It dawned on us that school hadn't even started yet! I couldn't believe it. He was out and it was still so early in the morning. We are all teachers and none of us even needed to call our schools to tell them we wouldn't be in yet. I usually call at 7a if I'm not going to be at school. It was just now 7a! This thing had gone so fast.
Nick came back at about 8a and showed me pictures of Lucas and my nurse informed me it was time to get up and move to my recovery room. She said I would need help getting up because I was still probably a little numb...she couldn't have been more right! My right leg was worse than my left because I had to lay on that side for a little while before I pushed. When I stood up, I almost fell! It was crazy. They told me to lock my leg and put it down on the ground, it was the most bizarre feeling. I couldn't feel my leg at all! The numbness in my leg lasted until about 5p that night! I got a little nervous that it would never go away, but it finally did:) I got all cleaned up and into a new gown and they got me in the wheelchair. Now, this was my other favorite part of the morning (besides my son being born). As they wheeled me to recovery, they played a lullaby over the speakers of the whole hospital to let everyone know a new baby had been born. This was Lucas' lullaby; his song. I was overcome with emotion. I so wish someone would've been videotaping this, but we forgot:( I cried the whole way to recovery. It was just a super sweet moment that I will never forget.
I rested in recovery and ate a little breakfast and waited and waited for Lucas to be brought back to me. It was so surreal. We'd been in the hospital for 5 hours, I had delivered a baby, but he wasn't with me. It was like a dream. Like this hadn't just happened to me. Friends and family started pouring in and finally at 11:30a, they wheeled him in. He looked so different already and he was mine! He had to stay in nursery that long because he had a lot of air in his lungs and yucky stuff and they needed to make sure he was all cleaned out and breathing good. They also had to check his blood sugar (because of my gestational diabetes) and give him his first shots. It was a long wait, but it was definitely worth it! His face was still pretty swollen at this point and his head was still very elongated. Even though he was in the birth canal, I couldn't push because of my crazy cervix. I guess he was in there for awhile:)
At this point, I got to watch my husband hold his baby for the first time! I didn't realize how wonderful this would be. He was so sweet and gentle and in awe of his new son. I just watched and dreamed of all the times they would share as father and son and all the things Nick would be showing him in his lifetime. Very, very sweet.
We stayed in the hospital until Saturday afternoon and the three of us got to know each other a little bit. We put him in cute outfits, learned to change his diaper and care for his circumsicion. I tried (with moderate success) to breastfeed and learn to hold this new person. We got very little sleep and watched our friends and family members meet our new addition. We were overcome by the amount of people that came to see us...especially because we delivered in Joplin. That's an hour and a half away from my family and friends and 30 minutes away from Nick's side. Distance didn't matter and we were so appreciative.
Grandmas
Grandpas
The drive home on Saturday was emotional, too. We were leaving with him. He was our responsibility and would be for the rest of our lives. God had placed him in our care and it was time to introduce him to the real world. We were ready for this new journey to begin...little did we know what an amazing (and scary) journey it would turn out to be!
3 comments:
Okay, so now I'm crying. That whole lullaby thing really got to me. After I had my son, I remember feeling so emotional and hormonal and tired and thinking that I would never feel back to myself. I wish however that I had cherished those first few weeks a little more. They are gone before you know it.
Now I must say, you are so lucky to work at a school where you don't have to call in until 7 a.m. I teach school (in TX) at a school where you better call in by 6 a.m. at the latest or they won't let you off.
Oh I can't wait to meet him! What great story, Audra.
I too, teared up while reading this. Such a sweet story! :)
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