On October 14th, just a few short days after my last post, I woke up around 4 in the morning with contractions that were coming maybe every 10 minutes or so. They weren't very consistent, and they didn't hurt much at all. Since I was having C-section #3, though, I didn't want to wait too long before going to the hospital if this was the real thing. Short story about Barrett's birth: my doctor told me I would only have to have consistent contractions for a couple of hours at home before I needed to come in so that the repeat section could be done. I waited until the contractions really started hurting, though, because I wanted to be sure it was real labor. Imagine my surprise when I showed up at the hospital, my doctor being out of town, and the on-call doctor didn't want to be bothered with getting out of bed and coming in for little ole me until 6 hours later! She wasn't too keen on giving me anything for the pain either, and there was pain. Lots and lots of pain. After quite a bit of flak from the less-than-friendly nurses, I was finally able to get an epidural since on-call doc wanted to still wait a couple more hours before performing my surgery. Yea. Fun stuff. Good thing I wasn't all concerned about my uterus rupturing or anything. Barrett came, though, healthy and perfect in every way so all was good. Fast-forward back to me on a Sunday morning trying to decide if I go in immediately to the hospital (which is what my doctor told me to do), or do I go to church, or do I stick around the house until I know for sure I'm really in labor. I mean, this is the 3rd time. You think it'd be easier to tell by now. Nope. They're ALL different! I finally gave in and we headed to the hospital around 9 because I was very nervous about having to stay in pain for so long again. I wanted to get there before it started really hurting. Almost my whole pregnancy, I prayed and prayed that I wouldn't have to go through what I went through with Barrett. I know, I know ~ it's labor. Every mother has done it for centuries. This chick can't take it, though. I read one time that red heads have more pain receptors in their bodies, and I can agree 100% when it comes to labor contractions. Call me a weenie. I don't care! Anyways, I got to the hospital and waited around for, you guessed it, another on-call doctor. Thankfully, not the same one from previous time. She was at an emergency at another hospital, but the lovely woman that she is, she ordered pain meds and something to stop the contractions BEFORE they ever started hurting. Bless her times 5000!
After waiting much of the day, the contractions finally starting really hurting and none of the meds to stop them were working. The doctor arrived and could tell how much pain I was starting to get into, and she became my best friend because she spoke ninety-to-nothing (which is awesome when you are totally ready to get the show on the road) and she ordered C-section prep right away. Yummy concoction was swallowed and I was wheeled off to surgery. Got my spinal and was overjoyed at the relief I immediately felt after they tilted me so that the numbness traveled from my feet to my chest. Ahhhhh. :) I then got to focus on the conversation between the anesthesia folks and the nurses until the doctor came in. A short time later, 5:09 pm to be exact, little MISS Castle came out just a wailin'. The doctor said, "Well, what do you think? Boy or Girl?" I must not have heard this, because all I heard was Chandler say, "Boy!" So I said, "It's a Boy?!" "Nope ~ a GIRL!" Such a rush of wonderful emotions. I highly, highly recommend waiting to find out what you're having! SO cool. Doctor told us she was a feisty one, then brought her over for us to see. Perfectly round and beautiful little t-tiny head. SO sweet! I couldn't believe how small she was but how big her feet and fingers were!
When we got back to recovery, our family showed up. We wanted Charlee and Barrett to be the first to know if their new sibling was a boy or girl, so Chandler sent out texts that just said Baby is here. :) Charlee and Barrett were so excited about their new sister, but Charlee was a little scared to come anywhere near me because I was throwing up (yes, right there in front of everyone who had come to see us. I started throwing up while still in surgery and didn't stop until well into the night. NOT fun to be feeding a baby and throwing up at the same time.). Poor Charlee thought she would get sick if she got too close to me. She didn't, though :) and she got to come back the next day and introduce herself to her little sis up close and personal. In true Chandler and Jamie fashion, our new little girl remained nameless for a couple of days. We finally decided she was the perfect "Landry" and just needed to add a middle name. We named her "Fay" after her NanNan and her Nannie, and it couldn't be more perfect for her. Her nickname now is Landry Fay Fay. :)
Look at that foot!
Our traditional Mommy, Daddy, Baby picture :)
Recovery from this C-section has been a little rough, but I'm doing a lot better now and only have a little bit of back pain left. We went through something new with number three, a touch of colic every night for 3 hours from 4 weeks old to about 12 weeks. We survived, thankfully, and Landry is doing so much better and sleeps fairly well for us. Not consistently sleeping through the night yet, but we do get a break once every few nights. She wakes up less than the 5-year-old, so that's good, right? Life with 3 is definitely an adjustment, but I wouldn't trade those 3 sweet things for anything. Barrett hasn't been an ounce of trouble with her, he loves her and is so sweet with her. Charlee loves having another girl in the house, and just loves seeing Landry wear her old clothes. So do I. Girl clothes are just so much cuter than boys'! Sweet Landry has totally shaken up our Castle and we are all completely smitten with her. More fun to come, and I can't wait!
