After The Tenth..... When The Fun Really Begins

It has been quite the draining day, filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. The day started like most days, with Macy waking us up exactly at 6:30 am. (How she does this without an alarm clock never ceases to amaze me.) From that point on, nothing was typical. Grandma and Grandpa Sznitken helped us get our things together and quickly slipped into their role as Macy's temporary care giver. We then rushed through the morning to ensure we weren't late for our appointment.

Too bad no one told the doctor that we were being so diligent. Our noon C-Section started just after 1:45. Once Annie was setup and ready, I was allowed into the room to take my place on the northern side of the curtain, up by her head. In my mind, that curtain might have been the end of the world, because there wasn't anything on the other side of it that could have convinced me to peek. The Swedish bikini team could have been conducting a practice over there and I wouldn't have been enticed. 

Laney was delivered just a few tense moments later and let out a few cries shortly after her arrival. While they cleaned the baby up, Annie and I chatted about the inspiring news that the doctor thought she looked "well over 5 pounds", which was a pretty good guess seeing as she was 2 ounces shy of 6 pounds. Eventually they let me come around the curtain to see my new daughter. I got up and shuffled over to the warming table, taking special care to keep my back to Annie's insides.

Laney was all wrapped up with her eyes closed tightly. I was now the proud father of TWO little girls. After snapping two pictures, I carefully headed back to Annie who REALLY wanted to see her new baby. I shared my photos and by then they had scooped her up and brought her over. A few more pictures and some tears of joy and then it was time for her to head up to the NICU. We knew that this was not only a possibility, but a likely event, so we weren't too surprised. I will admit that even though logic said no, there was a part of me that was still hoping that she would head to the regular nursery, with me in tow; but alas that was not to be.

I then had to wait an hour before I could head upstairs to see her. I spent that time with Annie, who looked remarkably well for someone that had just gone under the knife. When it was time, I rushed up there to get an update and to start the bonding. Seeing as this is 2011, Annie and I stayed in constant contact via text messaging, with me giving her cellphone photos and updates on Laney and she reciprocating with details of her own status.

The recovery nurses had some concerns about Annie initially, so she had an extended stay with them, but eventually was allowed to go to her own room. We waited and waited for what seemed like hours (and practically was) before they finally started rolling her down the hall. Of course we were moving during the nurses shift change, which slowed things down. An hour after getting settled in and armed with orders from her doctor, she was allowed to head upstairs. When we first arrived in our room, they asked her to slide from one bed into the other which didn't seem possible until they mentioned that Annie might not be able to get in a wheelchair to head to the NICU if she couldn't even go from one bed to another. As if on ice, my inspired wife seemed to glide onto her new bed.

An hour later, her nurse was convinced that Annie was ready to go. Truth be told, she wasn't convinced so much as she was finally willing to risk it and we were heading up to see Laney. Based upon all my years of medical training, which consists of episodes of ER, Third Watch and House, I could immediately tell that Laney was already improving. Her color looked better and her breathing wasn't nearly as labored as it had initially been.

We stayed as long as we could before it was time to once again have the adult patient back into her bed to receive her next round of pain medicine. Leaving the NICU a second time wasn't any easier, but I'm certain I'll be back up there before too long. I can only hope that Laney is sleeping as soundly as her mother is at this moment. Speaking of sleep...its well past the time for me to try and get some. 

At 2:03 pm today (May 9th, 2011), a 5 lb 14 ounce Laney Harper Sznitken arrived, officially making us a family of four. She is doing well, requiring a bit of special attention but already showing her brawny side. Mom is finally resting comfortably after a long day. Here are a few quick shots of my ladies....

'Twas the night before delivery and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for mommy and daddy who were frantically trying to get everything ready for the big day. Somehow knowing the exact date of the delivery meant that we didn't plan in advance. Last time we had our bags packed 3-4 weeks in advance, just in case. This time we packed our bags 45 minutes ago. So much for a lazy relaxing Mother's Day for Annie.

I was certain that explaining to Grandma and Grandpa how to take care of Macy, Zoe and the house would be quick and easy. But once we started mentioning things, and more things and even more things...I couldn't believe how many little "it would be helpful if you knew..." things I came up with. In the end, I'm sure they'll do a great job and as long as there are no permanent injuries, we'll consider it a success.

I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be, but we've been on auto-pilot all night, just knocking out tasks and to-do items. We'll see what happens when I lie down for the evening and my brain takes over.