Arrowlyn Darline
You are everything I never knew that I always wanted
I'd been bursting at the seams in the final weeks of pregnancy to meet my beautiful little angel baby.
I had my final OB appointment on the 16th, a week before my scheduled c section.
After my doctor went over what to expect for a scheduled c-section, I replied,
“That doesn't make for a very interesting birth story, huh?”
We giggled over the reality that scheduled c-sections are very cut & dry (literally). But he reiterated that women heal so much quicker having scheduled a c-section vs. allowing your body to go into labor and then have a c-section. I healed so well with Zeplin, even after enduring hours of labor, so I was excited to see if I would bounce back even quicker being able to just walk into the hospital.
***********************************************
Side Note: Contractions suck.
Monday was bitter-sweet in so many ways because I was ready to have baby if it meant that I wouldn't have to continue having contractions.....but I didn't want to have baby before my doctor got back into town.
I'm glad I was able to make it to my c-section - wicked contractions and all.
***********************************************
Fast forward a week Tuesday. February 23, 2016 we didn't sleep well the night before. I was anxious, but Matt was excited. The anticipation had reached it's peak and we were finally going to meet our newest bundle. I was also contracting every 15 minutes all night long.
Tuesday morning, we took our time getting ready. I primped and primed...... bathing, shaving, and doing my hair & makeup, while Matt sorted through what he needed to do so he felt ready too. He also took care of getting Zeplin ready for grandma.
Besides my ever increasing labor, it was a good morning!
My mom showed up in time for Matt and I to boogie out the door towards the hospital.... after a final “family of three” picture, of course.
I didn't realize how far I was in labor until I got hooked to the machines and was contracting every 4 minutes. They were mighty painful and I didn't know how to combat the pain. Thank heavens my nurse saw I was struggling and coached me through my contractions. I cried pretty hard through some of them. This was going to be my 8th surgery in my life and I was more scared than I'd ever been.
I was already preregistered so once there, all that needed to be done was the procedural stuff like signing papers for anesthesiology, change into my hospital gown, get an IV started then get wheeled into the freezing cold operating room.
Because my contractions were coming so fast and hard, they bumped my c section up by 45 minutes. We were rushed into the cold OR room to wait a short moment for Doctor Carlson, prep my tummy and receive my spinal.
The spinal, as I remembered with Zeplin, hurt like hell and I wanted to cry - so I did. I cried hard. My nurse and anesthesiologist were ever so comforting as they wipes my tears, helped me lay down and caressed my cheeks. Once I was laid down, the curtain went up and Matt, dressed in his own operating garb, was by my side, camera in hand and grinning from ear to ear. As Matt wiped my tears away, I noticed he was shaking. I commented on it and he said he was just really excited and a little scared for me. This made me cry a little more.
Doctor Carlson came in, whistling a cheerful tune, with a happy skip in his step and was talking to me about baby. His guess was girl but he knew I wanted a boy so he never said anything until then.
My only request was that Matt be the one to tell me if baby A was a boy or a girl.... Just as he did when Zeplin was born. I was full of anticipation to see who's guess was right. (For the record, I hoped for a boy but because my pregnancy was so different, I predicted a girl too)
Matt handed his phone off to one of the NICU nurses who was more than happy to take pictures so Matt could focus on the delivery.
All the regular sensations where there. The tugging. The pulling. The pressure. Then before I knew it, the touch sensory was replaced with hearing as I heard all the comments from those in the room. "Oh look at those cheeks." "The chubbiest cheeks ever." "Here comes your baby." And then the inevitable and beautiful cry of my new baby followed by my husbands voice,
"ITS A BABY GIRL."
I immediately started crying. I was so overcome with happieness, fear, and gratitude. I couldn't stop crying. My heart was full.
Our OB nurse was amazing and recommended Matt give his phone to one of the other nurses to capture our reaction to the gender on video. The nurse captured all our emotions, Matt telling me the gender, including our beautiful interaction of us as husband & wife, my tears included. The most special part to me was when Doc Carlson put Arrowlyn over the drape so I could see her. She was beautiful.
I was able to watch over my shoulder as Arrow was brought over to the NICU team who cleaned her up, gave her a 9 on the ApGAR test, weighed her and eventually brought her back over to me so we could so skin to skin. The moment was so beautiful. I could not believe how emotional it was to hold her so soon after her being born.
She whimpered and cried out almost the entire time, except for when I talked to her. Eventually, I passed her off to Matt who sat closely to me, holding our precious daughter, still crying & whimpering.
As soon as I was almost done being stitched up, Matt and the nurses took Arrowlyn to the recovery room to wait for me. They brought me in moments later.
To be honest, it was such a blur. I was still in shock that I had a daughter. Matt and I couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.
We had a fabulous nurse who looked over me & we loved getting to know her during the 2 hours I was there.
My mom brought Zeplin in and I was so beyond happy to see them! We attempted to introduce Z to his sister. He was scared at first because she cried at him, but eventually he was excited to learn that she was his sister.
After awhile, my mom took Zeplin home. He was a little tearful leaving because he wanted his new sister to come with him. So sweet.
After a couple hours, I was wheeled into my recovery room on the 8th floor. It was a small room, but still had a view of Tablerock that made up for it.
Once we were settled, some family started to trickle in. I vaguely remember everything that happened that evening/night.
We did celebrate Arrowlyn's birth with a mini birthday party for her, complete with cake and a 0 candle. The room was full of so many loved ones, we felt so much love and gratitude for our new little family of four.
Even my best friend, Kaycee and her family were there. My mom & Matt's brothers were able to make it too. Zeplin did us the honors of pretending the blow out the candle (since we didn't want to light a fire in the hospital.)
The night was amazing.
We were a family of four!
It was a dream - but it was better than that because it was reality. My family felt complete and perfect!
***************************************************
I spent the entire week in the hospital while Matt worked a little here and there and Zeplin spent time with his grandma, Matt and one day with uncle Jeremy.
Little Arrow and I enjoyed our peace and quiet with the occasional visitor every few hours. Even my only brother drove all the way from Utah for a quick day trip to meet his new niece. I cried some more when he said he was coming.
(I'll blog more about Arrowlyn's visitors in another post.)
Once I got my IV out and could move around a little more freely, it began to feel like real life... except of course all the beeping noises, a few babies crying from other rooms and nurses questioning, “How's your pain?”
We were able to bond through nursing and she was the best. I had zero pain & she would eat for 35-60 minutes every 3-4 hours. Nurses would come in laughing to see her always latched on.
Unless she was nursing or napping, Arrowlyn was bright eyed and content. She only cried when she was naked or getting her bummy changed. She is so much like her big brother when he was born. It was a little de ja vu for me. I was in heaven!
I look forward to learning more about my beautiful baby girl.
I can't imagine life without her. She's perfect, beautiful, and sweet.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for knowing exactly what we needed and giving us the most beautiful blessing that we didn't even realize we wanted as badly as we do now.
Arrowlyn,
Your daddy, big brother & mommy love you more than we can describe. We can't wait to see who you are, & be apart of what you love, and be there with you as your discover your potential for greatness.
You are everything I never knew that I always wanted
I'd been bursting at the seams in the final weeks of pregnancy to meet my beautiful little angel baby.
I had my final OB appointment on the 16th, a week before my scheduled c section.
After my doctor went over what to expect for a scheduled c-section, I replied,
“That doesn't make for a very interesting birth story, huh?”
We giggled over the reality that scheduled c-sections are very cut & dry (literally). But he reiterated that women heal so much quicker having scheduled a c-section vs. allowing your body to go into labor and then have a c-section. I healed so well with Zeplin, even after enduring hours of labor, so I was excited to see if I would bounce back even quicker being able to just walk into the hospital.
***********************************************
Side Note: Contractions suck.
Monday was bitter-sweet in so many ways because I was ready to have baby if it meant that I wouldn't have to continue having contractions.....but I didn't want to have baby before my doctor got back into town.
I'm glad I was able to make it to my c-section - wicked contractions and all.
***********************************************
Fast forward a week Tuesday. February 23, 2016 we didn't sleep well the night before. I was anxious, but Matt was excited. The anticipation had reached it's peak and we were finally going to meet our newest bundle. I was also contracting every 15 minutes all night long.
Tuesday morning, we took our time getting ready. I primped and primed...... bathing, shaving, and doing my hair & makeup, while Matt sorted through what he needed to do so he felt ready too. He also took care of getting Zeplin ready for grandma.
Besides my ever increasing labor, it was a good morning!My mom showed up in time for Matt and I to boogie out the door towards the hospital.... after a final “family of three” picture, of course.
I didn't realize how far I was in labor until I got hooked to the machines and was contracting every 4 minutes. They were mighty painful and I didn't know how to combat the pain. Thank heavens my nurse saw I was struggling and coached me through my contractions. I cried pretty hard through some of them. This was going to be my 8th surgery in my life and I was more scared than I'd ever been.
I was already preregistered so once there, all that needed to be done was the procedural stuff like signing papers for anesthesiology, change into my hospital gown, get an IV started then get wheeled into the freezing cold operating room.
Because my contractions were coming so fast and hard, they bumped my c section up by 45 minutes. We were rushed into the cold OR room to wait a short moment for Doctor Carlson, prep my tummy and receive my spinal.
The spinal, as I remembered with Zeplin, hurt like hell and I wanted to cry - so I did. I cried hard. My nurse and anesthesiologist were ever so comforting as they wipes my tears, helped me lay down and caressed my cheeks. Once I was laid down, the curtain went up and Matt, dressed in his own operating garb, was by my side, camera in hand and grinning from ear to ear. As Matt wiped my tears away, I noticed he was shaking. I commented on it and he said he was just really excited and a little scared for me. This made me cry a little more.
Doctor Carlson came in, whistling a cheerful tune, with a happy skip in his step and was talking to me about baby. His guess was girl but he knew I wanted a boy so he never said anything until then.
My only request was that Matt be the one to tell me if baby A was a boy or a girl.... Just as he did when Zeplin was born. I was full of anticipation to see who's guess was right. (For the record, I hoped for a boy but because my pregnancy was so different, I predicted a girl too)
Matt handed his phone off to one of the NICU nurses who was more than happy to take pictures so Matt could focus on the delivery.
All the regular sensations where there. The tugging. The pulling. The pressure. Then before I knew it, the touch sensory was replaced with hearing as I heard all the comments from those in the room. "Oh look at those cheeks." "The chubbiest cheeks ever." "Here comes your baby." And then the inevitable and beautiful cry of my new baby followed by my husbands voice,
"ITS A BABY GIRL."
I immediately started crying. I was so overcome with happieness, fear, and gratitude. I couldn't stop crying. My heart was full.
Our OB nurse was amazing and recommended Matt give his phone to one of the other nurses to capture our reaction to the gender on video. The nurse captured all our emotions, Matt telling me the gender, including our beautiful interaction of us as husband & wife, my tears included. The most special part to me was when Doc Carlson put Arrowlyn over the drape so I could see her. She was beautiful.
I was able to watch over my shoulder as Arrow was brought over to the NICU team who cleaned her up, gave her a 9 on the ApGAR test, weighed her and eventually brought her back over to me so we could so skin to skin. The moment was so beautiful. I could not believe how emotional it was to hold her so soon after her being born.
She whimpered and cried out almost the entire time, except for when I talked to her. Eventually, I passed her off to Matt who sat closely to me, holding our precious daughter, still crying & whimpering.
As soon as I was almost done being stitched up, Matt and the nurses took Arrowlyn to the recovery room to wait for me. They brought me in moments later.
To be honest, it was such a blur. I was still in shock that I had a daughter. Matt and I couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.
We had a fabulous nurse who looked over me & we loved getting to know her during the 2 hours I was there.
My mom brought Zeplin in and I was so beyond happy to see them! We attempted to introduce Z to his sister. He was scared at first because she cried at him, but eventually he was excited to learn that she was his sister.
After awhile, my mom took Zeplin home. He was a little tearful leaving because he wanted his new sister to come with him. So sweet.
Once we were settled, some family started to trickle in. I vaguely remember everything that happened that evening/night.
We did celebrate Arrowlyn's birth with a mini birthday party for her, complete with cake and a 0 candle. The room was full of so many loved ones, we felt so much love and gratitude for our new little family of four.
Even my best friend, Kaycee and her family were there. My mom & Matt's brothers were able to make it too. Zeplin did us the honors of pretending the blow out the candle (since we didn't want to light a fire in the hospital.)
The night was amazing.
We were a family of four!
It was a dream - but it was better than that because it was reality. My family felt complete and perfect!
***************************************************
I spent the entire week in the hospital while Matt worked a little here and there and Zeplin spent time with his grandma, Matt and one day with uncle Jeremy.
Little Arrow and I enjoyed our peace and quiet with the occasional visitor every few hours. Even my only brother drove all the way from Utah for a quick day trip to meet his new niece. I cried some more when he said he was coming.(I'll blog more about Arrowlyn's visitors in another post.)
Once I got my IV out and could move around a little more freely, it began to feel like real life... except of course all the beeping noises, a few babies crying from other rooms and nurses questioning, “How's your pain?”
We were able to bond through nursing and she was the best. I had zero pain & she would eat for 35-60 minutes every 3-4 hours. Nurses would come in laughing to see her always latched on.
Unless she was nursing or napping, Arrowlyn was bright eyed and content. She only cried when she was naked or getting her bummy changed. She is so much like her big brother when he was born. It was a little de ja vu for me. I was in heaven!
I can't imagine life without her. She's perfect, beautiful, and sweet.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for knowing exactly what we needed and giving us the most beautiful blessing that we didn't even realize we wanted as badly as we do now.
Arrowlyn,
Your daddy, big brother & mommy love you more than we can describe. We can't wait to see who you are, & be apart of what you love, and be there with you as your discover your potential for greatness.
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