On March 7th 2012 at 4:07 pm Lucy Jane joined our family. Unlike her big brother, who was affectionately named the "tank" from day one, she weighed in at a mere 6 lbs 1 oz; although she was 19 1/2 inches long which was rather tall for her early arrival. She surprised us and decided it was time to come out at 37 weeks along. As I write this I am still a whole week prior to my actual due date and I still can't quite believe my tiny peanut is already 2 weeks old! We talked a lot during my pregnancy about how planned a repeat c-section would be, and would it still be exciting given that we were picking her due date and organizing our whole lives around that date? Well clearly I have learned nothing from my previous birth experience, in that the "plan" is typically out the window in the first 5 minutes. Of course, we will always remember the surprise on the day of our little princess's arrival.
The day prior while I was at work I noticed what I thought could be some "leaking fluid" (without getting too graphic); however it only went on for about an hour and since I experienced my water clearly breaking with a splash with Hank I figured I would know if it was my water or not. I continued with my work day everything seemed fine but in the back of my head I thought maybe I should call the doctor just to be sure. So on my way home from work that day I left a message on the nurses line to the effect of "I'm sure its nothing, but just wanted to check-in"-I hate calling the doctor with questions cause I always feel silly, and actually, this was the first call I've ever made during both pregnancies to the nurses line so maybe that was indication that my mother's instincts were heightened! They called me back around 4:00 and agreed that it was likely nothing since I wasn't have any contractions or other signs of labor and since my weekly appointment was the next day anyways they just moved me to first thing in the morning and said to come in the next day. The next morning, I got up at the usual time, got dressed for work, and texted my co-workers letting them know I'd be a little late since my doctor wanted to see me earlier in the day. Johnny asked if I wanted him to come to the appointment-I said no cause I was sure it was nothing and there was no need for both of us to be late to work. I thought about throwing in my hospital bag "just in case" since I had just packed it the weekend before, but again thought that seemed silly and started to focus on all I had to get done that day at work since I was going to be late after the appointment and had a huge list of patient's to see that day.
I got to my appointment, doctor put me in the stirrups to do the "litmus test" of amniotic fluid. She took one look at me and said "you're water is broken, you're having a baby today!". My initial response was "what, no, I have to go to work today" She of course laughed and said you do realize you're 9 months pregnant, and that this baby was coming at some point? I was instructed to call my boss, call my husband, call whomever I needed to since I was only headed to the hospital (why didn't I bring my bags ?). No contractions, baby hadn't dropped, but that silly water was broken! Since my water had be broken for at least 24 hours and the risk of infection was high-I was going to have a c-section as soon as possible (which would be at least 8 hours since I ate breakfast, again wasn't thinking I was having a baby today-oops). The same exact thing happened with Hank-water breaks but no labor starts, so it seems this is just how my body responds during pregnancy. No surprises with number 3, right?
I was wheeled over to the hospital, by myself to get checked into a room. Johnny was scrambling trying to get things in order at work, get the nanny and Hank settled, get my bags from home and get back to me at the hospital. So we sat in a pre-op room all day waiting the required 8 hours after eating before my c-section scheduled at 3:45. It was actually kind of nice to just lay around in a bed and watch cable TV-both a luxury I never have in my life. Hank's nanny dropped him off right before I got prepped for surgery and he was not terribly excited about seeing me hooked up to IV's and stuck in a hospital bed-luckily both sets of Grammy and Grampys were available to entertain him ( and take him for his first McDonalds experience). Right on schedule I got prepped and at 4:07 Lucy Jane came screaming into the world! Lucy because we liked it (and Hank helped to decide) and Jane after my grandmother who unfortunately passed away a year ago last March. I love the idea that Lucy truly demonstrates the circle of life in our family. She had a head full of dark hair and dark eyes-completely opposite from our blond haired blue eyed boy! Because she was small and a few weeks early, and because of the increased risk of infection she had to go to the nursery for a while, but I did get to nurse her and spend some time with her before she left. I was taken to my room a few hours later where all the family and of course my big boy, Hank were ready to meet Lucy.
My recovery was even easier after this c-section, I was up and around and off most pain medication in less than 24 hours. I was home 3 days later, off all medication and moving around pretty much pain free. Lucy is so different than Hank was as a baby. She is content, and happy all the time. We have yet to hear her cry for any extended period of time-she'll let out a little yell every once in a while just to remind us that yes she needs to be fed etc. She is completely happy to sit in her bouncy seat and watch her big brother play and terrorize the house. She's growing like a weed-at 2 weeks she was quickly approaching 7 lbs and had already grown an inch. She took to nursing within a day (unlike her brother who took at least 2 weeks to become a proficient nurser). I don't know if it is just because she's the second child and I just know what to do with her, or if it is her personality-I suspect some of both, but so far I haven't had that overwhelming feeling that I did adjusting to our first child. We were all instantly in love with our little Lucy, especially Hank who always wants to help me with her and hold her. He tells her at least 20 times a day that he loves her. Johnny and I just keep saying how right it feels for us to be a family of 4.
Here are some pictures of our first days with Lucy....I think I left the house 3 times during my entire maternity leave with Hank-in her first 2 weeks, Lucy has already been to the zoo to ride the train, been to the playground multiple times, the library, Kroger, the river park to throw rocks, and Ikea :) She is clearly a busy lady...
