Caylee Is Here!

Our little girl has arrived!  And on her own schedule, may I add lol.  My last post was all about how we still had 8 days until my scheduled C-section.  Three days later--on Thursday August 16th--we headed to see Dr. F for what was supposed to be our last OB check up before the big day.  I was excited to hear that the doc was going to take me off of bed rest, thinking that now we could go pick out Caylee's curtains and a lamp, and that Bryan could move the pack and play into our bedroom.  Basically, I was looking forward to doing a bit of last minute nesting to make sure all was in order for Caylee.  Dr. F mentioned that we could go see a movie, joking that it was the last chance for such an outing that we'd get for some time.  Then she checked my cervix.  

"Well, so y'all are going to head to the hospital and we'll probably be doing the C-section this evening."

Bryan thought she was making a joke.  I immediately asked if I was dilated--and she replied that I was at 4 cm.  My response: holy crap!  She asked if I had been having contractions, and I replied that I'd been a bit crampy off and on, but nothing consistent, regular, or nearly as painful as the preterm contractions that put me on bed rest in the first place.  Initially, she was going to send me for monitoring with a possible C-section, but then decided to go ahead and send me to Labor and Delivery and scheduled the C-section for 5 pm that day!

Bryan and I immediately started on all the phone calls we had to make on the way to the car.  We did swing in Dr. W's office to share the news, and then we were on our way--back to the house lol.  Since Caylee wasn't arriving imminently, we made the executive decision to go get our bags and take a last minute picture or two before heading to the hospital.  

We finally checked in about 11am, and settled in to wait.  Bryan's mom was the first to arrive, and they ran down to the cafeteria to grab lunch.  Her arrival was followed by my mom and dad--along with Joy the Giraffe, a huge stuffed giraffe my parents just HAD to get Caylee lol.  Family slowly filtered in between then and 5 pm: Bryan's Papa and Mimi, my Nannie and Papa, Bryan's dad, and my brother and his girlfriend all made it!

They wheeled me back and hooked me up to my epidural--best thing ever, by the way!  Dr. F, Renee, Bridgette, and all the other nurses were fantastic.  Dr. F started the procedure--talk about the weirdest sensation ever!  I couldn't feel what she was doing, but I could feel her doing something!  My legs only existed as a vague warm sensation, and all the cutting and gutting felt like pressure.  When she pulled my muscles apart, it was even more pressure combined with jerking.  Then there was a huge tugging sensation and Dr. F pulled Caylee out!

She was born at 6:04 pm, August 16th, 2012, and weighed 8 pounds and 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  It sounded like there was a bookie in the room, the way the doc and nurses were calling out guesses about her weight!  Everyone but one nurse thought she was at least 9 pounds lol.  I did pretty good through all of it, though I did need the nausea medication--there was a moment where I really thought I was going to hurl thanks my rapidly changing fluid levels.  I ended up with 15 staples--I asked Dr. F how many she was putting in and she laughed.  Apparently she's never been asked that before, but she still counted for me.

They put Caylee on my chest for a minute and boy was she mad!  She has good lungs, that's for sure.  I didn't get to hold her nearly as long as I wanted--her O2 levels were a bit low, so she had to go to the nursery and be under her astronaut (oxygen) helmet for a while.  She got a great APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) score of between an 8 and 9 out of 10.  Bryan went with her when they wheeled her to the nursery and got to show her off for a minute to the family.  Dr. F went ahead and cut my tubes and finished sewing me up, and then I was wheeled back to my prep room.

A bit later, they transferred me to the Postpartum ward and we settled into the room where we stayed until Sunday.  It was a big private room and even had an extra bed!  Everyone but my parents and Austin and Fanny headed out around 9:30 pm.  Mom, Dad, Austin and Fanny waited with us until they brought Caylee back, which wasn't until close to 11 pm.  I have to admit to being pretty lousy company---I just wanted to see and hold my baby!

Once it was just the three of us, Bryan and I decided to room in with Caylee.  We had originally thought we would let her stay in the nursery so we could sleep, but when it came down to it, we couldn't bear to let them take her away again when we had finally gotten her back.

The next few days were filled with holding Caylee, feeding and changing her, and sharing her with all of the family and friends that came up to see her.  Oh, and watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel!  Bryan stayed with us Friday night, and then Mom stayed Saturday night.  Saturday evening, Bryan and Dad ran errands and got the house set up for our homecoming.  I didn't get feeling back in my right leg until over 24 hours later, when they removed my epidural at 5am Saturday morning and my system had a couple of hours to clear out the medication.  Saturday night, Bryan stayed with us again, and we had a wonderful Sunday morning, just the three of us getting ready to go home.  Mom and Dad came up to help us get out the door, and we ended up being discharged at 1 pm instead of 6 pm!

We've been home with our little Caylee-bear for one week today.  Last week, Vic and Bryanne-Michelle came in to meet their niece and help out around the house.  We had Caylee's newborn photo session last Tuesday, and she got to meet her Aunt Julie and cousin Lucy on Friday.  Bryan has to go back to work this week to wrap things up before his paternity leave, so yesterday Mama Lynn and my parents came over and stayed for dinner.  Then Mama Lynn is staying until Tuesday and Mom and Dad will be here Wednesday through Friday!  I can't find the words to express my gratitude at all the help we've received, as well as all the yummy casseroles that friends and family have made for us!

Caylee is doing wonderfully!  She eats every 4ish hours, and man can she put away her bottle!  Between feedings, she only fusses when she needs to be changed, and the rest of the time either sleeps or stares at the big new world in which she finds herself.  She has Bryan's forehead, ears and chin, and overall head shape.  I think she also has his hair, as it's starting to curl and she has a ton of it!  I hope she has his skin.  She has my nose and cheeks, and we'll see whose eyes she has as they pick a color.  And she smiles a LOT, just like I did as a baby.  Yes, I know some of it is gas, and that she won't exhibit the "social smile" for another month or so, but she smiles even when she's not gassy at all.  She's just one happy, chill little girl!  Bryan and I think she's pretty much perfect, of course, and have fallen completely in love with her.

We are so happy to finally have our little girl safely home in our arms!