The First Days {in the Hospital}

We spent a total of 4 nights at Mercy Southwest Hospital. My hospital experience was very positive and I couldn't have asked for a better place to deliver my first child. First off, the hospital is located 5 minutes from our house, is nice and cosy with private rooms {18 total}, and is a dedicated baby friendly hospital, meaning they take certain measures to assure that mommy and baby get as much bonding as possible. They strongly promote skin to skin right after birth and throughout the first few days, breastfeeding, rooming in, and having all the newborn checks done in the room with you. The baby stays with you the entire time and is never taken away, which is nice.

During the stay, we rotated through a good amount of nurses and I was pretty pleased with all of them. I think it was the big box of chocolates we gave them as soon as we arrived! haha.  We especially liked the nurse that was with me during the c-section {Kaitlyn} and the two nurses {Jessica & Satnam} during my two day recovery afterwards.  It's true what they say about having a baby and not caring what or who is around during and after. You just bare all and I was comfortable doing so with these nurses. Jessica really worked with us on the breastfeeding end and she was also super personable so it was like having a friend with you during the hardest first day with your baby. I was so worried that Ella wasn't getting enough milk but she kept reassuring me I was doing great and Ella was fine. By the end of my day with Jessica, Ella had a good latch on and I was starting to get the hang of feeding. Gerald even participated in on the fun. Satnam was with us pretty much from recovery through discharge. She shared stories of her kid with us {not the greatest stories} and talked to us like a family friend and not just a nurse. She was really getting to know us, which was nice.  A couple of late nights she came in just to hold Ella because we couldn't calm her down and just talked to us while we got a little break. Overall, all of the nurses really made us feel comfortable and at home, so for that I was super thankful!

Gerald picked my mom up every morning and she stayed with us until after dinner every day. It was nice for Gerald and I to have our alone time at night to figure this whole parenting thing out. We had some great bonding moments.  I'm so glad my mom got to be there with us and be the first one in the family to meet Ella! My mom didn't have my grandma there for our births because my grandma was still in Cambodia so I'm sure it was nice for her to experience this with me. I know that it was especially nice for me. 

Day 1: Admitted at about 9:30 pm and monitored through the night
Day 2: Waiting for natural labor to kick in, but never did so had C-section later that evening. Ella was born on December 11, 2014 at 10:57 pm!
Day 3: Recovery Day 1, got out of bed for the first time since surgery, worked on breastfeeding, pediatrician visit, hearing check, respiratory check
Day 4: Recovery Day 2, more breastfeeding, lots of checks for Ella b/c of jaundice and loss of 6% of birth weight
Day 5: Discharged early afternoon- Ella still had slight jaundice but we were good to go home. We just had to see the pediatrician the next couple of days to make sure all was well =)

Overall, the first few days in the hospital were great. She slept all the time and didn't even really cry when people came in to poke and mess with her. We didn't know we were suppose to wake her to feed hence the delayed eating and higher level of jaundice and loss of weight. Oops! We soaked it in and let her sleep on us for pretty much most of the nights in the hospital. Mainly Gerald since I was recovering from the c-section. He was so good with her these first few days. He did the first diaper change, brought her to me when it was time to feed, held her and rocked her when she wouldn't settle. Guess this C-section thing was a good thing after all! haha.  We shared some really sweet moments and I will never forget these first few days =) Now, let the real fun begin!