Went in on Saturday February 3rd for scheduled c-section at 9am. We got bumped back due to another emergency c so had to wait a little longer. Needless to say by 10am I was anxious and STARVING! Didn’t get any sleep the night before was just too nervous! And you can’t eat after midnight. My pregnant self would have eaten a bowl of oatmeal, Chobani flip and a banana by 10am so I was hungry lol

Went in, they did a spinal at 10:30. Hubby came in once they had done the catheter and draped around me. (Even though he is 6’3” and watches right over it!). They didn’t strap my arms which was nice. They also gave me zofran to help with the nausea which was definitely a plus. I threw up when I had my daughter and 5 seconds later they brought her to see me so it wasn’t ideal (nor was the emergency c-section).

Felt some tugging. Not like hurt but could feel my upper body being moved by them trying to get him out. I could hear rumblings that he was really “in there” but once I heard his little cry it was such a relief. It’s the weirdest feeling when they pull them out, not painful and not good, just like a lot of pressure and then a friend.

Leo Stanley Gray was born at 10:53am weighing 7lbs 15 oz and 21 inches long. MY BIG BOY!

He came out with brown hair and blue eyes and as soon as my husband brought him over I felt such a deep love! He was crying and as he came up to my face he went calm. So amazing!

They sent hubby out with baby Leo while they stitched me up! (Sutures and glue mesh) they brought me into recovery where I waited for my husbands return with my baby boy. The nurse came and told me that he still had fluid in his lungs which was causing “grunting” so they had to take him to NICU ☹️

I was worried but weirdly right before I went in, the nurse told me that it’s something that can happen with c-section babies because they don’t have the compression of the birth canal to push all the fluid out. Something none of my doctors warned me about before so of course that would happen since the nurse jinxed us! I then got really upset because I couldn’t do skin to skin and breast feed immediately like I had done with my daughter. I just wanted to hold him!

My temperature was low so I was in recovery until about 2pm when they brought me to my room. I got to the room and said to the nurse “okay let’s go see our baby!” To my surprise she said “oh no you can’t go anywhere. You have to stay in bed for at least 8-10 hours, then you have to get up and walk across the room before you can get in a wheel chair” WAIT, WHAT?!?!

I instantly became a mess. That meant I couldn’t even go see him in the NICU until 8pm! I was devastated! The doctor from NICU came in and told us his respiratory rate was too fast, he was still working out the fluids so he couldn’t drink yet or be taken off the oxygen and suction and IV. Every where and every update I became more and more of a sobbing mess. This was not how I imagined this day going. I kept begging be nurse to just let me go in wheelchair. (She was amazing by the way, had her my entire hospital stay).

By 6pm she said she would let me try to get up at 6:30 but kept saying it was really too early so she couldn’t guarantee that I would be ready. WAS I READY?!

Abso-Effin-lately!!!

I sat up, stood up, and walked across the room. I truly believe my desire to hold our baby made me turn into some crazy super mom! I think back to how bad it hurt the first time standing up with my last delivery, but this time I felt nothing. I was like “let’s go baby!!” But then I had to wait on the NICU. They said I couldn’t come until 8pm. That hour I watched the clock then called down at 740 like “can I come now please” and they said yes!

Hubby rolled me down, I was so anxious like we couldn’t go fast enough! Seeing my little boy hooked up to all those tubes and monitors was so heartbreaking. But holding him for the first time was incredible. While he wasn’t able to eat yet I did skin to skin with him for over an hour. I went back to my room and 39 minutes later got a call from NICU that they had taken him off of the oxygen and he was stable! They said if he stayed that way for an hour he could eat. Sure enough my strong little man wanted his mama back and I went down to feed him! He latched right on I was so happy. And with each feeding his numbers got better his breathing slowed down heart rate steady and by Sunday morning they said he could leave NICU by noon!

I just want to say how much credit I give all those mommies out there that have the unfortunate experience of their babies needing more than we can give them at birth. Seeing all those tiny premature babies there was truly heartbreaking. I was such mess and it was only for 24 hours. I couldn’t imagine another minute. My son was 4 times the size of one of the other babies he looked like a giant. And I am so blessed to have my healthy little boy!

He’s been eating great, was back at birth weight by his first doc appointment and is so good! We are madly in love!!

Here are some pictures of our journey! And thank you to such an amazing hospital staff as Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie NY!