The Arrival of Perry Lou
Perry Louise Espejo
born at 7:48 am on May 5, 2016
7 pounds, 15 ounces
19.5 inches long
Isaac and I arrived at the hospital bright and early on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo!). We were beyond excited and so ready to meet our newest baby girl.
I got hooked up to the IV and waited as patiently as possible for the time to come. Isaac got in his scrubs and joked that he'd be serving hot lunch all day. As the time neared, Dr. Tyre came in to tell us that she was ready to go. At this point, I got super nervous.
They game me some medication to help with nausea, and it actually made me really nauseous. We had to wait a few minutes for it to subside. Finally, it was go time.
I walked into the operating room, sat on the table, and the anesthesiologist got started on the spinal block. I was terrified of it, but just like the first two times, it didn't hurt at all. I laid on my back while they got the curtain set up and prepped me for surgery. He gave me more nausea medication, and again, it made me nauseous. I don't know if it was my nerves or what, but it definitely wasn't working like it was supposed to.
The doctor came in, and they got started right away. In what seemed like no time at all, baby Perry was delivered via cesarean.
(I can't get over the assisting doctor pressing on my belly like that. Crazy!)
To my surprise, they took the baby over to the warmer and wiped her down, measured, and weighed her in the operating room. The first two times, they took the baby to the nursery, and Isaac followed. I got to watch the whole thing, while Dr. Tyre stitched me up. I made sure to ask her if everything looked ok, in case we wanted to have another someday. I've heard cesareans are limited, but she said that all looked great with minimal scar tissue.
Daddy got to cut the cord, and Perry weighed in at seven pounds, fifteen ounces. At first sight, she looked just like big sister Gracie. She had a purplish mark on her right wrist, and her bottom lip looked bruised. They said that she had been sucking on her hands in the womb, causing the discolorations.
Before I was even finished, they brought baby over for skin-to-skin time. I was thrilled that I got to hold her so soon, and she never had to leave my side. It was also so nice to have Isaac in the room with me the entire surgery to talk to me and distract me from everything going on. The second I saw Perry up close, I was head over heels for her. She is such a sweetheart.
I held her on my chest while they moved me to the recovery room, where we started nursing right away. She was a natural and even managed to wiggle her way to the breast before I was even ready.
We had lots of family in the waiting room, but for once, I got to meet the little one and spend some time with her first.
Isaac spent a lot of time crying his eyes out. Something about having two girls already and seeing how quickly they've grown makes holding and kissing this tiny newborn that much more special. I guess you just know what's coming and realize that you really need to take in every second.
She hung out in her Daddy's arms and never did cry. She would just stick her tongue out and coo so sweetly.
Since she was born on Cinco de Mayo, she got a special sombrero complete with a mustache for the occasion.
We were finally moved into our own room where everyone got to come meet her. She was so good and slept while they all passed her around.
Around noon, Grammy brought the girls from school to meet their new baby sister. Charley was instantly enamored, while Grace was a little freaked out about Mommy being hooked to all of these hospital machines. Once we assured her that I was ok, she was all about baby Perry.
Seeing these girls with the baby made my heart so full. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
They even wanted to help change her diaper and couldn't take their eyes off of her.
Charley took a nap, while baby nursed and rested herself. When she woke up, she wanted to hold her again.
Auntie Elisha hung out and took the girls home with her. They were so in love with baby sister and snuggled her as long as they could.
Once they left, baby rested some more and looked like a little angel.
Auntie Allison and Uncle Alex came by to meet her, and Al got a picture of her with her eyes open. They are bright blue so far. All three girls had blue eyes at birth, but Grace's are green and Char's are brown, so we'll see what Perry's end up doing.
Uncle Elijah came by with Ashley, and Uncle Zac and Auntie Stef stopped in with Presley and Paxton. Spending the day with Perry made Paxton look so big when he came in the room, and Presley was in love with her new little cousin.
Uncle Chad and Auntie Geni came with Chase and Kaitlyn, who also took pictures with the baby.
Uncle played with Presley and snuck in some tickles.
Once everyone left, Daddy took a nap with Perry, while Mommy tried to get some rest.
The nurse came in and told me that it was time to stand up. She said we'd take it easy, but I wanted to know what I had to do to get the catheter removed ASAP. She said we'd have to walk down the hall, so we'd wait. I was feeling good, so I asked her if we could go for it, and we made it down the hall a ways. She was pretty shocked. The next morning, I asked what I had to do to get the IV removed. I had to use the restroom three times on my own before they'd take it out, so I asked them to keep the water coming. To our surprise, the nurse talked the on-call doctor into discharging us twenty-seven hours after the surgery. This was my fastest turn around yet, and I am convinced that each cesarean gets easier. I didn't really have any pain at all with this one and was ready to heal up at home with my new babe.
We headed home, and the girls got to come shortly after. It was beautiful to have my little family of five all together for the weekend in our own home.
We are so grateful for this healthy little beauty, for an easy delivery, and for the love that we share with one another. Perry is the sweetest baby, rarely making a peep. She loves to look around while laying in her sleeper, smile in her sleep, and be snuggled by anyone that's willing. We are so excited to see her grow (not too fast!) and watch her personality develop. She's got two big sisters that love her more than life and a Mommy and Daddy that just can't get enough of her. I'd say that's a good start!
Happy Birthday, Perry Lou <3
