This entire post is dedicated to my hospital experience...because I loved it SO much! Did not anticipate that but I surely welcomed it.
From the very beginning of our experience - checking in at 5:15 am on August 3 - each and every nurse and tech we encountered was comforting, wonderful and beyond kind. It was so amazing. And get this - I had two different nurses during labor and delivery. Alyssa and Whitney. I had known Alyssa through mutual friends for quite a few years and she was with me for the first hours of labor. She was nothing but encouraging and life giving. I am intimately aware of what a special calling a nurse has and what a ministry they provide after this experience. And THEN - one of my longest life-friends Whitney came in early to be my nurse. She stayed from 11am to 1:30am the next morning. Not even kidding. Annnnnnd - God smiled on us in a pretty unbelievable way. The day Liam was born - approximately 40 other babies were being born at St. Francis. The halls were alive with action! But - by some true miracle - Whitney was never assigned another patient aside from me. For the whole day. Do you know what that means? My nurse and dear friend stayed in my room with me for almost the entire time. She went out to talk to the doctor and get things but otherwise she never left my room. God is so good. In the midst of a very challenging (yet beautiful) 18 hours - He gave me angels to walk through it with.
I call Whitney Liam's 'patron saint' lol. We're not Catholic but it just seems fitting!
Annnnd then came the baby nurses. I will never forget Lacy. She was the one who got Liam when he came straight from the operating room with Zion after swallowing amniotic fluid. Zion was able to stay right with him during that whole time and that allowed me to relax knowing that Liam wasn't alone and that he was being loved from his daddy from the very beginning. Lacy came into my recovery room after a bit just to give me an update and tell me what was going on with him and then about 30 minutes later - here comes Lacy with Zion and Liam to tell me how well baby boy had done and that he was 100% stable. She was the essence of comfort and care when I desperately needed to see that the woman who had taken care of my baby was just that.
One amazing thing about my time at St. Francis was that they just finished renovating the post-partum wing two months ago. Everything was sparkling new and beautiful. I am big on the aesthetics of an environment and it made me feel so special to be there. Kind of like a hotel! Friday morning - about 28 hours after Liam was born - my doctor walked into my room asking if I was ready to go home.....that got a quick and resounding NO out of me. I mean, do I look crazy? Leave all of these wonderful nurses who know how to take care of Liam and me so well and so kindly? We stayed until Sunday evening - the max that we could. :) I highly recommend it!
After the trauma of the delivery experience, things started turning around quickly! And Liam made quite a splash in the nursery. Before I knew it, Steph, the charge nurse of the nursery had decided he was pretty special...now that's what I call a discerning woman! LOL. She would personally bring him to us and she would come check on him. When he was in the nursery - she had her eye on him - which came in handy as she made the call to suction out his nose via a tube two different times because Liam was still dealing with too much congestion from the fluid swallow. It brought a lot of peace to my heart to know that he had already stolen hers and that he was getting special attention. :)
We had so many wonderful visitors while we were in the hospital. I felt like a truck had run over me - repeatedly - but it was still a special time to share the joy of Liam with friends and family. I cannot express the mommy-joy that filled my heart as I watched other people fall in love with him. What can I say - he's a charmer! When people would hold him, he would often try to open at least one eye to get a glimpse of who was talking to him. Melt my heart little boy.
We did let Liam go to the nursery at night between feedings so that we could sleep some more....still wasn't great sleep but it wasn't the highest thing on my priority list at that point. I remember on either Thursday or Friday night I called the nurse to bring him to me early in the middle of the night because I just needed to see him. We shared such special moments in the dark of the room in the middle of the night before we fed as I realized how this gift from God met one of the deepest and truest desires of my heart. Words cannot express how full the heart feels in moments like that. I still look at my two-week old baby boy and marvel and how God did it.
And now a note about marketing....as I am being wheeled out of the hospital to head home the nurses all say goodbye to you as you're leaving. And then my nurse for that day says - "Can't wait to see you again in a few years Abi for baby number two!" Maybe I love being sold or maybe I am just gullible - but I really think Therese meant it. Of course the business side of me is saying 'dang that was a good line!' Either way - I would love nothing more than to head back to the Pink Palace to welcome another sweet baby into the Spencer family....in a few years that is. Not any time soon!
I really thank God for my time at St. Francis and for each and every person who brought care to us. After a looooong day on August 3, it was a balm to my soul to receive such loving care.
Heading home with Liam for the first time!
No comments:
Post a Comment