After what seemed like forever, the nurse came back in the recovery room. I could tell that it was even hard on her to see me so upset. She said that she wanted to remove the warm blankets, cool me off, and then retake my temperature. So we did all of that. I even took a drink of some cold sprite to cool me down a little. When we retook my temp, it wasn’t quite down to normal, but very close. The nurse left the room again.. and when she came back she had good news! I was going to get to see my baby! This time I was crying tears of joy and gratefulness. I was cleaned up and rolled into my new room where we would spend the rest of our hospital stay. Justin and I tried very hard to be patient, and the nurse finally brought our baby boy in to see us.
It was like no other experience in my life. Holding him for the first time was so wonderful. So unreal. Such a dream come true.
I held him and examined every little part of him. He was perfect. So tiny yet so big! I couldn’t believe he was ours. I wanted to spend hours and hours with him and not send him to the nursery… but Justin and I were both worn out. I was falling asleep holding him while sitting up in bed. We hadn’t slept much at all in well over 24 hours. We decided to go ahead and send Judah out for the night while we got some rest. He was still in to see us every 3 hours for his feedings.
Over the next couple of days we had tons of visitors, but also got to spend some good quality time getting to know our boy. I was surprised at how easily I was recovering from my c-section and ready to get home.
But then came another surprise. Judah’s blood work showed that he had jaundice and would have to stay an extra day. Thankfully the hospital allowed Justin and I to stay in our room an extra day as well. I couldn’t handle the thought of going home without Judah.
Seeing him under the light was very hard and emotional for me. I had to remind myself that we were very blessed. He wasn’t in the NICU. He was going to be just fine. We would have our baby home and in our arms within a couple days. Not all parents are so fortunate. But still… it wasn’t easy. My “momma bear” instinct was in full force. I wanted to protect my baby boy and wanted him 110% well.
After staying under that light for almost 24 hours and only coming to see us during feeding times, his bilirubin levels were down just enough for us to be discharged. It was a very happy time! I got Judah dressed in his going home outfit, Justin packed up the car, and our friend Jenna captured it all on camera and video for us.
Oh happy day!
My sweet boy’s birth and first few days was quite the adventure. I wouldn’t trade him for anything in this world. He is my pride and definitely my JOY!
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