Abigail is here!

Since I had c-sections with the previous two pregnancies, I opted for another c-section this time around. I had it scheduled for the day I was 39 weeks, Wednesday August 14th. I knew, due to my experience last time around, that it was probably unlikely for me to go into labor before and I was right. I didn't have any physical signs that I would have this baby early. I didn't have any real contractions until the day before and they weren't very regular either.

Outside the hospital

So, on Wednesday I woke up early and got ready. I had to be there at 7:30am, two hours before the scheduled procedure. A little after 7am, a dear lady in my ward, Kathy Roberts, came and took my three boys so that my mom could be there at the birth. (It was very nice having my mom there. I really missed her when Stephen was born.) It was extremely thoughtful of Kathy to offer to do that for us. Then we left and drove to the hospital which is less than a 10 minute drive away. We took a photo outside and then went in. Since I had preregistered on the phone a few days before, there was very little paperwork to take care of. I was then taken to a room where I would change into a hospital gown and the baby's heartbeat and any contractions would be monitored. I was given an IV drip and then the epidural. The epidural always gives a very strange sensation in your body, making you shiver and shake. The anesthesiologist was a very nice Indian man from Zambia. He was pleased to find out I am from Africa too.

My doctor took a while to arrive. Apparently he was performing another operation in Payson (30 minutes south of Provo), which took longer than he expected. Eventually I was wheeled into the Operating Room and it was hard to believe that in just a few moments I would no longer be pregnant. I reminded Dr Dewey (my Doctor) of the bet we had made about the size of the baby. He thought that the baby would be over 8 lbs, and I thought she would be less and so we made a bet and whoever won would get a raspberry milkshake from the hospital cafeteria from the other. Since I couldn't feel any pain, although I can feel something when I am touched and pushed on my stomach, I couldn't quite tell when they had begun to cut me open, but then the nurse wrote the time on the little whiteboard and I knew they had begun. Within 15 minutes, I felt a hard push on my abdomen and they said they were taking the baby out. They showed her to me and then took her off to the observation room, where my mom was, to be tested. I felt quite emotional when I saw her. She was born at 10:13am. I was right about the weight. She was just 7 lbs 5 oz (3.325 kg) and was 19.5 inches long. They then wrapped her up and brought her back to me briefly. I then had to be sewn back up and so they took Abigail to be cleaned in the nursery and Rob and my mom went with. I then had to wait an hour, being observed to make sure everything went ok. It was kind of annoying because I wanted to see my baby again.

Being sewn up and getting to see my baby again

Then I was wheeled to the Mother/Baby floor into my room and my mom arrived and then the baby and Rob. I took a long look at her and I couldn't believe how beautiful she is. Sometimes newborns are kind of funny looking, but Abigail didn't have that strange newborn look about her. She just looked like the cutest little baby.

Sweet baby Abigail

The next day my mom brought my boys to see me and Abigail. Stephen wasn't sure about this new baby and stayed back. Luke was very excited and wanted to hold her, while Thomas just observed from a distance. They really struggled with leaving me at the hospital and after each visit (they came three times), it seemed to be more traumatic for them. They just wanted to stay with me at the hospital.

Thomas, Luke, Stephen holding their sister

I stayed in the hospital for 3 and a half days and it was such a blessing because I was able to rest a lot. But, by Saturday morning I felt ready to come home.

Since then she has slept a LOT, however, at night she seems to wake up between 8pm and 1am, which is not much fun for me. So hopefully it doesn't take her too long to figure out that nighttime is for sleeping.