EH's Birth Story - Part 6 - Recovery

For the next 30 to 45 minutes (I think) I laid there while I was being sewn back together.  That part of the process actually takes a whole lot longer than the birthing part of it, as there are multiple layers of muscle and tissue that need to separately be stitched together.  During most of that time, DH held EH, and the nurses also took him for awhile to give him the Vitamin K shot (we said ok to that) and to do whatever other things they do to newborns. 

Laying there while I was being stitched up was very "Grey's Anatomy"-esque.  I could hear the nurses talking about their plans for the weekend.  A resident doctor and student were stitching me up, one one each side, and I listened as the student asked questions and the resident explained things.  For example, I learned that although most c-sections are closed with staples, they were closing me with stitches instead, and that there is apparently no medical evidence showing that one way is better than the other.  It is apparently still fairly uncommon for c-section incisions to be closed with stitches as multiple people asked me over the next few days and weeks when I had my staples removed, and some didn't even believe me when I told them I had stitches!

Anyway, after that, the next step is usually to be moved to a recovery room (the labor/delivery/recovery rooms) but there were no recovery rooms available so they decided that I had to stay in the operating room to recover.  They moved me off of the operating table onto a bed, not a stretcher, because they were apparently all of our stretchers.  Of course....

One of the major complaints of Magee Women's Hospital is that it's basically like a big baby factory and that there is little time for personal attention because they're so busy.  I felt like I got plenty of personal attention from all of the doctors and nurses that I encountered, but I was annoyed to keep hearing things like "oh, we dont have a room for you," or "Well, there aren't any stretchers left" all day.  I believe that the hospital is expanding (based on construction that I've seen going on there) and that is definitely much needed.  Hopefully they'll get some more equipment as well.

Once I was settled onto my recovery bed, I got to hold EH for the first time.

And one of the nurses took the first picture of our family of three.

Happy Hartman Family!

I think we were in the recovery/operating room for about an hour after they were done stitching me up, although everything was still pretty hazy.  And then at some point they took us to an actual recovery room.

Once we were settled in there, they put EH under a warming lamp because his temperature was low. My sister arrived a short while later.  I was awake and aware and feeling great, and I made a statement that I laugh about now that I remember it: "I can't believe I have to stay here for 4 days! I feel like I could go home tonight."

HA! Little did I know.  A mere few hours later I would be begging for percocets when the pain became unbearable, but we'll get to that later.  In the meantime I was hooked up to that annoying blood pressure cuff, and nurses kept coming in and pushing on my stomach to help contract my uterus.  Apparently this can be painful, but since I was still so drugged, I didn't mind it at all.  They tried to clean me up a little - oh my god, so much blood - and then I had switch beds again, once they realized that I wasn't on a regular stretcher.

My parents arrived and a short while later they notified me that my inpatient room was ready, so it was time for yet another room change!