Wynn's Birth

Wynn is over a month old! I was looking back, and I had Sally's birth posted just two weeks after she was born. And I remember writing it all down even before that because I didn't want to forget even one little detail. This time around, well, I'm doing the best I can :). 

Oh, Wynn! It has been so great having her in our lives this past month. Her birth was so much different than Sally's because she came 9 days late, and even then I had to be induced! Crazy. My mom came into town the night before I was to be induced, which ended up working out perfectly because she was able to take care of Sally the entire time, and Johnny didn't have to stress about getting home or picking her up from someone's house. 

The morning of, Johnny and I woke up and got ready for the day and then called an Uber. It was so anticlimactic. I was just standing on a street corner, feeling totally normal, knowing I was about to go have a baby. Johnny wanted to take the subway to the hospital because he thought that'd be a good story to tell Wynn someday. But lucky for me, there was construction that made it impossible! 

We got to the hospital at around 9:00 a.m., and as we were getting checked in, my doctor (Dr. Eisinger) came and said hello. We let her know that we both kind of had colds, and that we weren't 100% sure that it wasn't RSV (since Sally had just had that a week earlier). She was none too thrilled to hear that, so they did a swab in my nose to double check. And it was negative! Thank goodness — I'd been stressing about that, so it was good to be totally certain our baby would be safe! 

I got checked into my room, and they started the induction at 10:30 a.m. by giving me pitocin and a saline drip. Every half hour, my nurse would come in and increase the dosage. She let me know that I probably wouldn't feel much for the first two hours. And she was right! For two hours I just sat there, totally chill, feeling super mild contractions. I asked my nurse a few nagging questions I'd had about pitocin, since being induced wasn't my first choice. I was worried the baby would be born too tired to nurse, etc., but she put my mind at ease completely. After two hours, they came and checked me, and I was 4 cm dilated, which is what I'd been before coming in. They broke my water at that point, and the contractions immediately started to get more intense. I was in legit labor at that point, and after about an hour, I was more than ready for an epidural.

After the epidural process, I felt some relief immediately, and then my contractions started to get more painful on one side. They came in and tried a different epidural medication on me, and this time the contractions were even more painful on both my left and right side. I was feeling worse than I had before I'd even got the epidural. The poor resident anesthesiologist who was working on me was so apologetic and baffled by what was going on. She finally said, "If your labor progresses super quickly, sometimes the epidural can't keep up." So she went and got Dr. Eisinger to check me. 

Dr. Eisinger came in, checked me, and said, "All right, let's have a baby." Apparently, I was totally ready to go! I immediately started semi-crying because the magnitude of meeting our baby and bringing her into the world finally hit me. And I think Johnny was looking watery-eyed as well. I was excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Dr. Eisinger and her team came in, and a stand-in nurse came in for my nurse because my nurse was on her lunch break (whoops!). I pushed for about 10 minutes with everyone coaching me the whole time. I could feel each contraction, so I knew exactly when to push, which was convenient, albeit painful. Johnny was right by my side giving me encouragement, and I felt totally at ease with Dr. Eisinger in charge. Funnily enough, she asked me what names we were considering in between pushing, and it was so weird and calming (which was probably the point) to have a conversation midst pushing a baby out. 

Wynn came out more gradually. I got to feel her head in between pushes, which was a little bit weird. I really loved that the process wasn't rushed at all. Once she was out, they did some suctioning on her nose and mouth and then placed her on my chest. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21.5 inches long. I was crying, of course, just like when Sally was born, and immediately so in love with her. I just wanted that moment to last forever. Johnny and I felt so blissfully happy to get to meet and touch and hold our little lady. It's crazy how immediately I felt immense love for this new baby. I hadn't felt a great bond with her while I was pregnant because I was constantly thinking of Sally. I even worried I wouldn't love her as much, but all those fears were totally unnecessary. She's my girl, and that's that.

After a few hours, we were transferred to the recovery room, which was tiny and shared. But to my relief, the room was totally unoccupied at the moment! I hadn't eaten all day, so they brought me some dinner, and our nurse was nice enough to bring Johnny a leftover tray, too. We ate and just enjoyed being together. Meanwhile, the baby was being bathed in the nursery. When she came back, we just had fun holding her and sending pictures to our families. Johnny got to stay late into the night because I had no roommate! It was magical. He left at around 1:00 a.m., and I tried to get some sleep. I should have written all of this down earlier because the details are a bit blurred at this point!

The next day, Johnny came to the hospital with Sally and my mom. Sally got up on my bed and said "hi" to me and Wynn, whom we had named Wynn Olivia Galbraith the night before. Then she got down and pretended neither of us existed for the rest of the visit. When it was time to leave, she happily left with my mom, and only then did she say, "Bye bye, Mommy! Bye bye, Wynnie!" My heart hurt for her (and still does) for the change she's had to go through. Johnny stayed with me for the rest of the day and late into the night because I still had no roommate! It was a simple time of just enjoying each other and Wynn. When Johnny would go grab food for himself, he'd bring back candy for us, and we'd just hold Wynn, or I'd sleep, or we'd talk. It was great. That night was rough for me because I got in a little spat with my night nurse (because she was psycho!), and poor Johnny got a 4:30 a.m. phone call from me crying because I was so upset. But that's another story for another time.

The next morning, Johnny came bright and early and brought the car seat to take Wynn and me home. Wynn had one final check with the pediatrician in the nursery. The nurse came into our room and told us the pediatrician wanted to speak with us. We assumed this was just part of normal protocol, and walked over to the nursery together. Instead, the pediatrician informed us that Wynn had failed her oxygen tests multiple times. He said this was oftentimes the sign of a congenital heart defect and that she would need an echocardiogram. We went from thinking we were about to be discharged to very unexpected and devastating news. Our tiny, perfect little girl might be very sick. We were both kind of stunned. I think the pediatrician asked if we had any questions. I just said "No." because I wanted to get out of that room as soon as possible. Johnny asked, "If it's not a heart defect, what else could it be?" And the doctor said, "Let's just do the exam first and then go from there."

When we got back to my room, I started crying uncontrollably. They'd ordered the exam, but Wynn had to wait for it to be ready, so they brought her back to our room for me to nurse and for us to spend some time with her. Holding her suddenly felt so precious. Johnny gave her a blessing, and then she was whisked away. The time she was gone felt endless. We were both on our phones, researching heart defects. Everything was out of our control, and we just had to be okay with that. Suffice it to say, it was a tough moment. A different pediatrician came back with Wynn, and she was great to speak with. She explained everything in detail, and told us that Wynn's heart looked healthy. It was a huge relief. But they still hadn't figured out her low oxygen levels, so they needed to do more tests. They did a culture for bacteria, an X-ray on her lungs, and a test for every respiratory infection possible (including RSV, of course!). The pediatrician and our nurse also decided to see if they could get any mucous out of her, and they said she had a lot in her chest, probably from the quick delivery. All of this took the majority of the day and night, and everything came back negative. But they didn't feel comfortable letting Wynn go home, so she had to stay overnight in the nursery while Johnny and I left.

Being wheeled away from the maternity ward without Wynnie was another very emotional moment. Tears were just streaming down my face. But the woman wheeling me was so sweet and talked about how she had to do the same thing because her baby was in the NICU for a little while. We took a car home, both totally emotionally and physically drained. I pumped every three hours that night while Wynn drank formula in the hospital. The next morning, we got up bright and early and went back to see our girl and to nurse her. It was so great to see her again. When we got in the nursery, the pediatricians told us her oxygen levels had been between 97% and 99% all night long (hallelujah!!) and that they felt totally comfortable discharging her. They said the mucous had likely caused the low levels. What a sweet relief to know all was well. We were so happy to bring our little girl home, even if it was a day late. We felt so fortunate that things turned out the way they did, and the experiences with Wynn and with Sally's hospital stay have reminded us to just be grateful. Having two healthy, perfect little girls is a huge blessing, and I hope to remember that every day and savor every moment of being their mom. It definitely made those first few super-sleep-deprived weeks easier to cope with! 

And now for some iPhone pictures for good measure:

Sally's Hospital Stay

I wrote the following soon after Sally's hospital stay:

Last Thursday night began like any other night. Johnny and I put Sally to bed and then got working on this or that. Sally had a cold and had been coughing a ton. She was also being treated for an ear infection. When we were getting ready for bed, we realized she was coughing nonstop and couldn't sleep at all. So we brought her into our bed. As always, Sally immediately was wide awake and chattering away because of how excited she was to be in our bed. We explained that she needed to sleep, but she kept coughing over and over. We also noticed her breathing was labored and rapid. We called our pediatrician, and she said to take Sally to the Mount Sinai pediatric ER on the UES.

We called an Uber and went over there, feeling unsure of whether we really needed to go. Despite her labored breathing, Sally chatted nonstop in the car, exclaiming that we were in a car, going on a trip! In the ER, they put us in a temporary room and gave Sal an albeuderol nebulizer treatment. It didn't help, but they decided to give her a few more. They also took an X-Ray to rule out pneumonia. The time just slipped away, and we'd been sitting in one room for hours. All we knew was that Sally's breathing was a concern, she had a fever, and her oxygen levels were lower than they should be. No one was telling us anything else. We were just waiting for someone to tell us what was wrong so we could go home. Then a nurse came in to check her vitals one more time, and based on her reaction, something seemed off. Next thing we know, the doctor comes in and says, "Mom and Dad, she's gotta stay." In other words, they were admitting Sally to the children's hospital. Her oxygen levels were at 90% and nothing was making them improve. She didn't have pneumonia, but they tested her for RSV. We waited another few hours for a room to be prepared and for the results of the RSV test to come back.

I was super emotional, as it was the morning of my due date and I was sleep deprived. Seeing Sally so sick was heart wrenching. She was on constant oxygen and the albeuderol had made her super jittery and sweaty. She looked awful, and we didn't know what was wrong. Johnny left and got us breakfast sandwiches from a deli, and I swear they were the best I've ever had. Neither Johnny or I slept a wink that whole night. Finally, at around 9:30 a.m., we got admitted. Sally had tested postitive for RSV, which had turned into bronchiolitis.

The nurses and staff were all so sweet in the children's hospital. They brought Sally a doll house to play with, and they were super understanding of our situation with my being so pregnant. Sally was monitored and given saline breathing treatments periodically. They attached a clip to her toe to check her oxygen every couple of hours. We put Sally in diapers, just to make things easier, and she drank out of a bottle while she was there. The trick was keeping her entertained in the hospital room. We had TV, coloring, and the dollhouse.

At 1:00 that afternoon, I went home to sleep, and Johnny called me after three hours to tell me that Sally was throwing crazy tantrums. She'd been given a steroid, and she was hulking out because of it and her sleep deprivation. I went back almost immediately and helped calm her. We were told she was looking better and that we might be able to be discharged that night. Sally fell asleep finally, and her oxygen levels just weren't good enough, so they had to keep us overnight. Johnny went home for a bit to shower and be there for a Prime Now order and then came back with burgers for us. We finally got Sal to sleep late that night and then tried to get some rest ourselves. Johnny had gotten zero sleep still. They made a special exception for us to both sleep in the room since I was so pregnant. They brought in a chair that turned into a bed for me, but Johnny was on the floor. I decided to go home at 1:00 a.m. (via Uber) and give Johnny my bed and sleep in our own bed.

When I got home, I had so much pent up stress that I scrubbed our kitchen and bathroom for an hour before finally going to sleep. I was so happy Persie was home with me so I wasn't alone. I woke up at about 6:30 and showered and took the bus back to the hospital. That morning, Sally seemed like she was doing better, and we just hung out with our girl while the doctors decided whether to send her home. During the night, her oxygen levels had been okay, not great but good enough to discharge her. And she was consistently getting about 94% or 95% oxygen levels during the day, so they told us we could go home. We were told to monitor her and watch her closely the next few days to make sure she didn't worsen. And they told us to just bring her back in if she did. We also had a followup appointment with the pediatrician for the following Monday. Luckily, Sally has steadily improved, and she's been doing great since.

And now back to present day:

There were so many emotions surrounding Sally's hospital stay. Not only was it horrible to see Sally so sick and not be able to do anything, but we were worried about me going into labor and having Wynn while Sally was still contagious. And I was worried that Johnny and I would get RSV and Wynn might get it that way, too. I called my doctor the day Sally was admitted, and she was very concerned and told me that we'd need to quarantine Sally away from the baby if I went into labor while she was still contagious (which would be for the next week or so). I was certain I'd go into labor while Sally was still sick, and the whole situation really weighed on me. Somehow it all worked out. Sally got better before I had Wynn. I really don't feel like it was chance that it all worked out how it did.

Thankfully, Sally ended up being totally fine, but the situation really put everything into perspective for Johnny and me. We were grateful she wasn't more sick than she was, as many of the children in the hospital had much more serious illnesses. It also reinforced how nothing really matters but our little family. I'm so grateful for little Sal and that I get to be her mom. Being a parent makes you so vulnerable, but it's also the very best thing in the world. The week after her sickness was a great time to appreciate each other and spend some final time as a family of three. 

Easter 2015

This was Sally's first real Easter since it was her first time going on an Easter egg hunt and getting an Easter basket. Oddly enough, she didn't get her actual Easter egg basket until after Easter this year because the package got lost in the mail. But we still celebrated! Our ward did an Easter egg hunt in Central Park the day before Easter, and Sally loved collecting the eggs. It was the weekend of General Conference, so we went home and watched it while Sally devoured almost every piece of candy she'd gotten. 

And I was six days out from my due date in this picture! Who knew I'd have over two weeks past this picture being taken before Wynnie was born. We had no idea what the next two weeks had in store for us...

One of Sally's gifts was a new train, which she was so excited about! And I also got her some crayons and paints to help entertain her once the baby arrived. I had no idea how much I'd love buying stuff for my kids, but it's pretty darn fun.