doctor-y things to her, including getting her cleaned up. At some point they brought her back and helped get her latched on to feed. A nurse arranged a bunch of pillows and her to make it easy, and it seemed to go well from what I could tell. I was still in a state of utterly disorienting bliss.
I remember them bringing me food, which included oatmeal. I love oatmeal. Then they called for a transfer and I regretfully had to hand over the baby so we could be moved to our new room on the mother/baby floor. They didn't want me walking at this point so I had to go in a wheelchair, although when I think back to that moment it reminds me of this scene from Princess Bride:
(I must be losing my touch, as I couldn't find it in gif form.)
In the new room, the initial euphoria started to wear off and the pain kicked in. I was very pleased to find that the pain from the actual delivery was not nearly as bad as I anticipated (thank you norco), but breastfeeding was excruciating. My nipples were cracked and every time I nursed her I had terrible contractions. The hospital's lactation consultant told me that Raeyn Drop was eating well and latching beautifully, so my breasts should not hurt. Well, they did -- a lot. The line that breastfeeding doesn't hurt if nothing is wrong is a load of B.S. I just kept trying to remind myself how lucky I was that she did have a good latch, as I can't imagine the unbearable pain people feel when things aren't going well.
Other than the breastfeeding issues, I was feeling pretty well. I guess the nurses could see that I was recovering nicely and they told me I should be able to go home the next day. Wait.. WHAT?? I was quite certain my insurance allowed for at least a 48 hour hospital stay after delivery, and I was definitely not ready to leave the nice safe room with the magic button that brought medical professionals running to help me and answer all my questions.
On Sunday morning, there was more talk of going home. T was in favor of this plan because Raeyn Drop had been crying all night and in the tiny hospital room neither of us had gotten any sleep. But he didn't have an electronic bed that raises and lowers with a remote control. And he didn't have to use a squirt bottle and pain killers to make peeing bearable. I wanted T to be comfortable, but I also wanted to continue being a patient for another night. Anyway, I was unconvinced that there was more sleep to be had at home.
Then the pediatrician came and informed us that Raeyn Drop was looking too yellow and we would not be going home after all. They wanted to keep us until the morning and then do a bilirubin test. We requested that it happen as early in the morning as possible so that we could leave in time to pick up my mom from the airport at 1PM. She said that shouldn't be a problem, and we settled in for another night of crying.
Monday morning the pediatrician returned while T was sleeping. She told me that Raeyn Drop's initial test was worse than she thought and we should not expect to be discharged in time to pick up my mom. In fact, it was very possible that Raeyn Drop would have to stay another night as a patient but I would not. Wait... WHAT? She would be transferred to a different floor where T and I would both be relegated to the pull out chair in the corner. Cue panic, as we waited a couple more hours for the results of the blood test to find out more.
Shortly before 11AM, the results came back and we were told they were actually not that bad and we could go home. I was just supposed to spend the next couple days nursing her naked in a sunny window to help with her color.
We were packed up and ready to go in a matter of minutes, half thinking that if we dawdled they might change their minds. In a flurry, I signed all the discharge papers and enlisted a sweet nurse's help getting teeny tiny Raeyn Drop into the car seat. She was swimming in her 0-3 onesie (T didn't have the heart to pull the newborn one over her head for fear of smooshing), but you could hardly see it anyway since the car seat straps basically covered her entire body.
A quick (but exceedingly careful) ride later, and our new family was home! Now what exactly did we get ourselves into?
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