Charley Anne

Charley Anne Espejo

Born at 8:02 am on April 30, 2012

7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20.5 inches long

This is her birth story...

Since I had a cesarean with my first daughter (and it went pretty well), my husband and I decided on a repeat cesarean the second time around.

The night before baby Charley was scheduled to enter our world, we took Grace over to my mom's house so she could have a sleep over with her Grammy. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 the following morning to prep for surgery, and this was the best way to keep Grace on a "normal" schedule.

After we dropped her off, we headed home to make sure we were all packed and ready for the hospital. Unfortunately, my plan of getting a good night's sleep didn't go so well. I had to wake up at four o'clock to shower and get ready to go and didn't get to sleep until well after eleven.

For some reason, I was so much more nervous this time than I was for Grace's delivery. I knew what to expect and exactly what would happen, but I was so much more terrified this time around.

We arrived at the hospital and were checked into our room immediately. They started me on an IV and pumped me full of fluids:

After two hours of waiting, my doctor came in to make sure I was ready to go. Just in time, my mom brought Grace around the corner so I could give her one last kiss and hug before going into surgery. 

This made me even more nervous.

The nurses let me stand up and walk back to the operating room on my own. The second I got out of the hospital bed, I felt my knees shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't believe I was so afraid.

I entered the operating room, and Isaac had to wait just outside until the spinal block was entered. I remember last time there was no pain, but I was still scared to death of this part. The anesthesiologist I had this time was even better than the last one. I felt nothing at all!

Isaac came in and sat next to me. We held hands and eagerly awaited the moment when we could finally see our baby girl.

Throughout the surgery, I didn't get nauseous like before and when I asked the anesthesiologist why, he said he gave me the nausea medicine before they started. The last time I kept getting asked if I was nauseous. I kept telling him I wasn't and then all of the sudden it hit me. I was then given the medicine and it went away after a few seconds. I think it was much better the second time around when I didn't have to feel it at all.

Also, I was so coherent this time that I knew everything that was going on. With Grace, I felt like I was only half way there and couldn't remember hardly anything about the surgery part. This time I knew exactly what was happening and could even feel everything. There wasn't any pain or discomfort, but I could feel them moving the baby around, pressing down on my belly to squish her out, and wiggling her out of my incision. It was such a different experience this time around. 

(They said it was because I was given Duramorph instead of Stadol and Demerol this time.)

I was even able to watch them clean Charley up after she was delivered. She didn't suck in fluid like Grace did and cried instantly letting us know she was healthy:

The baby's doctors told Isaac that she had a lot more vernix (the white stuff all over her skin) than normal which meant she was a week or two early. I was measuring a week ahead of schedule all along, so I was surprised to hear this:

Daddy got to cut the cord:

And then I got to snuggle and kiss her for a bit before they took her to the nursery to get her stats:

While Isaac went with Charley, I had to get all stitched up.

After Isaac left last time, I lost all concept of time and don't remember much. This time, I was able to talk to the doctors and nurses and knew what was happening. I heard them stapling me back together and had a conversation with the nurses about the abdominal binder they put around my hips to help my uterus shrink and provide support where my incision was located. (I didn't get one when I had Grace until a nurse advised that I ask my doctor for one two days later.)

I had watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy two days before where the doctors lost a sponge during surgery and thought they left it inside the patient. I didn't think about this at all until I heard the nurses counting all of the surgical tools that were used as they were finishing up. This actually made me smile as I instantly thought of that episode.

The doctors had me ready to go so quickly. I entered the operating room at 7:47, Charley was born at 8:02, and I was being wheeled back to my recovery room by 8:30.

As all of this was going on, Isaac was bonding with baby girl in the nursery:

She weighed in at seven pounds, ten ounces:

Grace even got to come watch through the window:

Charley wasn't too fond of the light, so Isaac put her hat over her little eyes:

He said that she'd stop crying and calm down right away if you started talking to her.

Daddy was able to take her out right away to meet her big sister. Grace wasn't too sure what to think about her at first:

The rest of the family was able to come see her while they waited for me to come out of surgery.

She met Grandma Lisa:

Grandma and Poppa Tackett:

and Grandpa and Grandma Espejo:

Finally, Isaac and Charley came into the recovery room and I was able to have skin-to-skin time and feed her:

Baby girl was already so alert. She made eye contact and stared at me for a while. She was also a natural at nursing. Probably because I already knew what I was doing, and she was able to latch on the first try.

About an hour later, we were taken to our regular room, and I got to continue admiring her:

Grace came in to spend some time with us, and took a nap with Daddy and Charley:

I was up walking around the same night and felt awesome. I couldn't believe how different the two births were, even though they were the same. 

The second night, a doctor from Dr. Tyre's practice came to check on me and couldn't believe I'd just had a baby. He told me I could go home if I wanted, but the nurse wanted me to get one last round of lab work in the morning. At least I got to go home a whole day sooner! My body reacted to the surgery so much better and healed a lot quicker.

I can't believe baby Charley has finally arrived. We couldn't be more thrilled to have TWO baby girls to adore. Isaac hasn't been able to put her down since the second she was born.

It feels so great to be able to say "the girls" and hug and kiss them both at the same time.

We are so blessed and so in love with our little family. God has given us the two most beautiful gals on the planet to love and nurture, and we couldn't be happier!!