Part 5: after birth

So now that was over...the staff had the baby and Tina was generally OK (pretty sore from everything, of course) and that was that. But we were still worred about the baby and not really sure what to do or think or anything. It was weird - we had a daughter (we'd always had her, of course, but now we knew she was a daughter and she was out and alive and breathing and stuff) but we didn't have her with us and I had a feeling like the whole ordeal was over. Not that I didn't want her or anything, but I didn't have her and I was taking care of Tina so much like I'd been for 9 months that Elizabeth wasn't really in the picture yet.

We got a recovery room (really big and pretty comfy, although the bed got uncomfy pretty quick) and about 2:00 they brought Elizabeth to us. T & E got the hang of nursing really quickly. Everyone told us it would be frustrating but it wasn't as bad at first as I thought.

The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday really run together. No sleep, Tina and Elizabeth trying to figure each other out, a bit of a rough spell when the fatigue caught up to us. We gave Elizabeth to the nurses for a few hours and got some blissful sleep. They gave her a bottle to be sure she got her feeding, but she spit that up at us later, as if to say "only 100% pure mom's milk for me!" Which is fine with us.

Our nurses after delivery were great too. Holly & Chelsea & Shamara (& one more named Sandy I think) and all the nursing consultants were bound and determined to help us however they could. We were a little reluctant to bother them, but they soundly chastized us for not doing so more. I think they just wanted to see our gorgeous little girl.

And the food was very good too. It helped that Tina's nausea went away the first morning.

They kept us until Thursday to have a little more time to observe Elizabeth and to make sure we got the nursing help and rest we needed. I understood and appreciated that, but Tina was stuck in that room for 3 days and was going nuts. I at least came home to shower and eat and get a little fresh air. Thursday about 2:00 PM we came home and have been around-the-clock feeding, burping, changing, crying & squirming, learning and loving. Tiring but a lot of fun in a bizarre way.