At the hospital

After this magical moment of meeting my baby the nurses and doctors have all these unpleasant procedures they must do. It takes away some of the magic but it's a necessity. First they had me push out the placenta. Then, the nurses pushed on my uterus to get the rest of "whatever" out. Since I had no epidural, the nurse was surprised when I complained about it hurting. She was use to people still being numb from the epidural but I could feel it. Since I didn't complain during labor I felt the right to complain. Sometimes it's just nice to whine, ya know?

Anyway, 2 1/2 hours had past and suddenly Scott spoke up. "When can you give her a bath so I can hold her?" The nurse and I both were in shock. He had been very so patient waiting for her thinking that she needed to be cleaned up before he could hold her. I about cried. All he had done was given her kisses and stared at her but he had not held her. I had him grab her and you could see the connection immediately. He held her perfectly, there was no hesitation. He watched intently while the nurse gave her a bath and changed her diaper. He has an amazing memory and I could see his brain taking pictures of how to bathe and change Rhylan. I could see pride in his eyes every time he held her.

While Scott held Rhylan I attempted to get up for the first time since my marathon labor. I had no ab muscles, all I had was a jello belly. It freaked me out so I carried it to the bathroom. The nurse laughed at me because I insisted on holding my stomach like a c-section patient. What used to be filled with Rhylan no longer had a purpose. Suddenly it was just me again! Well, me plus some jello belly. I think I was relieved but also couldn't believe I was holding my baby on the outside. The whole 40 weeks replayed in my head. It was over. This crazy process of pregnancy and labor was over. I felt ready for the unknown. God had given me peace. Scott and I looked her while she slept. He kept checking on her every time she coughed or moved though. We knew sleep was really important so we had her taken out of our room. Within a couple of hours she was back to eat. As beautiful as it was, I knew this would be the first of many, many feedings. We would have plenty of time to bond.

We were glad to leave the hospital with this new life in our hands. I didn't cry at the hospital which I found to be strange but when we got home with her that's when it hit me. We took her to her room and I sobbed. She was truly ours forever. I wanted her to share the same excitement. I wanted her to know this sweet little room was all for her. All these gifts were from people who were excited to meet her. She was the big deal now.