It's all in the details

NOTE: Simon Cowell would say this is a completely self-indulgent post. I totally agree. But I want to record my thoughts about Ryan's birth, and this seems like as good a place as any since I type fast and can sprinkle photos throughout. Feel free to skip the text and check out some adorable pictures!

Ryan McCall Brown came into this world with some fabulous blond hair on Friday, November 19 at 8:21 a.m. He was 7 lbz 9 oz and 20 inches long.


My mom, Mikey and I headed to St. Luke's at 4:45 am on Friday. It was an early wake-up call for us all, but it's not like I was getting good sleep anyway. There's something about preparing for major abdominal surgery and bringing a new life into the world that keeps my mind racing! We made it to the hospital at 5:30 as scheduled, and they whisked me back to start prepping me - monitor the baby, start my IV, take blood, ask if I am being abused at home (several times), give me paperwork to sign. All that was done by about 6, then the three of us just had to hang out until they brought me back.



I delivered William at Texas Women's, and there was a nursing student observing the whole thing. That was nothing compared to the number of students in the room this time! I believe a doctor told me there were 14 people there for the surgery. Several were nursing students, plus a med student who assisted my OB, etc. I like having students around because the pros explain everything. Hearing what they are doing is interesting to me. The only negative is when you know that an amateur is working on you! I do not love having students place my catheter (both c-sections), and hearing my very skilled OB tell his med student "No no no, take that out, take that out!" is not the least bit comforting! However, I realize they learn by doing. The students will soon be the experts teaching others what to do.

My anesthesiologist was top-notch. In addition to being knowledgeable and confident, he put so much energy into making sure I was comfortable. I don't think it's his job to find pieces of foam to tape to the armrest things so that my arms are at a comfortable angle. He's the one who leaned down to tell me that my doctor was doing an anatomy lesson with all the students in the room - showing them my guts and all. :)

Anyway, the surgery itself went pretty much as expected. They brought Mikey in after they had already gotten started. It all seemed to go quickly until they were trying to physically get the baby out. Apparently he was wedged in there very tightly. With William, I recall one big feeling of pressure when they tried to get him out of my ribs. This time, it was a good two or three minutes of intense pressure while they used just about every extremity they had to un-stick him. Mikey watched as the doctor and med student put all their weight into the task. Someone asked how I felt right about then. I told them as good as you can feel with a truck on your chest.



Ryan finally made his grand debut. I think the first thing I heard was that he had a bunch of blond hair (surprise!). It took waaaay too long for me to hear him cry. He had some fluid in his lungs, which is common with c-section babies. They had Mikey come over to be with him from the moment he was born. It was a good 20 minutes before I got to see my sweet baby (although he cried soon after he was born, thank goodness). Still, it was a long 20 minutes. I was straining to hear what they were saying about Ryan, and I was getting myself put back together like Humpty Dumpty. That's not the most fun thing. Finally, Mikey brought him over and laid him on me. I thought he looked so different from his big brother and was just the cutest thing. I love the blond hair.



After a few minutes of letting me love on Ryan, his nurse told us that our pediatrician wanted him to be looked at by a neonatal doctor. The pediatrician had been told that the baby had some bruising (most likely related to being wedged into me), bled a little after he got an injection, and we went through a difficult delivery. All this combined with the fact that I carry Group B Strep made my pediatrician concerned that Ryan could have contracted it, which would be very bad. Mikey carried our little bundle to an alcove in the hallway, where a Texas Children's doctor gave him the once-over and said he was A-OK. Whew! It was such a relief to get them back.



I had to go to recovery for two hours, but I have wonderful memories of those two hours because Mikey, Ryan, and my mom spent the whole time with me. Plus, I had specifically requested that the anesthesiologist not give me anything to sedate me during the surgery, so it felt amazing to be totally lucid compared to last time, when I was a drowsy mess. I was able to nurse Ryan within 30 minutes of getting to recovery. It's quite a change from Texas Women's, which takes the baby for a four-hour observation period after birth. I have actually heard they may be doing away with this period. It didn't bother me a whole lot with William, but I was also out of it.



After recovery, we were off to our new digs on the 25th floor. Time to settle in because we would call that room home for the next three nights. William, Aunt Amy, and Mikey's parents came up for a visit after William's afternoon nap on Friday. I can't explain how happy it made my heart to have my big boy up there with us. Throughout my pregnancy, I worried so much about how all of this would affect William. He and I have spent so much one-on-one time together over the last two years, and this other little creature was about to turn it all upside-down. Having both my babies in one room just felt good, even though I had to constantly defend myself from a wayward William kick and the baby from eye pokes and other rough handling! We have a lot more adjusting to do, but I was happy that the brothers were able to meet. William kept saying "Hi Mama" and trying to climb in bed with me. That's big stuff coming from the supreme daddy's boy.

















Mikey spent the first night in the hospital, and he did fabulous! Last time I had to throw things at him to get his attention, but this time around he was easy to wake up when I needed help. He only got cranky once. I asked him to wake up to change Ryan's diaper, and he said something along the lines of, "Can't you get one of those ladies to do it? That's what they get paid for." I am not ringing the nurse call button to change a diaper when you are right there! He was just super sleepy. Poor guy - I must have been running on adrenaline because I would start these deep life conversations at 3 am. I'm sure he was thrilled.



Saturday was a pretty quiet day. Tim visited for approximately 2.3 seconds - he was on a one-hour lunch break! It was pretty funny. Anne and Doug stopped by for a nice visit as well. Anne brought her camera - I look forward to seeing what magic she made with the natural light streaming through our tiny hospital window. I got to see William for a few minutes Saturday afternoon. He seems to think hospital rooms = awesome snacks because that's how we got him to sit still for any length of time.







My mom spent the night with us Saturday and Sunday so that Mikey could stay home with William. We really wanted big brother to get back to his mostly normal routine after two days of fun with his grandparents. We thought it was important that he get settled in and spend some quality time with Mikey.



I am very thankful that my mom was willing and able to stay overnight with us. She rocked Ryan for hours and let me get some much-needed sleep. I got to see William twice on Sunday. It was such a treat to have him up there. He happened to be there when our pediatrician and his wife came to visit/check on Ryan. The pediatrician took care of Michael from birth (and was also my doctor for years after that). His practice is just him and his wife. They are basically family friends, and they seemed delighted to get to see my mom and William.







The award for most miles traveled to see Ryan (not including my mom because she would always win such awards) goes to my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bobby. They drove in from Austin on Sunday evening. Aunt Lisa had knee surgery the week before - what a trooper! We made sure that everyone was up at the hospital so they could see the whole gang. It meant the world to me that they drove all that way to greet our newest family member. They did the same thing when William was born.







All of a sudden, it was Monday and time to be discharged. My mom left for the airport early that morning, and we were out of the hospital by noon. All in all, I have to say I had a really good surgery/hospital experience. Of course no one likes having surgery and dealing with the recovery, but having gone through the same thing once before, I was able to appreciate all the things that went well. Ryan is worth every second of anxiety and pain. As Aunt Lisa wisely pointed out, just as William was a complete blessing to Mikey and me, Ryan is a blessing to all three of us. So true!