Julius brought you through the recovery time at the hospital and explained his experience so well. I will try to tell you a bit of the rest.
They took me out of the recovery area around midnight, blood pressure under control and no more shivering from the epidural (yeah!). The epidural machine they use these days are great! The patient is able to press a button to administer medication, no more than once an hour, to control the pain as she feels it. I certainly tried to stay ahead of it! Through the night, we tried to sleep. Julius had a couch-like surface to use and at least it was nearly 6 feet long so his feet weren't dangling! He can sleep anywhere, luckily. I do not remember much about my first night, though. They brought Evelyn into the room after her observation period ended to "room-in."
Over the next few days, we learned how to breast-feed, and Julius got the best baby education he could - changing all diapers, the first sponge bath on his own, waking the baby every few hours to try eating, and swaddling. He took to these tasks like a duck to water, even though he did not have any experience. All he had was me in the bed giving tips and the nurses passing along a little info here and there. He stayed there 24/7 and would not be talked into going home for a good night sleep. Praise God for a loving new Daddy! While I had a difficult time waking him the first couple nights to help out, he soon learned to wake from sleep quickly when his baby girl let out a wail. :)
My local family also came to visit. We all had a nice time celebrating and enjoying the new beauty the Lord blessed our family with. They even brought a Mother's Day Feast to the hospital on Sunday to celebrate with my mom, my sister Jennifer, and now me as the mothers present. Dad's delicious BBQ chicken certainly made the nurses drool!
I felt better each day, but then they removed the epidural and placed me on pill medication. I had a really bad third night. About 11 pm, I was trying to drift into a nap, completely uncomfortable after spending days on my back (too difficult to be on my side with the incision). I had HGTV on very low, but they made a joke that made me laugh. It hurt sooo bad. Later, my doctor said that my pain was not managed well because I should have been able to laugh. Poor Julius...he was so startled by my outcry of pain and he must have been stunned to look at me. I was crying with pain, a grimace on my face, but still smiling and laughing because the joke kept me going. I must have had a scary, maniacal look with this combination. It took time to calm down, but I was now back to feeling as though it were the first night again. I could barely walk, certainly not without Julius to hold me every step of the way. It was painful and the nurses were unable to give me any sort of rescue medication because I was already taking my prescribed meds. It was a long night, but we made it through and were able to recover some ground before being discharged late the next day.
Since coming home, we have settled into a learning routine. Once I figure something out, which takes a couple days to do, Evelyn changes things up a little. She is wonderful! Wakeful times are slowly increasing and she has a very content temperament. I have recently been reassured by my parents and doctor's nurse that her schedule of going about 4 hours between feedings are just fine, since she is nursing well when she is there. The nurse told me to just enjoy it...I guess I got lucky that I am able to get more than a couple hours to sleep at night between feedings! But then, she is likely to change things on me now that I have said it...
Thank you all for your prayers. We are so happy with this new addition and we will be trying to put up little stories of our experience with our first daughter here on the blog. So check back every once in a while. :) Love to you all.
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