The Story of Cheney

As I guess you have figured out, Cheney did not decide to come on her own and waited patiently for her scheduled birthday. Ben and I woke up super early on the morning of August 6th because we had to be at the hospital by 5:30am.  We left our house while it was still dark & for the last time, we walked into the hospital to have a baby.  They got us all checked in to our room, hooked me up to the IVs, & we waited. It is really strange waiting around & watching the clock knowing that in a couple hours I will be holding a brand new baby in my arms. It is just so surreal. A feeling that I will likely ever forget. Another funny thing about this morning was that while I was being monitored, I asked the nurse if I had just had a contraction. I had been feeling random tightness off and on but didn't know if they were contractions. Turns out, I was having contractions AND they were 4 minutes apart. Pretty funny, right?!

 

At 7:15 they told me it was go time. They wheeled me back into the OR & Ben had to wait outside in his scrubs. I hate that part of it. I wish he was allowed to be in there during the anesthesia part--it is my least favorite! I had anxiety this time about the lidocaine shot that comes before the spinal. I remember how badly it burned last time. The spinal was actually worse this time. It took at least 15 minutes & felt like an eternity to get it all worked out.  Not gonna lie, it hurt. They had to do the lidocaine twice because they could not get my spinal centered.  I remember telling myself over & over again that I would never have to do this again. Ha! Once they finally were finished, they were able to lay me down & Ben got to join me. I was actually feeling good for about a minute or two and then all of a sudden was SO nauseous.  I remember this happening with Griffin except they all said I wouldn't actually get sick because my stomach muscles wouldn't work due to anesthesia.  This time was different. I felt sick & I did end up getting sick. I don't recommend that when your body isn't able to move and you are lying on your back. Ick.

Once I got pumped with some medicine to ease the nausea, my doctor was able to begin the surgery.  It is so strange having surgery but being awake. I remember having to ask the nurses if it had actually begun & they laughed and said yes.  It took a few minutes but I vividly remember my awesome OB finally seeing Cheney's face. She kept talking about how cute she was and how she had pretty much no hair. I could not wait to see her with my own eyes!

At 8:04am our baby girl came into this world and, goodness, did she let everyone know! Cheney had a great set of lungs from the very beginning! Also, I need it to be known that the first thing I made my OB tell me was that Cheney was indeed a she. haha!

This was our first moment with Cheney. I definitely thought she looked a lot like her brothers!

Cheney went to the nursery with Ben and our families got to see her through the window. I felt like I was in the OR for such a long time while they finished up. I was beyond ready to get my hands on our baby girl!

They finally brought her back around 9:15. We were able to spend an hour just soaking up every ounce of newborn sweetness. Cheney was absolutely perfect. We were able to nurse & have some skin-to-skin time and just bond with her. It was nice to have those quiet moments before we introduced her to everyone!

We brought our families in around 10:30. Our boys had been hanging out in the waiting room & were ready to see their new baby! Grayson was very cautious of the whole hospital part. I don't think he was expecting to see me in a hospital bed. Griffin was pretty smitten & fascinated from the beginning. He wanted to give Cheney lots of kisses! I look at this picture and see our complete family. It is still pretty surreal!

 

Everyone was in love with Cheney & pretty excited about adding a girl to our mix!

We had a couple of superheroes stop by the room so that was fun. Cheney is pretty much the coolest baby sister ever & got her brothers personalized superhero capes & masks. They were excited!

Seriously. Could she be any sweeter??

So, here we are! May, Party of Five. Crazy & complete:)