The Delivery

After finding out that we were indeed going to have the baby in that morning it was a crazy rush to get me into the operating room. Matt and I hadn't brought in any of our things from the car because we didn't know if we would be staying for sure. After finding out that we would be here for a few days he made a trip to the car to get clothes, the camera, and all the things we would need while staying in the hospital. Meanwhile, while he was gone, the nurses got my IV in, I talked to the Anesthesiologist, signed the paperwork for the C-Section and Tubal, and talked to my doctor. They were just about to move me from the room to the operating room when Matt finally walked back in the door. For a minute I thought he wouldn't make it back for the delivery. While he was changing into his scrub clothes, I was in the operating room where they put in my spinal block, which I think hurts less than the IV. It took affect pretty quickly and I was numb from my chest down in a matter of minutes. Dr. Leavitt came in, painted my belly with  iodine, and was ready to get started. A minute later Matt came in to sit by me. They pulled the blue sheet up and the surgery began. This time it seems like it went more smoothly than the precious C-Sections. it seemed like it was quicker, less painful, and I didn't experience the nausea or light headedness like I have before. Within a few minutes, the Dr. said they were about to pull the baby out, Matt stood to watch and she seemed to be a little bit stuck in there. They had to use a vacuum to help pull her out, and she had so much hair that the vacuum didn't get a good suction on her and slipped right off. After the second attempt she was out and they pulled her out and said "Happy Birthday" and showed her quickly to me before handing her off to the nursery. She was born at 7:30 A.M. As the surgery was beginning Matt and I took guesses as to what we thought she would weigh. I said 6 lbs 14 oz. Matt said 6 lbs 9 oz. She ended up weighing 7 lbs. and was 19 inches long. After they got her cleaned up a bit Matt was able to take her and hold her right by me as they were finishing up the surgery. She was so beautiful and I couldn't wait to hold her. It took the Dr. about 30 more minutes to do the tubal and get me all sewn back up. After that I was wheeled into the recovery room where I was able to hold our new little girl for the first time. Pieper Jo Christiansen. She was absolutely adorable! We were able to feed her for the first time and Matt was able to go with her back to the nursery to help with her first bath while I recovered from the Anesthesia. It was about another hour before I was taken into a regular room and almost another hour before I was able to move my toes. It is the weirdest feeling to be telling your feet to move and it not responding. After getting settled into our room we were able to let friends and family know our good news. I was completely exhausted after being up the entire night and then having to go through the surgery, but I was not able to sleep because of all the excitement. Pieper got her first set of shots, passed her hearing test and everything looked perfect! She spent the majority of the first day in our room meeting friends and family as they came to visit. The kids were so excited to meet her, Paxten was a little hesitant at first, but then he decided that he wanted a turn holding her as well.