The first night I don't remember a lot because I was still confined to bed and recovering from the surgery. A lactation consultant came to visit and helped me figure out how to feed Luke. J pretty much did everything else. We had room service available. The first night I ordered a cheese pizza but ate only one slice. It did feel good to eat that one slice though after having just had ice chips for most of the day.
The next morning, I was able to sit up and finally (with help from the nurse) get out of bed and go to the bathroom. It was really hard to get up that first time but it got a little easier (though never truly easy) to get up each time after that. I found myself unable to really concentrate on anything so I didn't do any reading or knitting and barely opened my laptop at all. Instead, I spent the time feeding Luke, watching Luke sleep, or holding Luke. I tried to nap here and there as well.
We were given a handout about the "second night" that basically said that this night would be one of the hardest as the baby would be really upset that night and just want to be held. And that was indeed true. We took turns that night holding Luke while the other one tried to sleep. He definitely didn't want to be put down at all. The nurse that night suggested that we send him to the nursery so we could get some sleep, but I did not want my poor boy to be separated from us when all he wanted was to be with us. She did convince us to let her take him to the nursery for a little while, though, to get through the hearing check that he needed to have. So we were both able to sleep a little during that time, but I was relieved when Luke was brought back to the room.
Breastfeeding was challenging and I had a couple of moments where I completely understood why some mothers just can't do it and give up. Fortunately, the hospital had amazing lactation consultants available; otherwise, I might have given up myself. But with their help, we got through these first few days and both Luke and I seemed to be growing more confidant about his feeding.
My doctor told me that I could go home that third day if I wanted to. But Luke had some jaundice and he needed to have his blood drawn that afternoon and the next morning. Plus I was enjoying having the room service and the nurses and lactation consultants within easy reach, so we decided to stay until the next day. I think that extra day of help with breastfeeding was really important so it was a very wise decision.
Finally, the day to go home arrived. It felt very strange to be leaving the little cocoon of the hospital room (J had gone home several times to check on the cats and get stuff from home) since I hadn't left it since arriving that Tuesday. I hadn't turned on the TV at all during that time (except to watch a couple of educational videos) and hadn't really been keeping up at all with what was going on out in the world. I definitely enjoyed that time when it was just me and J and Luke (and the hospital staff), but I was also eager to get home.
I love Luke's facial expression in this picture!
So it was a great hospital experience; I felt well-cared for and had access to a lot of good resources.
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