute physical traits we noticed about Cambria were:
1.  She had Mommy's nose.  Sorry, Baby Girl!  But it looks cute and squishy on you!
2.  Her right ear kept folding over when she was a newborn.  It must have been that way in Mommy's tummy!
3.  She was a furry little cutie-pie!  She had fine hair on her back, shoulders and ears.
4.  She had a few birthmarks on her scalp--one about the size of a half-dollar directly on the back of her head and then a scattering of marks at the base of her scalp.
5.  She had long, long, long eyelashes!  All of the nurses would comment on her eyelashes every time they came in.  Thank you, Daddy!

I made this felt heart garland to hang up on Baby Girl's crib since it was almost Valentine's Day.

Mommy had to dress Cambria in something pink and add a bow for photos.

A visit from my good friends Lauren Malone and Dacy Ayres.

I felt so badly for Cambria that she had an IV.  The nurses came to give it a saline flush every four hours and that was no fun!  They had to take her to the NICU to administer the antibiotic every eight hours.  Also, her IV would jiggle loose and get blood in the line.  Oh, I hated it.  I kept begging the nurses to take it out.  I know it was painful for her!  The antibiotic they gave her made her so gassy and her diapers so dang smelly.  Anyone who walked in the room kind of gagged a bit at first.  How embarrassing!  She was constipated as well to add to all the fun and went almost 24 hours before poohing again and by then it was an onslaught that wiped out several diapers according to the nurse who changed her.

We started to get the hang of things on the second day.  Everything was coming together for us as a family.  Cambria was happy and we were happy.

Milk coma!

Look at those cute little chicken legs!

 Before I forget I have to say that everyone was right!  The food at the hospital was amazing!  It was all-you-could-possibly-order and what's even better is that Andrew got to eat for "free" as well!  We loaded up on bacon cheeseburgers, French toast, deli sandwiches, potato chips, chef salad, milkshakes and smoothies.  The smoothies were amazing!  We were both sure to order one every meal.

Another fun thing about the hospital is that the 2014 Winter Olympics began on Cambria's birth day.  Awesome!  So we were able to watch the opening ceremony and kick back as a family in our room.

Finally on February 8, we were able to go home.  That morning, the staff left us completely alone.  Cambria's IV finally came out (hooray!) and so she and I settled in for a nice, long nap.  But poor Andrew was running around town getting the car seat installed.

We got Cambria dressed and the nurse had us sign a bunch of paperwork.  She said, "This is your final bill of sale.  After this, there are no returns!"  She helped us clean out the room of any extras that we could possibly take home and I felt like Ross from "Friends":

Here's the good news: life got a whole lot easier after we left the hospital and got settled in at home!