Hospital Stay

I had heard varying opinions of the couple days after having a baby and being at the hospital, and I would say overall it was a surreal experience. 

Shortly after Mason was born my sisters showed up (after an all night labor most people thought we had just neglected to tell them the baby was here, so they were in the vicinity waiting). 

It was so nice to have the labor behind me and now be on the other side with visitors and happy times. I loved the hour or so that people were there just chatting and being with me. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family who supports me in so much.

 My dad even showed up to see us as well (after coming up the night before to just wait around for nothing).

For most of their visit Mason was actually in the nursery getting all of his tests done and his checkup - so when he finally made his debut, it was pretty exciting.

This was one of the happiest moments at the hospital for me - my family there doting on my new baby, my sweet husband sitting in bed with me, and being able to just soak up this incredible moment.

After a while people cleared out and the exhaustion set in - I was so ready for a nap. It was just when we were ready to settle in that the nurses came in to help me feed my baby, get me all disconnected (I don't think I could count how many things I was hooked up to), and get me up and walking.

After that was taken care of - they moved us to a recovery room where we were able to have a quiet afternoon. The morning already seemed like years ago and I was ready to get some rest.

That evening Cameron's parents stopped by with some much appreciated dinner. I didn't realize how famished I was until that pizza walked in the door. I also loved having them there and getting to see them meet Mason for the first time. It's not hard to see the instant love grandparents have for new grand babies.

Later that night was one of the most surreal times at the hospital. It seemed like in the quiet of the evening the reality of having a baby set in - in a good way. Here I had this tiny, precious baby and he was all ours.

How is it possible to fall in love so quickly? He was still a little foreign to me and I had a hard time correlating that he was in fact the little being inside of me for 9 months - but I was in awe at his perfectness and the weight of his dependence on me.

The middle of the night feeding when they brought the baby in was a rude awakening to what I was in for. He struggled to even eat much and I was struggling to even know what to do (has it ever struck anyone else as odd that the nurses just get right in there and shove your boob in your babies mouth? Odd - but much appreciated when I was clearly not doing it right).

More than anything, I remember sweet Cameron getting up to help me and watching his sweet ways with Mason. He already had his way of holding him, talking to him, and comforting him. Oh, the love I have for this guy.

The next day was a full (long) day in the hospital. What do you do all day at the hospital? 

I snuggled with my baby.

We had a special "celebratory breakfast" brought to our room for the two of us.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather from our window (we got a garden view room) and I was so grateful for the sunshine coming in.

I started to wrap my head around the fact that we now had a baby a little more. It was always so odd to see him laying there in our room and knowing he was ours and we were at the start of a very big adventure.

We took our turns loving this sweet thing 

(even now looking back - his sleepy state was so easy to deal with).

My mom stopped by again and it was so nice to have her there. We chatted about everything that had gone on the day before, she checked up on how I was doing, and loved on Mason. Like I said - there is something about a grandparent's love for grandbabies.

By that night I was exhausted (how can laying in a hospital bed all day be so tiring?). I was ready to be done at the hospital and be in my own bed, in my own environment - but I wasn't really thinking of the game changer we were about to take home with us and change everything.

It was a bit of a rough night as I was at my whit's end - up until that point I had LOVED all of my nurses - they were seriously great. But the nurse that night - I did not like. It put me on edge even more and after she had returned Mason from the nursery just 5 minutes after sending him, I lost it. Everything kind of hit me - I was tired, he didn't eat like I thought he would, I just wanted to get sleep like I was used to, and the changes were all setting in.

I made the emotional decision to send him to the nursery and just have them feed him. I felt guilty all night and for several days after. I did get the sleep I needed - but I just kept remembering everything I had read and heard about formula, and using a bottle too soon due to nipple confusion, and I basically thought I had ruined my child's chances of ever eating normal again. 

This decision also landed me on the "do not disturb" list with my nurse. So we were left alone until about 9:00 the next morning when I finally had Cameron go get Mason. 

I guess I became that patient by the end of my stay.

That last morning was a long one - it took us about 3 hours to get checked out and on our way home. 

Cameron got Mason all ready to go - and I was chomping at the bit to get out of there.

3 days in a hospital is more than enough for me. Not leaving my room the entire time made me feel so enclosed and trapped. 

Overall the hospital was a whirlwind experience - from giving birth to adjusting to having a baby, my life changed forever in those 3 days. Aside from getting Mason here, the highlight was getting Cameron all to myself for 3 days. He (as always) was so good to me and made sure my cup was always full of water, I had food if I needed it, and anything else I may have desired. I have never loved him more.  

Leaving the hospital with a baby was just as crazy as I had anticipated. He was ours and ours alone to take care of. Here we were at the start of this crazy journey called Parenthood.