Then this was new, they pulled down the blue sheet and had just a clear one up so I got to see them pull my sweet baby girl out! I saw her pointy, full head of dark hair first! I was so excited to see her hair :). It was difficult to see anything because I had to lift my head up, so I didn't keep watching very long, but as Dr. Thackeray has told us and brought up again and again, her cord was wrapped around her neck THREE TIMES! Nate has said that it looked pretty concerning to Dr. Thackeray as he unwound it from her neck. And I've done a lot of thinking about that moment since then. I can't help but wonder if that is why we felt like we should have her a week earlier. It wouldn't surprise me if there had been some extra help there. If she'd stayed in a week longer, who knows how many more times it would have wrapped, or if I'd gone into labor? I don't know. Interesting to think about anyway. They cut that cord, I asked Nate if she was still a girl :), and then they whisked her away to be weighed and tested. Always the least favorite part for me. I could hear the nurses talking about how clean she was though, which was interesting. Not sure how that happens :), but go Sadie!
I was pretty happy about her weight- for some reason I had worked up the desire and even prayed for her to be really small... HEALTHY of course, but small! I'm not sure why I was so weird, but when they called out her 5 lbs, 14 oz, I could only thank my Heavenly Father for the tender mercy. Maybe that is too weird to be saying out loud and I do realize that sometimes that is a bad thing because they are underdeveloped, but as long as she was healthy, I wanted her to be small, so that she could be small a little longer :). Selfish, I know, but still! I was really looking forward to the skin on skin that I had been able to do with Molly, but they were short a nurse so it wasn't an option this time. Totally bummed me out. They did let Nate hold her over by me and we got to sit and stare at her and love on her every little beautiful feature as they sewed me back up. I couldn't believe her complexion! It was so perfect! Her scrunched up little face between the pink and blue striped hat and the while blanket was overwhelmingly cute! She didn't love the lights so Nate kept shading her eyes. At which she would crack open an eye or two and we'd get a look at those deep dark blue little eyes. It was such a precious moment. I hope I never forget it. Touching her little cheeks and chin. Nate and I being able to talk about the beautiful spirit we feel with this little angel. Being able to appreciate the whole process of getting her here to us. It was neat. It was good that we had this beautiful time together because it was taking the doctors a LOT longer to sew me back up. Apparently my uterus is very thin. It would come undone whenever they would suture it up. There was something about my bladder too, which I never quite understood, but either way, I got VERY restless there, my skin was crawling like crazy, my head was THROBBING, like I was hanging upside-down or something, and it felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I probably should have mentioned it to the anesthesiologist, but I didn't really want to mess with the stuff they were giving me. It was REALLY HARD though! Just laying there through it all. I was worried too. I almost offered to just have them take it out, which I'm glad I didn't, but really- it was taking forever! They did finally get things all put back together though. A huge blessing. Then let me hold sweet Sadie as they pushed me to my recovery room. This is when she and I got to have some skin to skin. That was pretty special. We did that several times that first and second days. She loved it, I loved it. It was pretty neat.
We got to our recovery room and right away had Nate give her a blessing. This is something we have done with all of our babies. I think Becky gave me the idea. I love it. It was fun to hear her full name like that for the first time- really felt like it was supposed to be her name and that was comforting. Choosing names is hard, it's nice to feel like we've had some help. Everything went really well from here on out. We talked with the doctor, the anesthesiologist came in and gave some more instructions, I was feeling pretty good, a teensy bit nauseous, and every time I tried to lay down during those first two days, I would get a wave of yuck, but I was doing really well. As usual.
They wheeled me up to our regular room. We got situated, Nate got the rest of our stuff out of the car, we did a lot of staring at our new little child, and a lot of gratitude just filled the place. We really couldn't have been happier with this little spirit.
Grandpa Hatch, Steve and Grandma Hatch were our first visitors, on that first night. Everyone showered her with gifts, and me! Steve gave me an iTunes gift card with a teeny tiny little vice grip- it was super cute and very thoughtful of him. That first night was okay. It's always hard to take care of a baby while my legs are numb. I think I finally had feeling in them towards the middle of the night. But I'm not able to get up, so that's a bit frustrating. Trying to get the nurses' attentions and this time, getting Nate's was difficult as well. He had worked the mid the night before, which don't even get me started on how irritated I was at his work for that... so he was pretty exhausted. I ended up calling his phone a few times- he woke up to that :). Kinda funny. But really- the poor guy! I felt so bad for him. Sadie was a little angel. She mostly loved being in my arms. Didn't enjoy the bassinet, and didn't care much for the bright light. It was funny how when I would get her to sleep, tuck her in her little bed, and then turn out the lights- all was well until those lights went out- her eyes would just pop right open! It was so cute! I really didn't mind holding and feeding her all night. It was nice mom and Sadie time. They started me on the pain killers the next morning and the roller coaster started with them. It's always a little tricky to find the right balance with the meds. They gave me Norco (a new narcotic) this time, along with the Ibuprofen. It worked just fine as long as we stayed up on it. The gas in my shoulders was pretty prevalent. I kept needing the gas pill for that. But nothing was too much to handle- especially with the unlimited supply of Lorna Doones :).
DAY 2 was probably my favorite. This is the day the kids were planning to come down and meet their new sister. I was a little nervous about the girls driving everyone, we had left them with the Prius and the Fore Runner, so they had to divide up, but that seemed safer than the van at the time. Nate and I said a little prayer that they would get there safely. They had a slight hang up- the Fore Runner was low on gas, but that was it. They got there in one piece (or eight rather :) ).
Now this was the crowning moment in the hospital, seriously, I hope I never forget it. The kids came in and brought THE SWEETEST spirit with them. It was INCREDIBLE! They had a bunch of gifts for Sadie and then the best part- they had all written cards for Sadie and for Nate and I! THE SWEETEST cards! I couldn't believe the love that filled the room, and the Spirit! It was SO AWESOME! The kids were quiet and calm, even Molly! They giggled and oohed and aahed with every squeak and wiggle of Sadie. I LOVED IT! I was seriously in heaven. That was MOM HEAVEN! Nate loved it too of course!
They stayed there, passing around Sadie for FIVE HOURS! I don't think we've EVER had the sibs stay at the hospital THAT LONG! It was amazing. And I loved every minute of it! Didn't get overwhelmed or stressed or anything. It was seriously heaven. Near the end, Nate took them all out to go get some lunch down in the cafeteria and Jack, sweet, cute Jack, decided to stay back and hold Sadie and just asked them to bring some food back for him. It was the sweetest thing to sit there and watch him admiring his new little sister. He couldn't get enough of her! It was beautiful. They came back, everyone finished eating, and then it was time for them to go. I was so sad to see them leave. I just really loved that five hours. Made me happy to be a mom, happy to have THESE kids, and happy with our decision to make room for one more :). She is one lucky little girl to be such an important, special, and loved little spirit before she can even hardly open her eyes. Well, and really, we all loved her before she even got here. I'll always think fondly on the kisses, hugs and giggles Molly gave her while she was in my tummy. I really can't think of a better place for this little girl than in the arms of these valiant brothers and sisters. I hope they all know how blessed they ALL are having so much support and love. I hope it can last.
The rest of the day was sweet. We got the catheter out, the IV came out, and I was able to get off the bed. Grandpa Hatch came again which was nice. And Becky and Grandma Ruthie came as well. We loved showing them our cute cards from the kids. They loved them as well. Then Becky showered Sadie with gifts as well. Cute CUTE clothes and a fun little ice cream stand that Molly has been warming up for her :). It was a nice visit with them. Very peaceful and quiet.
During our whole stay at the hospital, we were trying to catch up on all our marvel movies so that we could go see End Game. It was tough, and Nate did end up buying us a portable DVD player to aid in this endeavor, but we did it! Saw them all. I have to admit I dozed off during all of them, I was getting so tired, having not really slept at all at night, but I got the general idea :).
DAY THREE brought my mom and Simon and the Taylors!
Nate brought the kids down and we had another nice day with the sibs.
They couldn't get enough of her. We let them watch Infinity War with us on the DVD player- that was a lot of fun.
Claire came later and gave Sadie a little BYU t-shirt. It was so fun of Claire to come- she didn't even know I was pregnant until I sent out the picture of Sadie via text. So pretty cool of her to drop everything and visit. She came the next day as well, just before they began our discharge.
We had a really dumb nurse that night. He was a temporary nurse from another floor who didn't know what he was doing. That was quite evident when he reached over, pushed on my belly- I'm just sitting up, taking care of the baby, not laying down like they usually do- and said, "Does that hurt?" Uh... YEAH!! Hello! I just had a baby!! C-section!! Don't touch me! He didn't do anything he was supposed to do. Missed my dose of Norco, and yet still managed to come in about every hour to say, "Just let me know if you need anything" or "Have you slept at all?" Very irritating. I mean, he was a nice guy, probably had good intentions, but not my favorite nurse.
My favorite nurse, who we had twice! was DEB! She was this cute older lady, had a lot of health issues that gave her an interesting perspective on life. She had two kids, grown now, no grandkids. She was THE SWEETEST lady on the planet! She was so good and so fun to talk to. She was our discharge nurse. She loved Sadie. She couldn't compliment us enough on our other kids she'd seen the other day, and she wrote the sweetest note in the Thank You card from the hospital. Made my day really. She was a sweet heart. I loved her. Most of our nurses were great, but she was better than great!
Sunday, the last day, was tricky. It's always a little bitter sweet to leave. I'm overwhelmed by the life ahead, Nate's exhausted and we're both ready to be sleeping in our own beds. It was the same this time. Also, IMC is HORRIBLE at discharging. They took SO LONG again! Not quite as long as with Molly, but really, we did a lot of sitting and waiting with everything all packed up and loaded into the car, so not a lot to entertain ourselves. I took pictures of Nate sleeping with Sadie :) to keep myself busy.
Right when we got home, the Desmonds showed up with some delicious spaghetti for dinner. That was sweet. Brooke has been such a good friend and so helpful through this whole pregnancy even while they've been dealing with their flooding issues.
The kids all took turns passing Sadie around again. We all enjoyed the fact that we were all back together again. Time for life.
