Welcome Baby Bean!

**Updated to include more details**

I know you have all been on tender hooks this past week waiting for a post, and I am sorry to say you all had to come second to my new life as a mom. :) Now for the story you have all been waiting for, the one about Baby Bean's birthday.

At 5:15 Monday morning, Hubs and I headed to the hospital, ready for Baby Bean to make her appearance. I can't remember now, but I am pretty sure I cried about half of the way there. I think I was more scared about being cut open and recovering from the c-section than anything. Of course I had the normal pre-parent jittters that also played a role in my emotions. At around 7:40 I was wheeled down, crying, shaking like a leaf to surgery. The surgery room was freezing, so I was afraid the temperature combined with my sobbing would make it hard to give me my spinal, but the anesthesiologist somehow managed, and before I knew it, they were placing the sheet between my face and belly. I am pretty sure they started cutting me open before Hubs was allowed in the room, but I'm glad they never told me when they began. Of course, I was still crying and trying hard not to sob so as to prevent the knife from actually cutting something it shouldn't. lol

Just as promised, all I could feel was a lot of pressure on my abdomen. Once they located the baby I heard the comment, "Look at all of that hair!" I thought, "I'm sure the kid has a ton. I went through three family sized bottles and three regular size bottles of Tu.ms over the past few months!" The next thing I knew, the pressure on my abdomen was gone and I heard the first cries of my little girl. I saw her lifted above the blanket and just could not believe it. That was MY baby! She continued to scream as they rushed her over to the warm baby bed and cleaned her up. Daddy got in some pictures and stayed with her the whole time they were stitching me back up. All I could do was cry. I became a mother.

I had gone from this:

To this:

"Why is it so dang cold in here?! Mom! Put me back!"

Hubs left the room with the baby to get her all cleaned up and get her measurements done. I just laid there as the doctor stitched me back up, crying and trying not to vomit, wanting to close my eyes and sleep. Then I heard the doctor who was helping my doctor with the surgery say, "That's weird. I've never seen that before." Then my doctor mentioned something about the septum that was removed during my lap a little over a year ago. I asked if there was a problem and my doctor told me she would explain it all in recovery, but that it was a good thing we did a c-section. My heart sank.

In recovery my doctor told us that Baby Bean's placenta had grown into the scar tissue that had formed where my septum was removed and had made its way through the muscle in my uterine wall, almost making its way completely out of my uterus. Had I given birth naturally, the removal of the placenta would have caused serious internal bleeding. We asked what that meant for future pregnancies, and she told us that we are absolutely not allowed to conceive again within at least the next year, and that our pregnancies from here on out are high risk, if we are able to get pregnant again. She is going to consult with a high risk doctor in the coming months to determine if conception is even a possibility for us again, but reassured us she thinks it is. I will write more about that in another post another day.

When all of the assessing was done, Baby Bean weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 2oz and measured exactly 19 inches long. Neither her dad nor I could believe that her hair is so dark, since both of us are blondies. We're not sure where that came from. lol

Baby Bean is doing really well. Just like my pregnancy, her birth was nearly picture perfect, and she is completely perfect. She rarely fusses and is easy to soothe. She took to nursing like a natural (I just wish my sore girls did). It was hard to send her back to the nursery in the hospital, but I did every night to help me get some sleep so I could recover faster. I ended up being in the hospital for four days, and was released on Friday afternoon. Everyone is adjusting well to being home, including the dogs. I've found that recovering from the c-section is amazingly easier than recovering from the lap. I still haven't filled my pain pill prescription! I've just been managing with Ad.vil. I love the fact that I can psych myself up for something so much that when all is said and done, it was easier or better than I thought it would be. I love being pleasantly surprised.

Hubs just loves being a dad and has been absolutely doting over his precious baby girl, as I suspected he would be. Her first day home from the hospital he sat next to our Clav.inova piano with her for about an hour as it belted out tunes to appease her tiny ears. He's already a diaper changing pro and a tremendous help to me when he can be (since he can't help nurse). I am so grateful for him and love him so much more than before, which is amazing since I didn't think it was possible to love him more than I already did.

Below are some pictures of my beautiful little girl. Enjoy!

Listening to the piano with dad.

Someone is already a fan of TV (don't worry, its all educational). :)