Our day started out early on Wednesday, March 14. We were a little late arriving at the hospital shortly after the scheduled time of 7:00am so that mommy could take a nice long shower. Dawn was just around the corner on this humid, clear morning as we made the short drive to the hospital. It would end up being a beautiful, sunny 82 degree spring day.
The night before we made sure everything was in order. Gigi had been with us since Monday to help with Judah and get last minute items checked off our to do list. Our friends, the Reeves, had brought us steaks for dinner so that mommy could enjoy a nice meal before midnight. We put Judah to bed for the evening with some extra quality time. Then later in the evening, daddy painted mommy's toes and nails. At last, Mommy had got some sleep only to wake up ready for the big day at 4:00am.
Surgery went much better than expected. Dr. Kopperud and the anesthesiologist met with us ahead of time to check on progress and work out surgery details. The nurses took care of all the lab and prep work for surgery. Other than a slight elevation in blood pressure, everything looked good and surgery actually started ahead of schedule. Mommy walked back to the operating room for the final prep. Dr. Kopperud joked around about mommy's diet (being gestational diabetes) while starting surgery asking what food would be first on the menu. Shortly thereafter, daddy came the room all dressed in time to hear Krissy scream on her way out at 9:21am. Daddy got to cut the cord and then was able to hold her by mommy's head for several minutes. Surgery finally ended at 9:45 am and mommy was wheeled back into recovery for a couple of hours.
Meanwhile, Krissy was whisked away to the nursery for tests and footprints. She weighed in at 6 pounds and 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. With her dark blue eyes, brown hair, and round face, she immediately looked like big brother Judah. However, her personality and individuality stole our hearts right away in the hours that followed.
From the start she has been a great eater, latching on immediately after birth while mom was in recovery. She did lose almost 10% of her weight in the hospital though causing a little concern. For a few feedings mom just pumped and supplemented with a bottle to boost her weight. By the time we went home, she had gained 3 ounces back. And by the time of her first doctor's appointment a few days later, she exceeded her birth weight to 7 pounds.
After getting settled with eating a few times, she had her first bath in the room with mommy and daddy which she did not like at all. Later in the day, she met big brother Judah and then met her grandparents. It was a very busy first day for all of us.
Room 2008 saw a lot of activity through our stay on Saturday. By Day 2 mom was up out of bed, making her way to the bathroom first and then out into the hall for occasional walks. After Day 2, mom and dad limited though visitors to get some extra rest from the frequent commotion. Dad in fact was able to go home for a good night's sleep. Mom was soon able to walk down the hall to drop Krissy off in the nursery on her way to the boutique. Dad filled out the legal paperwork but threatening to have mom check it over with his jokes on the name. Every spare moment we tried to get as much rest as possible before heading home.
Krissy on the other hand delighted all the nursery nurses with her cute hair bow and outfits. Krissy especially looked cute in her little ruffled sweet pea outfit for her hospital pictures. First we had to remove the band aids from checking her sugars though. Mommy and daddy had to relearn how to take care of a newborn baby again and gleaned much from the nurses. The doctors had only good news about Krissy imploring how healthy she looked. And on the last day we did pictures and more footprints to share with mommy.
