First, a little bit of background as to the final weeks of my pregnancy with her. We made a huge life change in December when we moved from PA, our home for the past 7 years, to SC. The move came in the middle of my 2nd trimester when I was (luckily!) feeling pretty good. I was past the morning sickness phase and my energy was back...things were going well! With the move, came the switch in my OB care to a practice here in SC. I was nervous to meet my new OB (I loved my OB back in PA), and once I got to the office for my 1st appt, my blood pressure was extremely high. We chalked it up to stress, and I agreed to do some blood work and come back in a few days for another BP reading. My blood work came back good, and my BP had went back to normal. I went back for my next appt 4 weeks later after the holidays were over, and my BP was back up high yet again. This perplexed both my OB and I because I have always had very good BP. Over the next several weeks I underwent more tests, including regular blood work and a 24 hour urine test. Long story short, I was diagnosed with mild pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks pregnant. My BP continued to rise, and a few days later, I was sent to L&D for monitoring. Fortunately, my BP was stable enough while I was lying down; therefore, I was put on bed rest for a week, and my c-section date was moved up to March 6th.
On March 6th, at 37 weeks + 2 days, we woke up bright and early to head to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am, where we checked in and got a room. I put my hospital gown on and was hooked up for monitoring. After my IV was in, I had a brief meeting with my OB and my anesthesiology team, which let me know exactly what I could expect. Shortly after 9:00 am I kissed Rob "goodbye" and made the long walk (yes, they make you walk!) to the OR. After a successful spinal (thank you, Jesus!), Rob was brought into the OR at 9:20 am, and sat next to my head while they finished prepping me and started surgery. 20 minutes later, London Rayne made her entrance into the world at 9:43 am.
London's birth stats ::
7 lbs, 3.5 oz | 19.25" long
My c-section experience with London was night and day different than my experience with Noah. I was able to see London immediately after she was pulled out and I was able to hold her while they finished with surgery. Getting to hold London immediately after birth was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my life. With Noah, I was so highly medicated and "out of it", that I sadly do not even clearly remember the 1st time I held him post-surgery.
My entire surgical team, including my super sweet OB (why on earth was I nervous to meet her again?!), were truly amazing at keeping me calm and relaxed throughout the entire process. I can honestly say that I loved every minute of my delivery this time around.
Below are a few photos from London's birthday, including a few from our hospital stay.
1st time holding London
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Daddy's girl :)
In Recovery
Just a few hours old wearing her 1st bow ;)
Big brother came to visit!
Sleepy girl (2 days old)
Headed home!
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I'm hoping to bring this blog back to life, and I plan to update more frequently with updates on both my little ones as we navigate life as a family of four!
Until next time,
