mya's arrival

after one quick, easy recovery and the uncertainty of having assistance with claire since chris was in iraq, i decided early on in this pregnancy that i would deliver via a repeat ceserean section. it was nice having the day determined ahead of time. my mom was able to fly in to assist with claire and i was able to have everything wrapped up at work, even allowing myself some much needed relaxation before the big day. we dropped claire off at daycare, which was rather difficult for me. knowing i would be spending my first night away from her was sad. i couldn't help but tear up at the thought of not tucking in her or smothering her with kisses each night, even though i knew very well that she was in great hands. anyway, we said our good-byes and my mom, chris and i proceeded to the hospital. we arrived at 9:45, i changed into a gown and they began to monitor the baby. she was monitored for 30 minutes, they drew blood and started an iv. we sat and waited. it felt like an eternity as we anticipated the arrival of our wonderful baby.
chris changed into his scrubs at 11:30 and was taken to the operating room shortly after. i accompanied him moments later. the doctors and nurses prepped me for surgery--catheder, spinal and oxygen. the spinal left something to be desired. such an odd feeling to have absolutely no control over my legs and the burning sensation that ran down my legs as it was begin administered wasn't fun. however, moments later i was left wondering if i made the right decision having the c-section as i was vomiting and feeling faint. strange. my nausea was short lived, thankfully.
once i was settled, chris was seated by my head. he held my hand as we both eagerly awaited the cries of our baby girl. moments later, at 12:20 to be exact, we heard just that. cries from my tummy, literally. mya arlene boynton was making herself heard before she truly ever entered this world. the nurses thought her crying was quite funny. she was pulled out of my tummy. chris took pictures while tears welled in my eyes. it was such a beautiful moment. i couldn't believe i was a mommy of two lovely girls. wow. immediately thoughts of her resemblance to claire rushed to my mind. mya was healthy and thriving, earning apgars of 9 and 9. we couldn't have asked for better. she weighed 8 lbs. 10.5 oz. and was 22 inches long. she had a head circumference of 37, which was in the 90th percentile. all in all, she was a big, healthy girl.
chris accompanied mya to the nursery, while doctor j-a finished stitching me. i was soon returned to our labor and delivery room where my mom was waiting. i felt great. chris came with mya and i nursed her for the first time. she immediately latched on, which was of great relief to me. (claire wasn't so great about maintaining a latch, which ultimately lead me to pumping full-time.) chris stayed for awhile, hoping i'd be transferred to the maternity ward, which didn't happen until nearly 4:30 pm. he decided he'd better go home and pick up claire for the big introduction. they returned and claire was immediately smitten. she pointed and said, "baby, baby." she gave mya kisses and wanted to constantly look at her. she was great. at one point, mya was crying and claire said, "cryin' mya," which made us all laugh. she really hadn't said mya's name before that point.
the next few days blended together. things went well, other than my low blood pressure. early saturday morning, the nurse wanted me to go to the bathroom so she could remove my catheder. however, i ended up fainting. it was rather scary for chris as he sat and watched from his bed across the room as nurses ran into the room to assist. i was fine. they got me back in bed. however, later that morning, i had another near fainting spell. luckily, the nurse noticed my color had changed and urged the second nurse to get me back to bed. they did and i was fine. they were able to remove the catheder which meant that i had to use a bedside commode a couple of times. it was quite the experience. sunday was a great day. i felt like my old self and was up and moving around. mya was well too. she ate well and slept well too. she had her crying fits, but was fairly easily consoled. claire and my mom came and visited each day for most of the day. it got to be rather long for both of them, but it was nice to have the company. claire continued to shower mya with love. she did well not having me at home, although she didn't quite understand why i wasn't there. she asked for me at bedtime, but other than that, was happy as a clam.
because mya's ventricle in her brain was measuring large at 35 and 37 weeks, a follow up ultrasound was ordered. this in-depth u/s was done monday morning. two radiologists read the scan and determined the measurements to be 10 mm, which was within the range of normal. this news was of great relief to chris and i. we waited for nearly 4 painstaken hours, wondering what the outcome would be. thank goodness we had the official word that our baby was in fact, healthy in all ways. we left for home around 2:30. life was good.