We're home!
So this is what being fully conscious feels like. I'd almost forgotten.
I've been a mother for five and a half days now. Until now, I've been averaging maybe four hours of sleep per day. But yesterday I got to come home, and Kielle and I (and Staff) spent last night in our own beds. It was great - she woke up to feed a few times, but went straight back to sleep afterwards. I'm actually up before she is, feeling rested for the first time since before she was born. It's a good feeling.
Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and congratulations... Staff brought me a printout of all the comments to his announcement of her birth, while I was in hospital, and I got all teary. Thanks, guys.
I will post pictures on Facebook sometime today - can't now, as Staff is still asleep and I don't know where he saved them.
EDIT: A couple of pictures can be found here --> http://www.youtube.com/user/CousinsApart#p/u/2/LGEE3bJjyP8 in a video blog thingummy done by our friend Gavin (the awesome DM), who came to visit me in the hospital. The mention of me, and the pictures, start at minute 3.07, if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
As Staff mentioned, I had a caesarian. I don't remember a lot of detail, as in the space of an hour I'd been given pethidine, morphine, a spinal block *and* an epidural, so I was a little hazy and shaking like a junkie in withdrawals - apparently lots of anaesthetic in a very short time gives you the shakes and the chills, who knew?
Staff was amazing. Stayed calm through the whole thing, held my hand and told me that everything was going to be fine - we'd both been a little worried that he'd panic if things went badly wrong. Which they did - I reacted badly to the drip portion of the induction and went from one bearable contraction every few minutes to very intense contractions longer than the pauses between in the space of about half an hour. Which pushed Kielle's heart-rate up to over 200 beats per minute and I could still bloody strangle that midwife for not noticing that her heartrate was climbing UNTIL I POINTED IT OUT IN BETWEEN SHRIEKS OF AGONY.
Anyway. Staff was great through the whole thing. Kept his cool perfectly in the operating room until Kielle was safely out, screaming indignantly as she was weighed and measured, and what dad *wouldn't* tear up in relief when he found out we were both going to be okay?
On the up-side, one of the few things that went better than it could have is that I appear to be one of the lucky few who suffer very little pain after a caesarian. The midwives kept trying to give me painkillers and I kept saying 'no, thanks, it doesn't really hurt except for a bit of a twinge if I move around' and they'd look at me funny. Thank goodness for small favours, anyway.
Very rambling, I know, but I'm coming off five days of (occasional) painkillers, hospital food, severe sleep deprivation and an endless parade of bossy midwives. I am so very, very, very glad to be home.
Following post: Midwives Are Boob Nazis.
I've been a mother for five and a half days now. Until now, I've been averaging maybe four hours of sleep per day. But yesterday I got to come home, and Kielle and I (and Staff) spent last night in our own beds. It was great - she woke up to feed a few times, but went straight back to sleep afterwards. I'm actually up before she is, feeling rested for the first time since before she was born. It's a good feeling.
Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and congratulations... Staff brought me a printout of all the comments to his announcement of her birth, while I was in hospital, and I got all teary. Thanks, guys.
I will post pictures on Facebook sometime today - can't now, as Staff is still asleep and I don't know where he saved them.
EDIT: A couple of pictures can be found here --> http://www.youtube.com/user/CousinsApart#p/u/2/LGEE3bJjyP8 in a video blog thingummy done by our friend Gavin (the awesome DM), who came to visit me in the hospital. The mention of me, and the pictures, start at minute 3.07, if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
As Staff mentioned, I had a caesarian. I don't remember a lot of detail, as in the space of an hour I'd been given pethidine, morphine, a spinal block *and* an epidural, so I was a little hazy and shaking like a junkie in withdrawals - apparently lots of anaesthetic in a very short time gives you the shakes and the chills, who knew?
Staff was amazing. Stayed calm through the whole thing, held my hand and told me that everything was going to be fine - we'd both been a little worried that he'd panic if things went badly wrong. Which they did - I reacted badly to the drip portion of the induction and went from one bearable contraction every few minutes to very intense contractions longer than the pauses between in the space of about half an hour. Which pushed Kielle's heart-rate up to over 200 beats per minute and I could still bloody strangle that midwife for not noticing that her heartrate was climbing UNTIL I POINTED IT OUT IN BETWEEN SHRIEKS OF AGONY.
Anyway. Staff was great through the whole thing. Kept his cool perfectly in the operating room until Kielle was safely out, screaming indignantly as she was weighed and measured, and what dad *wouldn't* tear up in relief when he found out we were both going to be okay?
On the up-side, one of the few things that went better than it could have is that I appear to be one of the lucky few who suffer very little pain after a caesarian. The midwives kept trying to give me painkillers and I kept saying 'no, thanks, it doesn't really hurt except for a bit of a twinge if I move around' and they'd look at me funny. Thank goodness for small favours, anyway.
Very rambling, I know, but I'm coming off five days of (occasional) painkillers, hospital food, severe sleep deprivation and an endless parade of bossy midwives. I am so very, very, very glad to be home.
Following post: Midwives Are Boob Nazis.