Rosie's Birth Story
If you remember with Patrick's birth story, I blogged it a whopping 9 months after his arrival. Mom fail. I am being proactive with little miss Rosie and blogging hers mere hours after her arrival instead of months. #goAlex.
As I documented the last 9 months or so, this kid's arrival was going to be a planned c-section, thanks to Patrick's difficult labor and delivery. I was totally okay with this (and honestly, it's what I wanted, cause I'm a big chicken and didn't want to try a VBAC and end up with 1. complications (aka exploding uterus) or 2. another c-section after pushing for so long. So, scheduled it was!
Way back in November of 2014 we set Monday, April 6th at 7am as my scheduled c-section date. My actual due date was April 9th, so this was only a few days before that. My doc wanted it to be scheduled April 2nd (right at 39 weeks), but I wanted it further away from Mike's April 1st birthday AND after Easter which was the 5th. I know I was gambling doing this--cause I could have totally gone into labor prior and then not had it on the date we chose anyways.
But, as luck would have it (or the fact that I apparently cook kids who don't like to come early, hashtag lazy), I didn't go early, made it through Easter with the fam, and made it to my scheduled c-section date...which is where I'll start this birth story post :)
Sunday night, after a jam-packed day of Easter festivities, Mike and I spent the evening getting all of our hospital stuff packed, name debating/chatting AGAIN, and getting everything ready for my lovely aunt Kate who was chillin' at our house with Patrick all week (she is the.best.person.ever. by the way). I decided to turn in around 10pm, because my alarm was set for 4am. Well, do you think I could sleep?! Uh, no way Jose. Seriously. I was mere hours away from birthing my second child who I was oh-so-anxious to meet and find out if they were a boy or girl! So yeah, I couldn't sleep at.all. I think I dozed off from about 11pm - 2am, but then was wide away from 2am on. I know, dumb dumb dumb of me, because sleepless nights were about to begin again, but I couldn't help it! I was just as excited as I was as a kid on Christmas eve. All of my anxieties and excitements I blogged about a week or so ago were flooding into me again and that's all I could think about. So many emotions and feelings going on right before your world is about to change again! I kept telling Mike (and a few of my friends) how surreal this feeling was knowing when your child was about to arrive rather than it being a sporadic induction date or going into labor. Sunday was definitely a heavy day for emotions and feelings for me!
FINALLY, 4:45am came on Monday morning and it was time to leave for the hospital. I was so giddy and anxious with excitement I literally felt sick. Not kidding. Massive stomach queasiness and unease going on. I snapped this lovely last bump selfie before we headed out. I was so excited!
When we got to the hospital and after we got checked in, I got changed into a lovely hospital gown and Mike got changed into scrubs. Again, so weird not being in labor and just waltzing in and changing at your own accord!
I was then hooked up to an IV, given antibiotics (cause I was group B strep positive...again), and hooked up to a fetal monitor. Well, the IV was literally pounded into me and oh my lord, I had to pee every 4 seconds it seemed like. And then the antibiotics made me sick to my stomach (probably cause I hadn't eaten or drank anything since 8pm the night before!)...so I was like, "Oh gosh, this suckssssss." I really was second-guessing myself to have a scheduled c-section because it hadn't even happened yet and I felt so damn miserable.
But, once the antibiotics were all administered, and I made a few very relieving visits to the potty, I felt better. My doc came in to chit chat and talk about the procedure, and then it seemed that sick to my stomach feeling faded and the excitement factor set back in.
As I documented the last 9 months or so, this kid's arrival was going to be a planned c-section, thanks to Patrick's difficult labor and delivery. I was totally okay with this (and honestly, it's what I wanted, cause I'm a big chicken and didn't want to try a VBAC and end up with 1. complications (aka exploding uterus) or 2. another c-section after pushing for so long. So, scheduled it was!
Way back in November of 2014 we set Monday, April 6th at 7am as my scheduled c-section date. My actual due date was April 9th, so this was only a few days before that. My doc wanted it to be scheduled April 2nd (right at 39 weeks), but I wanted it further away from Mike's April 1st birthday AND after Easter which was the 5th. I know I was gambling doing this--cause I could have totally gone into labor prior and then not had it on the date we chose anyways.
But, as luck would have it (or the fact that I apparently cook kids who don't like to come early, hashtag lazy), I didn't go early, made it through Easter with the fam, and made it to my scheduled c-section date...which is where I'll start this birth story post :)
Sunday night, after a jam-packed day of Easter festivities, Mike and I spent the evening getting all of our hospital stuff packed, name debating/chatting AGAIN, and getting everything ready for my lovely aunt Kate who was chillin' at our house with Patrick all week (she is the.best.person.ever. by the way). I decided to turn in around 10pm, because my alarm was set for 4am. Well, do you think I could sleep?! Uh, no way Jose. Seriously. I was mere hours away from birthing my second child who I was oh-so-anxious to meet and find out if they were a boy or girl! So yeah, I couldn't sleep at.all. I think I dozed off from about 11pm - 2am, but then was wide away from 2am on. I know, dumb dumb dumb of me, because sleepless nights were about to begin again, but I couldn't help it! I was just as excited as I was as a kid on Christmas eve. All of my anxieties and excitements I blogged about a week or so ago were flooding into me again and that's all I could think about. So many emotions and feelings going on right before your world is about to change again! I kept telling Mike (and a few of my friends) how surreal this feeling was knowing when your child was about to arrive rather than it being a sporadic induction date or going into labor. Sunday was definitely a heavy day for emotions and feelings for me!
FINALLY, 4:45am came on Monday morning and it was time to leave for the hospital. I was so giddy and anxious with excitement I literally felt sick. Not kidding. Massive stomach queasiness and unease going on. I snapped this lovely last bump selfie before we headed out. I was so excited!
When we got to the hospital and after we got checked in, I got changed into a lovely hospital gown and Mike got changed into scrubs. Again, so weird not being in labor and just waltzing in and changing at your own accord!
I was then hooked up to an IV, given antibiotics (cause I was group B strep positive...again), and hooked up to a fetal monitor. Well, the IV was literally pounded into me and oh my lord, I had to pee every 4 seconds it seemed like. And then the antibiotics made me sick to my stomach (probably cause I hadn't eaten or drank anything since 8pm the night before!)...so I was like, "Oh gosh, this suckssssss." I really was second-guessing myself to have a scheduled c-section because it hadn't even happened yet and I felt so damn miserable.
But, once the antibiotics were all administered, and I made a few very relieving visits to the potty, I felt better. My doc came in to chit chat and talk about the procedure, and then it seemed that sick to my stomach feeling faded and the excitement factor set back in.
Mike and I were both prepped for the OR, and after one last lovely selfie, I parted with my iPhone and we set off to meet this kid. I.was.so.excited. My heartrate was 140. Not kidding. One of the docs asked if I was nervous, and I said, "No, just really excited! We don't know what we're having!" And she giggled at that. But it was true--that's where 100% of my nerves was coming from! And all of the nurses and docs in the OR were so excited too that we didn't know--they said it made these types of deliveries so much better.
My fabulous OB asked us on the way down what we thought it was, and I said, "A girl!" And Mike said "A boy!" --one of us was going to be right. For some reason, even though I blogged about thinking this baby was a girl for pretty much my entire pregnancy, I was expecting a boy to come out. Cause, even though I thought it was a girl, I have only ever seen myself with having boys! Either way, I was going to be happy--I just wanted a screaming healthy baby!
So when we got into the OR Mike got to camp outside until they were ready to begin, and I got a spinal (not an epidural, same kind of thing, just a shot instead of a tube), a catheter (don't judge, I love these--hello no trips to the bathroom!), and a lot of cleaning of my belly and abdomen. Not kidding, like 10 minutes later, they were ushering Mike in and ready to begin. That was fast.
Mike took my hand and we just sat there looking at each other--okay, well I looked at him and he peaked around the sheet to see the action--and I was so giddy and excited with anticipation. I remember from Patrick's birth how sleepy and tired I was--not this time. I actually felt awesome, despite having major surgery going on right then and there.
My doc told Mike to stand up and arm the camera, cause it was baby time! Mike stood up, had the camera ready, and the next thing I heard was a baby crying and Mike saying, "It's a girl!"
My exact response, "OH MY GOD! Are you serious?!!" And he said, "Yes! It's a girl!" And I started crying--just like I did when Patrick was born and Mike said he was a boy. I was elated--I have a daughter! A girl! Never ever did I think I would actually have a girl--but, I did now. And she was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Of course I was strapped to the table, so I just had to crane my head to the side to watch her get cleaned up, cord cut by Mike, and weighed and all that jazz. I was so darn happy--honestly, one of the best moments (next to Patrick's birth!) of my life.
So Rosa Kathleen Mooney, "Rosie" for short, made her debut at 7:33am on Monday, April 6th, 2015. She weighed 8lbs 11ozs and measured 21 inches long. She had a full head of dark brown hair, blue eyes, and looks just like her big brother Patrick. We were so in love! A side note about her name: Mike's aunt Bonzel (very much like my aunt Kate; unmarried and committed to spoiling her niece and nephews) would have been 74 years old on April 6th this year. She died in 1996 of cancer much too young. Her middle name was Rosa, hence where we got Rosa from--and how awesome is that our Rosa shares her great aunt's birthday?!! And then her middle name, Kathleen, that is after my grandma Goose (middle name Kathleen), my aunt Kate (first name Kathleen), and Mike's mom (first name Kathleen). Our little Rosie is very full of family names!
After a few family pics, and literally like 15 minutes to close me up, we were heading back up to the recovery room to feed our little lady and introduce her to her family.
Not gonna lie, this is my favorite part of both my kiddos' births. The fact that their genders were surprises, and then we get to reveal that and their name to our families is hands-down the best thing ever. So much excitement!
So Rosie is a nursing champ. Girl likes her mama's milk! So she was eating and eating and EATING after delivery and my mom was getting anxious in the waiting room (hey, I don't blame her!). So we decided to have Mike go and get my parents, his parents, and his sister and her hubby to come back and meet the newest little Mooney.
It was the cutest thing--they all walked in and were like, "Okay, what is it?!!" And I got to say, "It's a girl! Her name is Rosie!" And the moms lost it. It was so sweet. Not gonna lie, I totally got choked up saying it! Dang hormones again! Haha! And then Mike told them her full name, weight, length, and time of birth. It was great.
Unfortunately his sister Erin and her husband Curtis had to skedaddle pretty quick afterwards because Erin had to hop on a plane to France for a business trip--so they didn't get to hold her.
Once Rosie finished nursing and doing skin to skin with me, she was passed around and oodled and ahhhhed over by the grandparents. My heart melted.
Little lady then got a bath and kidacure before we left recovery and headed off to our room for the week.
Mike and I then promptly passed out and took a siesta (shocking, neither of us slept very well the night before!) and Rosie did too. It was absolutely amazing and heavenly having her in the room with us--as opposed to Patrick, who spent his first many days till we were discharged in the NICU.
Some people are very anti-visitors in the hospital. Not me. Not at all. Visitors 1. bring you stuff (like oodles of girls' clothes cause you have none! or FOOD) 2. hold the baby and let you maybe catch a nap 3. break up the long day when you and Mike are bored staring at each other. So I love visitors! Since we had zilch with Patrick, we were overwhelmed (in a good way!) with visitors on Rosie's birthday. It was great. Lots of aunts and uncles came up throughout the day to meet the little lady and get some snuggle time with her.
However, probably my favorite part of the day was when Rosie's big brother Patrick made his way up here to meet his new baby sister.
I'd love to say how much Patrick enjoyed meeting his sister, but he was pretty "whatevs" about the whole situation. He was definitely more interested in the "Baby Girl" suckers my mom made and running all over my hospital room and pushing his stroller around. Ha. Typical boy.
We did grab a family picture...
And Patrick got to hold his sister for a hot minute before he got distracted and wanted to run around and whack things with his sucker again. Shocker. Actually, to be honest, other than being absolutely smitten with her (I'm sure that'll come--I'll keep telling myself that!), the way he reacted was just fine to me. He didn't have a meltdown and want to climb all over me (or be mad at me for holding another baby), and he didn't whack his sister, so I'd say his first meeting of his new sibling was a success.
So that concludes Rosie's birth story and her first day in this world. We are absolutely over-the-moon excited to have this little girl as part of our family, and are soaking in each and every second we have with her, because we all know how fast these days zip by, and you blink and you've got a toddler running around instead of an infant and you wonder where the time went.
Stay tuned for many MANY more posts about little Rosie in the days to come! So many sibling posts and photos will be shared...as well as her meeting her furbrother Scooter for the first time too!
