Here We Go Again: Josie's Birth Story

My baby girl is finally here! Josie is so sweet and precious. I can't believe how blessed I am to have two wonderful little girls.

I was so anxious on Tuesday (and it was super windy outside) that I couldn't sleep. I was scared about my c-section and excited that I was finally going to meet my little girl. I knew I needed to get some sleep since it would be a long time until I had 'real' sleep again. I finally fell asleep sometime after 2 and before I knew it Joe was waking me up to get ready for the day. My mom came over so that she could take care of Sophie while we went off to the hospital. I made sure to get my 39 week picture in before we left as well as a picture of our family of three on last time. It was hard leaving Sophie behind. The poor girl had no idea that her whole world was about to change. Good-bye to being an only child with all of the attention!

The drive to the hospital was very nerve-racking. I couldn't believe that in two hours I would get to meet my little girl. When we arrived at the hospital I signed in and they took me back to the prep/recovery room. I got dressed in one of those awesome hospital gowns and headed to my bed to get my hooked up to monitors and to await my IV. Of course with my luck they had to stick me twice because my first vein would not accept the IV. They also took some blood to make sure that my platelet count was up so that I could have the surgery. After what seemed like forever, but in reality was just an hour or so, my doctor came back to make sure I was ready to go and gave the approval so I can head back to the operating room.

As soon as I was wheeled into the operating room they were ready to do my spinal. Last time I had my C-section I was given an epidural, which was no fun. I'm not saying the spinal was fun, but it was a lot better then the epidural. It was still uncomfortable but there wasn't as much pressure as there was when I received the epidural which was nice. It also worked immediately. I was getting so anxious to meet Josie that I was glad I didn't have to wait for the numbness to kick in. Once my spinal was complete they laid me back and finished prepping me for surgery. Just like last time, I was so afraid that they weren't going to let Joe come back in time. I kept asking for him. I was getting pretty nervous at that point and all I wanted was my husband there to hold my hand. Luckily I didn't have to wait that long before he was sitting by my side.

I was so happy that Joe was back there because I started to feel very nauseated from everything that was being pumped into me. I remember feeling this way the last time I had a C-section, but this was a lot worse. I dry heaved for a good minute before the medicine they gave me to curb the nausea kicked in. Joe held my hand the whole time, which was comforting. When I finally felt better, I squeezed Joe's hand, stared over at him and waited around for all the things that I remembered from my last C-section. I waited for the smell of flesh burning, the tugging sensation (as if I was about to be pulled to the floor), the pushing around in my stomach, etc. I felt a little bit of tugging but not as much as I remember from the past. The next thing I knew I heard Josie cry - a kind of choked up cry instead of a wail. I couldn't believe that she was already here! It had seemed like they had just started the surgery. That spinal really worked its magic! I fixed my eyes on the curtain that was separating my head from the lower half of my body waiting to see my girl. The doctor held her up for me to see and my heart instantly melted. Josie was perfect! I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face.

Love at first sight!

Next was the cleanup portion of the surgery, for both Josie and myself. While I was being stitched up, Josie was ushered off to the corner of the room to be weighed, measured, and wiped down. Joe stayed with me for a minute until I urged him to go over and check on Josie and report back to me. Her APGAR scores both came back as 9s, which made me very happy. I stared over at her while I was being stitched up and cried some more happy tears. She looked so perfect and healthy. She even had some little rolls on her legs, which her sister never had. I remember seeing a few red spots on her back and being very concerned about them, asking if she was okay. Of course she was fine and the spots were nothing to be worried about (they have since gone away). I held my breath when they put her on the scale to weigh her – 6 lbs. 2 oz.! I was expecting her to weigh closer to 7 pounds, but I was so glad that she was not a shrimp like her sister. Everything was looking great for her. I was so happy and thankful!

Josephine Evelyn Stenger - born at 10:36AM - 6lb 2oz - 19.75 inches

You can see a few of the red spots on this picture. Under the bright OR lights they really showed.

Once I was stitched up, Josie was placed in my arms and I was wheeled off to the recovery room. In the past, you only had to stay in the recovery room for an hour. Now you have to stay in there for two hours. I was a little bummed by this. Our parents, Sophie and two of Joe's sisters were out in the waiting room so they could meet Josie. While the adults could come into the recovery room, Sophie, the person I couldn't wait to introduce Josie to, wasn't allowed. I remember anxiously looking at the clock, hoping that I would be released to my room so that Sophie could meet her sister before she had to go home for a nap. We ended up being in the recovery room for closer to three hours. Even though that stunk, I was happy just snuggling with my baby girl.