Playing House: Connor's Birth Story

Well, we are 7 weeks in with our sweet Connor and wanted to be sure to capture his birth story. Not because I care if anyone reads this but because I want to be sure to remember every single detail of the happiest day of our lives.

When it first totally sunk in that I would not be having a regular birth, but rather a scheduled c section, I definitely went through a mourning period as I felt like I was being robbed of my birth experience. I thought, "what will be his birth story if everything is so scheduled and scripted?" In hindsight, it wasn't such a bad thing for this control freak but little did I know there were still fun surprises.

So, we got to the hospital as scheduled at 5:30 - ok, we were actually about 4 minutes late, which I blame on Greg (as evidenced by the pregnancy sass and stink eye I was giving him on the way to the hospital) but then Ace of Base's "The Sign" came on the radio on the drive to the hospital and all was right again.

We got right into our room where I'd hang out until it was baby time. I thought it'd be fairly low-key... just get an IV and try to relax. Turns out, it was the most stressful moment of the day. I think it's probably fair to say I am not super-tough but when it comes to blood/needles, it's even worse. But I'd had plenty of IVs before... So, they were putting in the IV and blew my vein on that side. I'm not sure if it was the discomfort, the fact that I was rather dehydrated or the words "blew your vein" but I started getting really dizzy/nauseous. It took about 15 minutes to get me in a good place and with a new IV (in the other arm). And turns out, I was actually having contractions, too!

Post IV-drama

Dad's ready!

After that, my mom and stepdad came in to document. everything. in. the. room.

They left after a bit and what do you know - it was already time! I seriously think my heart fell out of my chest I was so nervous. And guess what? They actually make you get up and walk into the operating room. Um, terrifying.

I kept my head down (as I was less than interested in seeing what tools they'd be using) and got on the table. Luckily, my anesthesiologist was awesome and walked me through everything. First, I got my epidural and can I just tell you - not all that bad. Maybe I was still reeling from the IV drama from the previous hour, but I thought it was going to be awful and it wasn't! I immediately started feeling my legs go numb and started to panic - it's an odd sensation and I looked at Greg totally panic-stricken and said, "I'm starting to not feel my legs. I don't like this. I can't feel them. Don't like this..." But my anesthesiologist pal assured me this was a good thing.

Then, literally minutes later my doctor came in and it was time. Greg and I just kind of mindlessly talked the whole time. Partly to take my mind off what was going on, partly to drown out the noises and partly to pass the time. I'm not sure either of us could recall what we talked about or were even listening to each other but I just remember how incredibly reassuring/calm he was and how he told me he was so proud of me and that I was being really brave. Which made me feel so good considering how terrified/unsure I was!

Then, my doctor announced baby was coming out and that I'd feel pressure. I braced myself ready to feel pain, but I didn't really feel that much discomfort at all. And then our sweet boy made his entrance in and started crying like a champ. They held him up so I got a quick glance but I really couldn't see much as my eyes were absolutely streaming with tears. Greg and I shared a quick moment and then I urged him to go be with the baby while he was cleaned/weighed.

A few minutes later, Greg came back over holding Connor and he sat by me while I was finished being stitched up. Honestly, this is all a little foggy and I seriously felt like the whole thing went by so fast!

Next, we went across the hall to a little "recovery" area and I got to hold Connor for the first time. It was seriously the sweetest moment of my entire life. Within 5 minutes, I feel like I already knew his little personality. We were supposed to be having skin-to-skin time, where babies generally immediately fall asleep on their mommy's chest. Not my boy, though. He immediately reared his head up (oh yes, he already had some head control 20 minutes after birth!) and started latching on to my shoulder. The nurse suggested I try to nurse him, which he immediately did. Um, can I just say he is so advanced for his age...?! ;-) Then, Greg and I just held him and stared at him, and took a quick picture.

Editor's Note: SO many people made comments about how put together I looked right after birth. Keep in mind, I did my hair and makeup before going to the hospital (bonus of a scheduled C-section!) but the picture was a little misleading. It looked like I had some va-va-voom hair:

When in reality, my hair just fallen loose and was kind of a disaster:

The nurse commented that the baby's temperature had dropped so they wanted to get him under the heaters in the nursery. Looking back, I'm surprised I was as laid back about the whole thing, but I had Greg go with Connor to the nursery and I stayed in recovery and rested.

Well the Connor Benson Welcoming Committee was VERY excited to hear the baby was going to the nursery so they could steal a peek at him for the first time.

Then, an hour later I was in my post-partum room and the baby was back with me. Looking back on that day, it was wonderful.I felt great, the baby was great, I was a little tired, but not too bad.

The next two days were pretty rough, though. One, they turned off my epidural. Bitches. Two, between feeding the baby, nurses coming in to check every few hours, we got very little sleep. And three, I had to get up out of bed, which resulted in lots of tears. (The recovery for c-sections is definitely tough!)

Overall, though, I had a great experience at my hospital (Baylor Frisco) - the staff and nurses were amazing and the food was damn good!