The next 24 hours
I wasn’t allowed to see him until after the mag was turned off. I was also not allowed to eat. Eventually I was at least allowed to have some sprite. At some point they helped me get from the bed to a chair. THAT was not fun. Not even a little fun.
My BP was still high. I was supposed to be on the mag for 24 hours post surgery. But they couldn’t give me the mag and the bp meds at the same time, so they eventually decided to turn the mag off a few hours early, so they could give me bp meds. This meant I could finally eat. And finally see my baby! I cannot even explain to you how difficult it is to go 24 hours without really getting to meet your newborn. I did choose to eat first. Nobody tell him that.
The BP med they had given me was the fast-acting version. When we got me into the wheelchair to go to the ICN I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. As in, had I not been sitting I would have hit the floor. Sounds were muffled, peripheral vision was gone. The nurse quickly took my BP and it had dropped to 68/44. Um. Yeah. So she quickly gave me some fluids and got me some apple juice. Then it went back up to a normal number, and I finally got to go meet Rowan.
When he was all bundled up in the OR he looked small, but it wasn’t clear just how small 3 pounds really is until I was able to see him without being so wrapped up. I got to hold him that first night. He was still able to breathe on his own. He had a feeding (ng) tube down his nose, an IV, and all the monitors. Holding him was amazing. I really didn’t want to put him down. But after a while sitting upright was getting to be painful, and so I had to say good night.
