Is it naptime yet?: Bryson Vincent Fleurkens

I guess now that a week has passed, it's time to sit down and write about baby Bryson's birth.

I was scheduled to have my c/section on Wendesday, the 19th. Unfortunately I got really sick on Tuesday and ended up going to the hospital that night to get checked out. I was extremely dehydrated and was given 3 bags of IV fluids. I was also told I needed to stay overnight to be monitored. The nurses were told I might still have the c/s in the morning so at midnight they took away all my water, juice, and snacks. That sucked. In the morning, I was prepped as if going into sugery. Finally, my OB and the pediatrician talked with each other and decided the best thing for the baby was to keep him inside for a couple more days. So I was rescheduled for Friday the 21st.

On Thursday night, I got barely any sleep at all. I was so nervous. I had to be at the hospital at the unholy hour of 5:30 so at 4 a.m. I got up and showered and tried to calm down. My mom showed up at the house to stay with Brody till he woke up and we were off to have a baby! The nurses were so great about calming me down and getting me all prepped for surgery. I was taken to the OR right on time. After taking some vitals, they were ready to administer the spinal. This was the moment I had been dreading for MONTHS. But I am happy to report it was not as bad as I thought it would be. A small pinch, some pressure and I was numb! My upper body however, would not stop shaking. I am not sure if it was nerves or the icy cold OR, but it was driving me crazy! Mike came in and sat holding my hand. Apparently, that spinal worked better than I thought, becase I wasn't even aware the doctor had started until I felt the enormous pressure of them pulling at the baby. Within about ten minutes of starting, we heard that beautiful first cry (or should I say scream? the kid was not happy). I peeked around the curtain and saw my sweet baby boy getting cleaned up. Then I asked for the morphine. :) The anesthesiologist told me as soon as the baby was taken to the nursery, he'd give me some. So they wrapped up baby Bryson and Mike brought him over to me so I could look at him and touch him. We got a couple of pictures taken and then Mike, the nurse, and the baby left for the nursery, I was drugged up and spent the next 30 minutes being put back together. I spent about 45 minutes in recovery and it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when I had Brody. I wasn't shaking uncontrollably and I wasn't dying of thirst. As they wheeled my to my room, Brody appeared and handed me a Nutra Grain bar, which I thought was very sweet. I got to see my baby pretty quickly which was nice after having to wait 7 hours to see Brody when he was born. I spent the rest of the day chilling out and getting moved into a new, bigger room. My three day hospital stay was relaxing and uneventful. Mike came home each night to stay with Brody. I didn't mind until the last night, when I think the hormones started to kick in. Then I felt kind of lonely.

Since we've been home, Mike has been awesome. I don't do anything really except take care of myself and the baby. I am a little scared when I think that Mike has to go back to work in week. I am sure I'll be fine, but still, it's going to be an adjustment. Here are some pictures of Bryson's birth day:

Getting ready to head to the OR.