Tag Archives: pregnancy

Perhaps the point that I can’t stress enough is this:

Just know that if your usual trips are packed to the max, getting up with the sun and staying at the parks until after closing without any breaks because you’re too busy going from one thrill ride to the next, you’ll have to accept the fact that this trip will be different. There are many rides that aren’t recommended for pregnant women and your growing belly might prevent you from touring at your usual pace, but there are plenty of other things to do and different can be great! Take this opportunity to experience things at Disney that you normally wouldn’t and it will be a completely new park to you.

With that in mind, here are some additional tips I can offer based on my experience taking a trip to Disney World at 34 weeks pregnant. I went mostly to take maternity photos at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, since we love Disney so much, but it was also our opportunity to get away one last time before our son arrived. I knew I wasn’t going to go on many rides, if any, and that our pace might have to be alot slower than usual, but we still had plenty to do and had so much fun, as always. It was also interesting to move away from the crowds to seek out photo opportunities. We often found ourselves alone and looking at things we had never seen before.

Most of these tips can even be beneficial to follow during all of your trips, even when you’re not pregnant. Just use common sense and your own feelings to know what you can and can’t do.

 

Drink plenty of water
There is definitely no shortage of water in Disney World. Everywhere you turn, there is either a water fountain, a restaurant or a cart selling bottled water. Staying hydrated is always important, but even more so while you’re pregnant. Touring Disney requires plenty of walking, so now would not be a good time to have swollen feet due to dehydration. Drink even more during the hot months, which in Florida is pretty much every month. So every time you pass a water fountain, take a sip or fill up your water bottle. If you don’t like water fountains, then bring water with you or buy bottles from the many beverage carts or counter-service restaurants scattered throughout the parks. Powerade can be a good alternative to soda if you get tired of drinking water. I’ve seen some people bring those flavored powder packets to mix in with their water, too. Personally, I don’t like toting around food/drink items, but this could be a good option for others.

 

Make sure you eat
This shouldn’t be difficult with the plethora of delicious food options at Disney, but Disney can be so much fun that you can forget to eat. Eating is half the fun for us while we’re at Disney, so this was no problem for us. You can be good and have snacks like bananas and carrots, or like me and have Dole Whips and cream cheese pretzels instead. Either way, put something in your tummy to make sure you don’t get light-headed. That baby needs nutrition!

 

Take breaks from walking and/or the heat
This can be done a number of ways. First of all, don’t unnecessarily stand if the option of sitting is available. There’s plenty of benches throughout the parks, use them! Find a spot to sit while waiting for the parades, such as a bench or the curb. Use Fastpasses so you don’t stand in line any longer than you have to. Also, you can go on rides or attend shows that allow you to sit for longer periods of time, preferably ones that are inside in the air conditioning. Some that come to mind are Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom, Finding Nemo in Animal Kingdom, MuppetVision 3D in Hollywood Studios and Spaceship Earth in Epcot.

Enjoy the fireworks from a comfy spot
Finding a good seat while waiting for fireworks was briefly mentioned above, but there’s other ways to accomplish this too. Finding a seat for the Wishes fireworks mostly requires you to find a spot and wait for hours for the show to begin or stand in the middle of Main Street for 30-45 minutes, unless you don’t mind walking up as soon as the show starts and don’t care about getting a good view. One way around this is to book a spot at the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party. The party usually starts about an hour before Wishes and is held in the Tomorrowland Terrace across from the castle. You just show up at your booked time and you have reserved seating. There is a fantastic buffet of desserts to gather and bring to your table to enjoy while waiting for the fireworks.

 

 

 

Then, when the fireworks are about to begin, you can either stay in your seat or stand near the ledge to get a better view, both much better options than standing with the crowds just a few hundred feet away. Go here for more info and to reserve your seat: Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party.

At Epcot, a good trick is to book your dinner at a restaurant along the lagoon, like Rose & Crown Pub in Great Britain or La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico, close to the Illuminations time. You may have to request a seat for this purpose and Disney will do its best to accomodate you. Then you can enjoy your dinner and a show at the same time, all from your reserved seat.

 

Go back to the hotel to take a nap or swim
This is not something we ordinarily do, but since we had gotten up so early to have breakfast and take photos in an empty park one day, a midday break was just what the doctor ordered. Just when it was starting to get crowded and hot, we went back to the hotel to get off of our feet and relax, eat lunch and then freshen up before going back to the park for the evening and nighttime activities. We avoided the most crowded and hot times of the day by doing this. We felt refreshed and enjoyed the evening much better than if we had stayed at the park the entire day. Bring or request extra pillows if you need them!

 

Wear comfortable shoes and clothes
Your definition of comfortable may be different than mine, but now’s not the time to wear 4 inch heals and a short skirt. (Although I don’t know why anyone would want to wear that to the parks anyway, pregnant or not, but I definitely see it every time I go!) I find sneakers or flip-flops comfortable, along with shorts and a sleeveless top. My feet still hurt at the end of the day (this is what I call “Disney feet” and takes several days to get used to) but I know it could have been much worse. We also find it helpful to alternate shoe types each day (i.e. wear flip-flops one day and sneakers the next).

 

Focus on things other than thrill rides
Food - Eat somewhere you’ve never eaten at before. If you usually eat quick-service chicken tenders, try eating at a table-service restaurant and enjoy the atmosphere and break from the hustle and bustle outside. You just can’t go wrong with Disney food. If you have any pregnancy-induced food aversions, look up the menus prior to booking to make sure you’ll be ok. (We use Allears.net to view menus)

Shows - If you usually skip certain shows, like Beauty & the Beast while making a mad dash towards Tower of Terror, take time to experience the shows you may not normally watch.

Entertainment - Take a moment to watch the entertainment provided throughout the parks, like DeVine in Animal Kingdom, the street performers at Hollywood Studios, and the many performances around Epcot, such as the Jammitors or Off Kilter (two of our favorites). Grab the entertainment schedule once you enter the park and have fun!

Photos - Grab your camera and take photos of anything and everything. Disney is full of details and is the perfect place to take interesting photos. Take some unique maternity photos too!

 

Characters - Take the opportunity to take photos with characters, which could be quite fun when you’re pregnant, since the characters interact with you.

 

Shopping - Need I say more? There’s plenty of shopping to be had at the parks, as well as at Downtown Disney. World of Disney and Days of Christmas are two of our favorite stores ever and we can spend hours just looking at everything. Just keep your budget in mind!

 

Don’t overdo it
It can be difficult to stop yourself from trying to do everything that Disney has to offer. This task is nearly impossible even for non-pregnant people! Especially if you will be there more than one day, you want to pace yourself and just remember that you can’t do everything in a day, or that some things will just have to wait until your next trip. You should have a new addition to your family to have fun with on your next trip…and that’s something to look forward to!

 

Here is a list of rides at each park that Disney advises pregnant women not to ride.

Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Goofy’s Barnstormer, Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
Epcot: Test Track; Mission: SPACE
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Star Tours;
Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, Primevil Whirl

I also wouldn’t recommend taking the trip after 37 weeks if you have to travel quite a distance to get home. Your insurance might not cover your expenses if you are out of their coverage area and you’ll end up in an unfamilar hospital with an unfamiliar doctor. Everyone’s pregnancies are different, so please take the advice of your physician/midwife before you even consider going on a Disney trip while pregnant. I spoke to my doctor before going and I was cleared to go. We also frequently go to Disney World, so we knew exactly what to expect.

 

From our Disney trip when I was pregnant:

Disney World Maternity Photos

Disney World Maternity Photo Trip Report

 

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I have a tendency to overprepare, overthink and overpack. So it was shocking to me that I just kept putting off packing my hospital bag for the delivery and hospital stay. Brett had to ask me several times when I was planning to do it, so you could probably say a large percentage of why I finally did it was so he would stop asking me already.

Perhaps the main reason I kept putting it off was because so many of the items that I was going to pack were items that I still used on a daily basis. When our doctor’s appointments started being every week, we made sure to bring the hospital bag with us just in case we were sent right to the hospital for some reason (which did happen once because of my blood pressure, but we were sent home thankfully). We would prepare everything for the appointment and then take half of it back out when we needed it after we got home. I guess I just kind of took a relaxed view about it, that we would have time to come home and get everything before going to the hospital, whereas Brett was more worried about needing to drive 100 mph to get there or we’d run out of time and I’d have the baby in the car. Quite the role-reversal of our normal mindsets.

I also kept having the mental debate of whether to overpack or bring the bare minimum. I ended up somewhere in the middle and even didn’t use some of the stuff we brought. The good thing though was that I never needed anything we didn’t have during the almost 3 days we were there. I call that a success. Here is everything I brought and whether or not I used it.

My Hospital Bag

-2 outfits and underwear: I only used one of the outfits, though, and it was to go home in. I wore the hospital gown the entire time I was there. Things were messy and I didn’t want to ruin what I brought if I could help it. If anyone came to visit, I just pulled the blanket up high enough and we were good to go. Same thing goes for the underwear…I only wore 1 pair to go home in. Before you yell “Eww gross” (and if you are saying that now, you’re in for a surprise when it’s your turn to deliver a baby) I stuck with the unattractive mesh underwear that the hospital provides. You will be wearing a pad the size of a college textbook, so don’t think you’ll be walking out of the hospital in a pretty lace thong.

{The outfit I went home in. Notice it is very roomy and comfortable, as I was still very sore and swollen}

-Flip flops: Us Florida girls don’t leave the house without flip-flops. Easy on, easy off…they were convenient if I ever needed to get up and walk around. Plus my feet were still swollen, so closed toe shoes weren’t an option anyway.

-Socks: I brought a pair of fuzzy, no-slip socks if my feet got cold or didn’t want to put the flip-flops on.

-Toiletries: Basically anything you use on a daily basis. I brought sample sizes of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, soap, hairspray, lotion, face wash, facial moisturizer and makeup, among other things. I brought my blowdryer and flat iron, but I didn’t use it because I just put my hair in a ponytail after I washed it. Seriously, I didn’t care…anyone that came to visit was there to see the baby, not me, so I only cared about making myself look presentable.

-2 outfits for Brett and all of his toiletries: Don’t forget about your significant other, unless they will be making trips home during your stay.

-Drinks and a snack (trail mix): These were mostly for Brett since I got all of my meals provided by the hospital (our hospital’s food is pretty decent, and my insurance pays for it, so I was taking advantage of that perk for sure!) and they also provided plenty of juice and graham crackers for me.

-Electronics: Camera, video camera, laptop, iPad, Kindle, both of our cell phones and chargers for everything. Brett took plenty of photos and uploaded them to the laptop and kept everyone updated. We also had free Wi-fi, so we were able to keep busy…besides, you know, having to take care of the baby and stuff.

-Pillow and Boppy: The hospital provided plenty of pillows, but Brett still used the pillow from home. I brought the Boppy just in case I needed it to prop Trent up while feeding him, but I mostly just used regular pillows.

Baby’s Bag

-Going home outfit: Trent pretty much just chilled in his diaper, a blanket and his hat the entire time until it was time to go home.

That’s pretty much it for the baby bag, everything else he needed was provided by the hospital, such as diapers, wipes, blankets…and the nurses were expert swaddlers, so nothing else was needed. I brought a blanket, several sizes of outfits (we weren’t sure how big he’d be), some diapers and wipes, a stuffed animal and a pacifier, but didn’t use any of it.

-Car seat: Not exactly a baby bag item, but a requirement if you want to bring the baby home!

There ya have it. I’m actually quite proud of myself for keeping it nice and simple.

Some other items to note:

We never took any classes prior to the birth. We had considered taking birth and breastfeeding classes, but decided against them for several reasons. I knew I wanted an epidural and didn’t really have a specific birth plan, so I was willing to just go along with whatever needed to be done to deliver a healthy baby. I also read several books and looked up any questions I had beforehand and when we were in the hospital, I just asked the nurses any questions I had and they were always so helpful. It also went so fast that it would have almost seemed silly to spend time at 6 weekly classes adding up to more time than the delivery took! Looking back, I am so glad I didn’t spend the time or money on the classes because I can’t think of anything that I wish I had known more about. I’m not saying this decision is for everyone, some people need classes, but I have always preferred online, self-paced learning anyway.

We reactivated our Netflix Instant Streaming subscription about a week beforehand, and the daytime television was bad enough to use the Netflix, but we didn’t since we either had visitors, were interrupted every other hour by a nurse or were just enjoying our new baby.

We enjoyed all of our visitors, who came sporadically and not all at the same time. The room was pretty small, so any more than 2-3 visitors would have been too much. It was great seeing everyone meet and interact with Trent and it helped the time pass by better.

And if people offer to bring you stuff, take them up on it! I am forever grateful for the kindness and gifts…everything from my first post-delivery Chik-fil-a meal to the full meals at home to stuffed animals for Trent. And even though Brett was home for the first two weeks, some offers to do the dishes or laundry would have been nice!

I am so glad we will have this video and all the photos of Trent’s birth to look back on. I also plan on doing yearly photobooks with all of our photos of each year. I would like to do one for 2011, but let’s see if I can get organized enough to start!

As a sidenote, I’ve had my Macbook for a few months and finally decided to use some of the programs that came with it other than the internet. I used iMovie to make this video and iPhoto to import the photos. It was super simple and I look forward to making many more videos!

You can read Trent’s complete birth story HERE!

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On June 18, 2012, we finally got to meet our sweet little boy.

It has been an amazing and exhausting time since getting back from the hospital, but we are enjoying our new addition to the fullest.

On Sunday June 17th, I posted about my weekend full of walking, swimming and even taking some Evening Primrose Oil capsules, so that we would get things started. Other things were done too, but I won’t go into the specifics on that.

Well, THAT night at midnight I started having contractions. At first, it was like a crampy feeling and it wasn’t too bad. I actually even said to Brett “Oh, I wonder if that’s what that is.” I had not felt any sort of Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the entire pregnancy, so this was new to me, which was why I was guessing whether this was the beginning of labor.

We were both excited that something was happening, but didn’t want to jump ahead of ourselves, so we went to bed. I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for the next morning at 9:30am, so we figured we would wait and see if it progresses before making any decisions.

Sometime between 3 and 4 am, I happened to wake up and could feel the contractions more than when they started at midnight. I decided to start timing them with one of the apps on my phone. At this point, I was confused at what to think. While they all lasted between 45 to 60 seconds, the time between each contraction varied greatly, with some being as much as 7-8 minutes apart and some being as little as 4 minutes apart. Not the consistency I was expecting based on what I had read.

Brett woke up a little while later and saw me timing myself. At this point, there was no going back to sleep. Not only because I was in pain, but because we were eager to see the progression and decide whether to go to the doctor’s appointment or skip it and go to the hospital instead.

In my mind, I kept thinking that the contractions needed to be closer together and that I didn’t want to go to the hospital for a false alarm. I mean, would they send me home or would they induce me since I was already overdue? Or should I just go to the doctor’s appointment to see what my doctor says?

In the end, we decided to go to the hospital and left the house around 9 am. Why pay a copay for an office visit if you think they are just going to send you to the hospital anyway, right? It was definitely a good decision, because as I timed my contractions in the car, they were getting closer together, some as close as 3 minutes! Yet, the pain was still bearable…not the terrible pains I was expecting, that’s for sure. I could still talk and I was still able to help pack up the car before heading out.

Our check-in at the hospital was much different this time compared to the last time we went. I guess when you tell them you are overdue and having contractions, you get to go to the front of the line! Since I already had my paperwork filled out, they didn’t need much from me, so they gave me my wristband and walked us back to triage, where I changed into a hospital gown and got ready for them to start monitoring me.

{So flattering, right?!}

They hooked up the blood pressure cuff and contraction and baby heart rate monitors and everything was just fine. Then another nurse came in to measure if I was dilated around 10:00 am. I was 6 centimeters already! I was completely shocked to be so far along without feeling too much pain yet. Today was the day we would be having our baby, if everything continued progressing along at this rate!

We waited in triage for a little while longer in order for them to get everything processed and ready for me and then we headed over to the room where we’d get to meet our son! I was able to walk to the room, which wasn’t too far down the hall. Luckily, the hospital gowns overlap in the back, so no hiney shots from me like you see in the movies. It was a pretty large room (bigger than the one they showed us during the hospital tour) with a window, separate bathroom with whirlpool tub (didn’t use it), a tv, a few chairs for guests, my bed and the area for the baby to get cleaned up and monitored.

I didn’t have a birth plan, mostly because I knew I would just do whatever it took to reduce my pain while delivering a healthy baby boy. I was, however, trying not to overmedicate myself if I didn’t have to. So when the nurse asked me if I wanted my epidural now or later (I had already told them I would want one) I wasn’t sure what to say. I could still bear through the pain of the contractions but I knew they were definitely getting stronger. I decided to go for it, since it could take a while before it kicked in. It was a good thing I said yes then, because the anesthesiologist wouldn’t be able to get to me for another half an hour. Apparently that day was a busy day for babies!

They did ask if I wanted something else for the pain until I got the epidural, and I said yes, but when the nurse told me that I would feel slightly “drunk-feeling” from it, I decided against it. I didn’t want to be completely out of it for the delivery. Luckily, the anesthesiologist made it within a few minutes of that decision, so I am glad I waited.

Brett stood in front of me and held my hands as I hunched over for the anesthesiologist to have access to my back. I never saw the needle or any of the equipment that was used. I was told it would feel like a bee sting when the needle first goes in.

Great…I HATE bees!

He couldn’t have picked another pain metaphor could he? Either way, he was right…I’ve been stung enough times to know what a bee sting feels like and I can recall several bee stings that felt worse than this - of course, the last time I was stung was when I was young, like 10 years old or something, when pain feels a lot worse than it really is. But since I was expecting it to get worse at any moment, I kept squeezing Brett’s hands. Then, when he was about to insert the catheter, he told me that sometimes if they hit a nerve it will cause me to flinch…and that I did! Almost my entire body jumped up uncontrollably…I couldn’t help but laugh. He taped up my entire back so the catheter would stay in place and within 10 minutes, I felt the sweet goodness of the epidural.

Now, this isn’t meant to be a debate for or against any type of birth experience…but I am so glad I got the epidural. I was able to relax, which made the time go by so much easier.

Shortly after, Brett’s mom arrived to hang out with us in the room. The nurse made frequent appearances in the room to see how I was doing and to check my progress and to get things ready for the big event.

{Trent’s first hat was waiting for him over in his station.}

There was absolutely nothing on TV the entire time. We had restarted our Netflix instant streaming just a few days prior so that we would have something to watch on the laptop, but it didn’t seem worth it to bust it out with the interruptions and unknown timing of everything. So we watched reruns of American Pickers and Friends. I remember actually pushing to an episode of Friends and telling the nurse I wanted to look like Jennifer Aniston in a few weeks…here’s to wishful thinking!

During one of the times the nurse came in to check me, my water broke…not sure if she did it or if it was just a coincidence. I couldn’t see, but was told the fluid was pretty clear…which was good and meant that he didn’t pass any meconium yet and that he should be pretty clean when coming out.

Around 3:30pm, the nurse checked and said I was 10 centimeters dilated. She asked if I was ready to start pushing and if I felt any pressure. I was ready to push, but since I caved in and pressed the extra epidural button JUST before she walked into the room, I couldn’t feel any pressure. She suggested we wait at least a half an hour for me to start feeling pressure, since it would help the process if I knew when I was contracting so that I could push more effectively.

Ugh…more waiting. Might as well pretty myself up since I knew plenty of photos were about to be taken of me

She came back in a little after 4 and started to get everything ready for delivery by putting the bed and me in the correct position and informing the other nurses to tell the on-call doctor that we were starting to push. Right before we started, the other nurse came back in the room and told our nurse that the doctor was about to deliver another baby and that if it was going to be less than 30 minutes, to wait and not start pushing. Brett recalls the nurse saying he was about to do 2 c-sections, but I don’t remember what she said.

Our nurse decided it would take longer than 30 minutes and that we would start pushing. Basically, every time I had a contraction, I would take a deep breath and push as hard as I could for 10 seconds, while Brett pushed me forward and I pulled my knees as close to my chest as possible, then repeat 2 more times. Then we would wait for the next contraction to do it again.

Brett’s mom stayed in the room with us and played photographer. We now have photo documentation of the entire event…minus any shots of “down there” since that was off-limits! But I remember her walking back and forth and giving words of encouragement the entire time. I was so glad she was there, even though I decided it would just be me and Brett in the room. Right before I started pushing, I asked her if she wanted to stay and, of course, she said yes!

After what felt like 30-45 minutes (I don’t remember the exact time) I remember the nurse yelling for the doctor to come in the room because he was almost out! I remember seeing a bunch of people enter the room - or as I referred to them afterward, the doctor’s “posse”. One of the most difficult parts of the delivery was when the head was literally right there, but I couldn’t push because I wasn’t having a contraction. I started to breathe very quickly and tried so hard to slow my breathing down. Luckily, the next contraction came and I pushed as hard as I could because I didn’t want to wait through another break in contractions. I had my eyes closed every time I pushed, but this time I opened them just as I felt Trent coming out.

Trent was born at 5:29 pm, weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

Ahhh relief…

…and overwhelming happiness. They suctioned out his mouth and nose and handed him over to me and Brett where he let out a few quick screams and then relaxed with us. He was finally here and we love him so much.

While I was holding him, the doctor spent at least 20 minutes stitching me up. I had several labial tears, which apparently is an unusual spot to have tears. The stitching was extremely painful, but luckily I was at least semi distracted by holding and loving on Trent. The anesthesiologist had to come back in the room to give me a shot of Lidocaine and the nurse pressed the button for me to get an extra dose of epidural.

Shortly after, I began to not feel well and asked Brett’s mom to take Trent. I started to look pale and my blood pressure dropped extremely low. They pumped several bags of fluids in me, but I spent the next 30 minutes or so shaking uncontrollably and being kind of out of it.

I did peek over to see Trent being weighed, washed and taken care of. He took his vitamin K shot like a champ and didn’t scream at all…but as soon as the nurse took his rectal temperature, he sure let the entire hospital know that he didn’t like it!

Everyone even said that when they placed him on the table for his sponge bath, he rolled over because he didn’t like the bright lights above him. I wonder if babies have superpower strength in their first minutes of life to make them do things they shouldn’t be able to for another few months…

Shortly after, Brett’s sister saved the day and brought us all Chik-Fil-A! I was so hungry, since I had only eaten a banana that morning because I was afraid to eat anything else at the risk of seeing it come back out on the delivery table! Nice TMI huh? We then all relaxed and took turns holding Trent.

Normally they have you stay in the room for about 2 hours after delivery, but since I had the blood pressure issues, I stayed there for a little while longer. They had me sit up to try to leave once, but I immediately felt dizzy and had to lay back down.

Around 9pm, right after Brett’s mom and sister left, they tried to get me ready to transfer rooms again. I stood up and the nurse and Brett walked me over to the bathroom, and just as I sat down on the toilet and Brett walked away to go to the baby, I passed out and the nurse yelled for Brett to push the emergency button just as she pressed the one in the bathroom. I was hunched over with the nurse holding me when several more nurses rushed in and stuck ammonia under my nose to wake me up. Man, that stuff is strong!

They slowly walked me back over to the bed and gave me more fluids. The feeling before you pass out is so scary, and one that I’ve experienced several times before with blood pressure drops. You begin to feel dizzy and then your hearing starts to fade out and then you wake up not knowing what happened. This was not how I envisioned the first few hours of my son’s life…his mommy barely able to stand, let alone hold him and take care of him. I guess it could have been worse, since everything was fine as long as I was lying down.

Finally around 11pm, I was asked to try again. This time they brought the potty to me, as well as a wheelchair. This time went much better and we were then able to transition to the recovery room. Brett carried most of our bags and wheeled Trent down the hallway behind me being pushed by the nurse.

We made a stop at the lullaby button…something we had been looking forward to since we found out about it at our hospital tour. Every time a new mom and baby are transferred to a recovery room, they press this lullaby button to play a short lullaby over the speakers in the delivery pavilion. It’s kind of like the baby announcing his arrival. Every time we heard it, we couldn’t help but smile.

We spent that night and the next in the hospital, from Monday to Wednesday. Trent got to meet several friends and family members that visited us. Honestly, the hospital stay got rather boring at times and it was nice to have visitors to look forward to. Much better than the knocks on the door every other hour for the nurses to take my blood pressure and temperature.

We had such wonderful nurses during the entire stay. They were all so attentive and helped me get the hang of breastfeeding (in addition to the visits from the lactation consultant…who was also wonderful). We even had a friend of ours as our nurse one night and we were so grateful to find out that she had come in to check on us during the night and decided not to bother us when she saw all three of us were sleeping.

I was glad not to have any more issues with blood pressure during our stay. Perhaps my main disappointment of the entire experience was that my OB wasn’t involved in anything. When we arrived at the hospital, my first question was “Who is the on-call doctor?” and I was disappointed to find out it was a doctor who I was familiar with and had office visits with when my doctor wasn’t able to see me. This doctor had forgotten to give me my Rhogam shot at one of my appointments, prematurely sent me to Triage at 38 weeks and is quite frantic and hurried, exactly the opposite of my laid-back and relaxed doctor. In the beginning of this pregnancy, I knew that there would be the possibility that I could end up being seen by different doctors, and I was ok with that at first, but after several negative experiences with this same doctor, I must say that it ended up being my main peeve. I question everything he did and even continue to wonder whether he stitched me up correctly…I guess I will find out at my follow-up appointment with MY doctor in a few weeks. My doctor did come to visit me each morning we were in the hospital, where we found out that the other doctor didn’t even mention all the post-delivery issues with stitching and blood pressure drops in my chart…in fact, my doctor had NO CLUE about all of it because the other doctor didn’t write any of it in my chart. I had to tell him!

It really is amazing how the demeanor of my doctor calms me down and makes me feel better about everything. He actually sits down and takes the time to talk to me, which is why I am sad he wasn’t involved in anything. I would have just felt so much better about everything if he had been. He wasn’t even the one on-call for the circumcision and he said he didn’t even know I was in the hospital until the next day. Oh well, it’s all in the past and we still have a happy, healthy baby boy at home with us.

On our final day in the hospital, Trent’s Nana and Poppa came to visit and helped us leave the hospital - we were discharged around 1 pm.

I was so happy to leave…those hospital beds are so darn uncomfortable! Especially because of the stitching, it was so difficult to get in and out of bed.

We visited a friend of ours who had her baby on the same day as us who was rooming next door before we left. We packed up all of our stuff and headed home with our new addition.

We arrived at home to find a nice sign and balloon left for us by Nana and Poppa, who apparently raced to our house before we got there to put it in the yard. Sneaky Nana and Poppa!

It has definitely been an adjustment since being home, one that we are rolling with and trying to figure out each day that passes. After a few days, I was able to stop taking pain medication and now only feel pain once in a while. Brett has been home taking plenty of photos, keeping us fed and making sure the animals are taken care of, too.

It didn’t take long for Trent to settle in…taking plenty of naps and eating like a champ (perhaps TOO much like a champ!).

We are so happy.

We also made a video of the entire birth experience…from heading to the hospital all the way to coming home with Trent! You can view it HERE!!

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