I am feeling much better today so I thought I’d share the play-by-play adventure of the day we met our Vivi.
We had the surgery scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday Jan 26. I had been fasting since the night before and was very ready and excited to get things going. Shannon will be staying home with Vincent while Rob and I spend the next 48 hours in the hospital.
Once we got to the hospital we were taken in to get prepped for surgery. I was starting to get a little anxious and while the nurse was tapping my arm looking for a vein for the IV, I passed out. I have horrible veins in my arms and it is always an ordeal when I need to have blood taken or an IV started. I have no idea if I lost it because I was afraid, exhausted, dehydrated, or a combination of all 3 but once she tied up my arm and started tapping I got very woozy and said, “um I think I’m going to pass out.”
Rob said that right after I said that my head rolled to the right, my eyes glazed over and I stared blankly at the wall, I started making weird sounds, and then started to vomit. The room filled with people and everyone started freaking out. Rob was shoved back into a corner. I started having a seizure and they even brought in the crash cart. Yahoo what a way to start a party!
I don’t remember anything in between saying “um” and when I felt the suction tube in my mouth. When I came back around there were a ton of freaked out people in the room. I had my IV started, was receiving fluids, and had on an oxygen mask. I scared poor Rob and the hospital people pretty badly. I was kind of scared myself, I’ve never even fainted before.
After they got me stabilized we headed off to the OR for the big show. I used my earlier episode to get them to allow Rob to follow me into the OR right away. I told them that I was less likely to pass out again if they let him come in with me and hold my hand. Otherwise they would make him wait outside for another 20 minutes while they set up the spinal and catheter. Rob was a total trooper though because I know he was looking forward to the free 20 minutes to go outside and smoke. He did not even get a chance to calm down after my near death experience before I drug him into the OR. It is a good thing I brought a pack of gum for him. He was chewing like a fiend the whole entire time. He did not get a minute to himself for another 6 hours after that.
The surgery from start to finish took only an hour. It went great. The doctor did a wonderful job.
Vivianne Lorraine took her first breath in this world at 10:25 a.m. She weighed 6.7 lbs and was 19 in long. She was perfect and healthy.
Her Apgar score was 9 because her tiny feet and hands were blue when she arrived. Once she was warmed up her color evened out and she let out a nice loud cry.
We spent about 2 hours in the recovery room until we were taken to our room. Vivi got all her tests done and I tried to nap a bit.
After we got settled into our room Rob came back home and picked up Vin and Auntie Shannie.
Shannon was very excited to hold her niece for the first time.
Vin mostly kept his distance and eyeballed her from a far corner.
We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and had a really pleasant experience. I had a much better stay this delivery than I did in Red Bluff with Vincent. Now that Rob and I knew what to expect we had a game plan going in. I got up and started walking as soon as they would let me and made hallway laps as often as possible. I drank boat-loads of water and took every pill they gave me. It was not too bad at all.
Rob is the best caregiver in the world. He took care of both Vivi and I tirelessly and never missed a beat. All I had to do was make a face or look mildly uneasy and he just read my mind and had it taken care of. My meds were always on time, my sheets were always fresh, and everything I could possible need was provided without hesitation. I think he was much more in his element in a military hospital than he was in the civilian hospital in CA.
My husband is a truly amazing man and I thank God for him every day of my life. There are times in life when you can actually see love in action and it always amazes me to see how much my husband really loves me. Having a baby incapacitates me 100% and he is driven by pure love and desire to protect during those times and I never have to worry about anything. He is a man of very few words so when I have the ability to see his love in action it is a heartwarming and humbling experience.
Seeing him with Vivianne is a gift in itself. The man is completely in love with his daughter. He finds such joy in his children that it makes me wish we were younger with unlimited resources. I’d love to give him many more babies to love. He is a great Dad.
(My sister wrote a really sweet blog about my husband that I wanted to share. Check out Shannon's blog here.)
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