Sweet Caroline...

Today was a very special day in our family. We welcomed Caroline Sue Crosby, born at 7:56am (PST), weighing in at 7 lbs even, measuring 18 inches long! She is perfect in every way ... and that's not just Mommy being biased :) 

Justin and I (and Gigi) got up really early. We had to check in at the hospital at 5:30 am, and we blearily made our way to Labor and Delivery. Here's a quick one Gigi snapped on our way...

Ready to be parents x2!

We signed our lives away, got hooked up to a million monitors, and changed into super hot hospital attire for the big morning ahead. This time was much different than last time. With Jack, I was actively in labor and just praying to be next in line for the operating room. This time, we were much calmer and more relaxed, for the most part. They had a bit of trouble getting my IV line in (no surprise, since I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for 8 hours...) and they took a lot of blood, but I figured it was just the beginning of getting poked, prodded, or stuck.

IV in? Check! Waiting to meet the anesthesiologist and Dr. Gould.

Dressed for the occasion! Happy birthday, baby girl...

Justin and I had semi-decided on her name last night, but we wanted to see her face before we were sure. For those of you that are curious, Caroline isn't a family name (we just liked the way it sounded!), but Sue is for the Farrell side of the family, being my mom's middle name.

At around 7:30am, I waddled my way down the hall to the operating room. Last time, I was delirious with pain and completely out of it. I had no idea what was really going on, only that I was going to get pain relief soon. This time, I had plenty of time to look around. It was kind of scary. Hearing the nurses count off the supplies they had laid out (and there were a lot of them!) only added to my nervousness. It was also about -10 degrees in the OR, and I was so cold that I was shaking uncontrollably and my teeth were chattering.

The anasthesiologist finally got all his tools together and swabbed my back (even colder!) The numbing medicine wasn't too bad - just a little sting. I didn't really feel the giant needle for the spinal block either. I was relieved that it wasn't too painful, and the medicine started to take hold pretty quickly. I felt my belly, legs, and feet get warm and relatively numb fast.

They laid me down quickly, and the doctor started her tape recording of my case. "Kelly Crosby, repeat c-section, breech presentation..." then she goes, "Wait! Scratch that!" and I heard all the nurses gasp. Apparently Caroline turned head-down as I laid on the operating table, causing a huge wave in my belly. I was shocked as she hadn't been head down at all during the whole pregnancy! Anyway, the doctor said that she was amazed and had never seen that before, and she went on narrating.

During this, I felt some people touching me. I kept saying "I can feel that! I CAN FEEL THAT!" because I was so panicked that they would start while I wasn't fully numb. I felt the catheter go in (even though the nurse said, "I am only touching you with cotton balls!" Um, BS.) Shortly thereafter, I was truly completely numb, because I smelled the cauterizing going on as she cut. Eek.

So Justin was brought in, and he actually got a lot of the surgery on video (amazing that they let him! Newton Wellesley in Boston wouldn't let him.) I heard a lot of chatter, a little pressure, and then I heard crying! I started bawling because she was so loud, and her cry was so much different than Jack. She was very loud and cried a lot as they took her to the next room with Justin to get dried and wrapped up. They brought her over to me and she was so adorable, and looked exactly like the 4D ultrasound pics! I was amazed in so many ways. We were truly blessed with another miracle.

Getting stitched back up and laying my eyes on baby for the first time. :)

Daddy and Caroline. Love!!!

I was done around 8:30 and they wheeled me into the recovery room. Caroline nursed like a champ for a good 45 minutes or so, with a super powerful latch. I was so happy! Maybe that battle wouldn't be as bad as the one I had with Jack.

I slowly started to feel my legs, toes, and tummy again. Ow! They shot me full of Morphine and Vicodin (in different orders I think, not really sure.) I got lots of IV fluids. They checked my bandages. Everything was great, except my blood pressure, which was sky high (as usual...) They ordered some extra blood work to verify that I didn't have pre-eclampsia. We were in the recovery room for a very long time - almost 3.5 hours.

Postpartum recovery unit. Baby girl was weighed, measured,  and got her eyedrops and shots. 

Gigi stopped by after taking Jack to school and helped us by bringing things we needed and taking some phone pictures to update Facebook (you're welcome!) :) The nurses made her this adorable bow hat out of a few extra hats laying around. So cute!

Sleep. I wish I could sleep like this!

Finally around 12:30, we were wheeled into our permanent room on the mother-baby wing. We had planned to have Jack come right after he got out of school, but there were too many things going on immediately for him to be around, and I really wanted his first moments with his baby sister to be special. A million doctors and nurses came by to check, listen, and inspect every inch of both Caroline and me. I did my first bit of standing up and walking to the bathroom (without passing out this time!) Caroline got her first bath from a super gentle nurse and Daddy. 

Sponge bath time! 

Caroline had her first pee and poop, which is apparently a very big deal. All of her internal systems are working beautifully! And I know Daddy is super excited about all the meconium diapers to come ;) 

Finally, after his nap and a little rest for us, Gigi brought Jack by to meet his baby sister. To say he was absolutely enthralled and obsessed with her is an understatement. Mommy might as well have been chopped liver! He wanted nothing to do with me (other than to see my big boo boo!) and was on to kissing, cuddling, tickling, touching, and admiring his new baby sister. 

The three loves of my life  :) I am so very lucky. 

 Here is a family picture, our first as four. Please excuse me as I am super swollen from the fluids and pain meds, and I haven't really had any sleep in over 36 hours at this point!

Tired, sore, swollen, and STILL the happiest woman alive!!

 Baby girl has done nothing but sleep all day long. This is common for c-section babies as well. She is very lethargic and tried halfheartedly to nurse a few times, but not too much. I expect to see her little eyeballs a lot more tomorrow :) For now... here she is.

Sitting on the Taggie that Jack brought her for a present.
If you know Jack, you know that giving Caroline a Taggie means that
he is fully adopting her into his circle of trust :) 

Justin and I are going to try and get some sleep tonight (the doctor promised me Ambien!) and I hope that I will still feel this good tomorrow. Overall, I am happy with my recovery and I know that I will feel 100x better when I can take a shower! We look forward to bonding here at the hospital for awhile and then bringing our adorable little bundle home. I was honestly worried that my heart wouldn't have enough room to love Caroline as much as I love Jack...but I was wrong. I am smitten in every way, and I am pretty sure Justin is too. I hear him singing and cooing to her when he thinks I'm not listening ;) 

I will update more as the week goes on. Thank you to all our friends and family for your prayers, thoughts and support today and over the past 40 weeks. We love all of you and we can't wait to share our new baby girl with all of you! And a big thank you to Gigi Crosby for watching our little man while all of this is happening. I feel so much better knowing he's in good hands and I don't have to worry. Xoxoxo!