Mommy: 5-day hospital stay
Second baby: 1-week NICU stay
Mommy: 3-day hospital stay
Third baby: 2-day hospital stay ... in Mommy's room!
Mommy: 2-day hospital stay
We're headed in the right direction! : )
I just have to say how wonderful it was to have a cordless, take-out baby this time around!
It was, surprisingly, a thousand percent more restful having the baby in our room, rather than in the NICU down the hall. Yes, we were up a few times during the night for feedings of course, but I didn't have to mess with pumping and multiple daily visits to the NICU! That can definitely be a little draining while recovering from major surgery! : )
The c-section was planned this time, which was a really weird experience. Choosing your child's birth date is pretty interesting! At my last appointment, on Monday, my doctor explained that they hadn't even bothered to schedule my c-section since, from the way everything looked, I wasn't going to make in to 38 weeks. There was just no way. She was completely shocked that we made it that far! What a blessing!
So, on Monday the 23rd, we decided to go ahead and deliver the baby on Wednesday, the 25th, hoping to avoid me going into labor and requiring an emergency c-section versus a safer, planned one! My 35th week, I had four different bouts of contractions 2-4 minutes apart, but we were always able to slow them down. Once I got off of bedrest at 36-37 weeks, the contractions strangely seemed to stop ... despite a trip to the zoo, walks down our long muddy driveway, and just about every other non-bedrest activity. : )
Wednesday morning, we told Little Tait that later that day we were going to go "bye-bye" to see and hold the "baby in Mommy's tummy," who was going to come out! From that moment on, Little Tait was fixated on going "bye-bye." He didn't want to eat breakfast or do anything else; all he wanted to do was get dressed, get his shoes on, and go "bye-bye" to see the baby. :D
This was a much calmer experience than our previous two deliveries. We went in 2 hours before the surgery, perfectly prepared with our bags packed and everything arranged for us to be in the hospital for a few days. We signed paperwork and I got prepped for surgery. The c-section went well, even though I was pretty miserable through the last 15 minutes or so, and for the 20+ minutes in recovery. It was the weirdest thing: I got super antsy, felt like I desperately needed to stretch my legs (which were completely numb), and was honestly afraid I'd try to jump off of the operating table in spite of my best efforts to keep still. Thankfully, once I had a few ice chips, got to my room, and started nursing the baby, I felt a thousand percent better!
Tait's parents brought the boys and my sister (who's up visiting for a few weeks!) in to the hospital right before I went into surgery. The boys got to meet their new little brother within minutes of his birth, and got to see Mommy after surgery. It's always so comforting to get kisses and hugs from my little guys! : )
In the car on the way in to meet their little brother!The next two days were spent snuggling Matthew and getting to know him (and dealing with the almost hourly interruptions seemingly inherent in any hospital stay). After just 48 hours, we were discharged! They very rarely discharge c-section moms in under 3-4 days, but for some reason they decided we were ready to go home! Maybe because my pain was under control so well with minimal pain medication (an Ibuprophen or two once or twice a day), and they knew we wanted to get home....
Whatever the reasoning was, it was good to get home!
We'd been living with Tait's family for the last 7 weeks while our driveway was undrivable due to the mud of breakup (spring thaw). Our driveway was finally passable by the time we were discharged however, and we were able to take baby Matthew back to his own little home!
It was so good to be home!
The Lord has been good to us! First, just after our marriage, He blessed us with an early baby and an extended NICU stay. Yes, it was a blessing! Those 3 months were a time of significant growth, and we were blessed beyond our expectations by the kindness and support of the body of Christ. Our experience inspired and motivated us to start the Little Tait Foundation for Preemie Aid, an organization founded to help families of preemies with their financial needs through Biblical means.
Next, just under 11 months later, the Lord blessed us again with a slightly early baby and short NICU stay. Miles has been such a blessing in our lives, and we are so thankful for him!
And then, the Lord blessed us again - this time with a full-term, healthy, take-home baby! What a blessing to have him with us from the beginning, and be able to take him home to his adoring big brothers so quickly!
(Just a note: For all of you who are wondering out there, we are huge proponents of natural-, midwife-, and home-births, and had planned to go that route from the beginning of our marriage. However, God had other plans, and it turns out the c-section route is what's required for us! Initially, it was disappointing (devastating even?), and very difficult to give up our dreams of natural childbirth. But God is good, and we have had to rest in His plan and welcome these little guys into the world in whatever manner is wisest!)
