The introduction (to a scheduled c-section)

Just as it happened when I knew Viviana's arrival would be the next day, sleep was not so easy to come by the night before Luccia's birth. There was still much to do to get ready, but as I continued to prepare things late into the midnight hour, I finally felt like everything was under control . We thought about having Mirabella and Viviana stay at my parents' house that night so we could get things rolling more easily in the morning, but we made the decision to keep them with us which was so nice. The four of us had dinner at home before our run to Dairy Queen for a little treat. Bedtime approached quickly and the morning of May 31st came even faster.

Our neighbor and dear friend, Mary, came (with a gift!) to spend the day with the girls while we got our truck packed up. There was a bag filled with boy gear and a bag filled with girl gear all ready for our newborn to break in. Time would soon tell which bag would make it into our hospital room and which one would sit untouched.

 

I grabbed the pretty pictures that Mirabella and Viviana had made for the baby to put up in my hospital room and we hit the road.

 

Surgery was scheduled for 12:00 PM and we had to be there by 10:00 AM which meant leaving our house by 9:00 AM. The car ride left me feeling at once anxious, nervous and excited. I could not stand the wait before I met our baby, but the whole process of surgery - three procedures - scared me some. We parked in the ramp of the new Mother Baby Center at Abbott and I felt fantastic. We arrived five minutes early too, which for me was big! I could not believe how good I felt walking into the hospital and it didn't seem possible I was going in to have a baby just two hours from then. What a difference it made not having all the swelling I did with both of my other girls. I wondered if this was a predictor that this baby would be our first and only son.

It seemed like only a couple of minutes before I was gowned up and in the maternal assessment center.

 

This time I wouldn't see Jeff in his gown and handsome blue hat until we were reunited in the operating room. 

There were two nurses taking care of me and visits from two anesthesiologists who are always collected and appear to display a sense of calm that is reassuring. We were told things were on schedule, and then, ahead of schedule, and soon we would be ready to get the show on the road even before the noon hour hit.