Riverside Methodist Hospital

**warning once again super long** ------------------------------------------------------------------ We checked in to L&D at Riverside Methodist Hospital at 2:30 am on May 16, 2011. We checked out 3 days later on Wednesday afternoon around 1 pm and were sent on our way with this new little bundle hoping we knew what the heck we were doing. Our first sign that maybe we didn't have a clue was that neither of us knew if we had put him in the carseat correctly. That's not something you can exactly practice without a baby and the hospital won't help you for liability reasons. But nonetheless we made it home in one piece and we are figuring this parent thing out one day at a time.

Day 1 - Our postpartum room was 3132. There are 2 floors where they keep patients and we lucked out being on the 3rd floor. It was under construction so there were only 7 of us patients there so we got a lot of extra attention. The nursery was even under construction so you couldn't walk by and look in the window. They had turned one of the postpartum rooms into their makeshift nursery. The 5th floor is the other postpartum floor and they had about 30 patients, I am sure glad we were on the 3rd all my nurses were amazing I wish I could remember even one of their names, but I don't. I can't remember how long I had been in my room, maybe an hour? When the nurse said I needed to get up to the bathroom. I didn't feel like I had to pee but she said I still needed to try. I told her my left leg was still completely numb so she said I would have to use the dreaded bed pan. I begged her to let me get up. Because my right leg wasn't numb anymore she agreed. With the nurse and the tech on either side of me I hobbled to the bathroom, it was such a weird sensation with my left leg, it kept collapsing underneath me. Even though I never felt the urge to pee, I peed a ton, she said I had been given 3 bags of IV fluid. It took until about 6 pm before I could actually walk on my own without help and even then it still felt a bit strange. They brought me a food tray with a sandwhich etc. around 11am, I remember I wasn't terribly hungry but I still ate it. Most the food there is edible but nothing to write home about. The nurse came in and gave the baby a sponge bath at the bedside, he screamed through the whole thing. After, Shayne commented on the fact that his hair looked a little lighter now, the nurse laughed and said it was because he had some poop in his hair (gross) and so it looked darker before she cleaned it out. Since the baby came early Shayne still had some loose ends to tie up at school for graduation. The nurses told him to leave and get it done since I was in good hands with lots of help, so he took off just after lunch. Right after he left I was laying there with the baby and he all of a sudden threw up a ton of dark brown fluid. I didn't think it was possible for that much to come out of one little person especially because they say their stomachs are the size of a marble. This was about 1/8 cup, literally...a lot for this little guy. He started turning blue and I could tell he was choking on it. I got the bulb syringe and started sucking it out and pushed the call light for the nurse. When I sat him up and he started crying I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that little cry. Even though I am a nurse it made me so nervous especially cause I was alone and Shayne had just left. The tech came in and said she would take him to the nursery to be checked. The nurse came in to reassure me that this was normal she said that most babies that are born so quickly don't have time to push all the secretions out when they come through the birth canal and so they throw up for the first little bit. She said it was dark brown because of the meconium but that it was good for him to be getting it out. She could tell it had still shook me up and asked if I wanted her to keep him in the nursery for awhile. I told her yes and then she left and I was able to take a short nap. Up until this point there was a lot going on and I had a lot of adrenaline, I didn't realize how tired I was, after all we had just pulled an all nighter on top of giving birth :) When the nurse brought him back to me she told me he threw up 3 more times in the nursery. I couldn't believe he had even more in him after what I had seen. I was glad I had left him in the nursery for them to deal with so I didn't have to again. We had a few visitors that first day at the hospital even though we don't have any family around. Dr. Hunter one of the anesthesiologists came to see me and then Laura one of my favorite co workers and my boss Barb. I told everyone else at work they were welcome to come up and visit but everyone said they would wait to see him later on. My good friend Molly came with her 3m old daughter. Our good friends Chase and Raquel came that night with their little boy Mason. I had told Shayne to go home and check on the dogs and maybe take a nap too since he couldn't sleep very well on the hard cushion they had in our room. He was going to come back and bring me dinner. Chase and I both tried numerous times to get ahold of Shayne but he wouldn't answer his phone. Once we finally did we found out he had fallen asleep and didn't hear his phone. Since it was late and Shayne wouldn't be back for a bit, Chase and Raquel were sweet and brought me dinner (Mcdonald's nuggets, so much better than the hospital food and way healthier too :) they were so sweet to bring cookies, candy and a cute outfit for the baby too. Shayne made it back finally around 7pm. The Davis' left we watched a little TV and then they came and took the baby to the nursery. I was always planning on leaving him in our room with us but after the throwing up incident and the fact that there were only 7 of us on our floor I sent him to the nursery. I was so glad I did, I know he got plenty of attention in the nursery and we were able to get some rest, they brought him to me to eat and then would take him back. End of day one and we still don't have a name for this guy. We have a few in the works but haven't settled on one yet! --------------------------------------------- Day 2 - Shayne had to go to school again so I was left to myself to try and get some more sleep. I had also taken our couch apart to wash it before the baby came but never got it put back together since he came early so I asked Shayne to go home again and put it back together and check on the dogs too. It took us 2 days to settle on a name not to mention the fact that we have been trying to figure it out for 9 months now. We decided today finally on Jaxon Shayne and I love having a name to call him now instead of just baby, bean, buddy or little man. I think it fits him perfectly!! Even after we settled on a name it took us another good hour to decide on the spelling. What can I say we are indecisive. I think it's ok though, naming someone is a big deal, they will be stuck with said name for the rest of their lives and quite frankly I don't like that pressure I would have loved for him to come out with it stamped on his foot or something :) Our only visitors today were our friends the Nydeggers. They stopped by with their boy Miles, I felt so bad, Jaxon cried the entire time.

In the hospital with all the help we were able to just enjoy our little man. Since the nurses wait on you hand and foot it's easy to do. All he did was eat and sleep and pee (we didn't actually change one diaper the entire time we were in the hospital) but I would just hold him and stare at him for hours on end. Even though I know most babies just look like babies and they change so much, I can see so many of Shayne's features in him and can't wait to see how he changes and grows. I couldn't believe this little miracle was finally here. He took a lot of blood (literally they had to draw it all the time) sweat and tears to get here along with a lot of faith and prayers. I am so grateful for modern medicine and great doctors and nurses both who helped to get him here and then helped during the labor delivery and postpartum. I am also grateful for the many prayers offered in our behalf and so thankful for so many family and friends who were so supportive through it all. I couldn't believe how much I already loved this little baby, he was just so precious with 10 tiny perfect fingers and 10 tiny perfect toes we couldn't be more blessed.

First pic after being cleaned off and passing his apgar by the NICU nurses

Mom's first time holding Jaxon

Getting weighed and hating it!

1st family photo and first kangaroo (or skin to skin) time with mom 1st sponge bath - hated every minute of it All clean and wide awake for the first time! 2 days old - a bit swollen with a bit of baby acne and rashes but still so darn cute!! Shayne spent much of his time here poor guy, it's not very big and definitely not very soft So Precious!!! Grandma and Grandpa Adams and Great Grandma Pace sent these beautiful flowers. The smaller ones were sent from the president of the hospital, I have never even met the guy, should I feel special? :) Packed up and waiting for the wheelchair to take us out.