Home at Last
We've managed to get home and while the snow falls outside we are adjusting to our new lives as a family of four. As it was with Lux, getting Nick out of the hospital was a frustrating ordeal. All day Saturday we told anyone who would listen that we wanted to go home as early as possible. The lovely midwife from our practice was more than happy to oblige us and willing to sign me out of the hospital whenever I wanted. The rest of the hospital staff, however, didn't seem to understand why would we want to leave. I'm glad they think so highly of their hospital, but honestly, home is much more comfortable.Complicating matters somewhat was the fact that when the pediatrician from our practice came to check on Nick it was the one doctor that neither Paul nor Susan can stand. We swear, this man may be an excellent doctor, but it is hard to tell because he is certifiably insane. We have only met him once before, during an interview, and have successfully avoided him ever since, but as he was the only doctor doing rounds that day, we were trapped without a choice.
Dr. Bizarro was instantly recognizable, in spite of the the fact that he made no introduction of himself, but merely came into our room unannounced, sat down and started doing some paperwork. We recognized him from the weird fisherman/embed reporter vest he apparently always wears and his unique bedside manner. How it works is that we ask him a simple direct question and he launches into a random lecture on an unrelated topic, with lots of condescension. Example - we asked about testing from Group B Strep, since Susan was known to be infected with it. Dr. Bizarro began to lecture us on how all the people who died of bubonic plague were breast fed. He also mentioned several people he was related to who died after having given birth, though the cause of death wasn't clear. He never answered our question, except to give us the sad news that we would not be able to leave on Saturday because of the Group B Strep testing protocol, which he implied would be ongoing throughout the rest of our stay. He assured us we could leave on Sunday morning. He also lamented the fact that he was unable to use a Star Trek "tricorder" to assess health. Paul and Susan bit their tongues.
Subsequent attempts to determine the exact nature of the "Group B Strep Testing Protocol" revealed that it was a blood test that had been done before Dr. Bizarro had even met with us. No additional tests were done or ordered. We rolled our eyes and became even more determined to avoid Dr. Bizarro at all costs.
On Saturday afternoon Aunt Karen brough Lux by for a visit. She seemed happy enough to see us, and liked looking at her brother. She spent some time walking around with her father, and Aunt Karen was kind enough to bring us deli food so that Susan didn't have to eat the hospital food. (Another annoyance - menus kept showing up with food choices clearly circled, but they were random things that Susan most certainly had not chosen. In fact, in spite of frequent requests, she never got to choose her own menu).
We decided that Paul would not stay in the hospital another night. Not only did he despise the pull out chair (which he well remembered from Lux's birth), but we felt it would be nice for him to be able to put Lux to bed and wake up with her in the morning. Lux had been doing very well and having a lot of fun with her Aunt Karen, but we understood that she had been through a lot and needed the comfort of a parent. Susan's dinner (fruit plate with a dessert of fruit and fruit juice to drink, courtesy of whoever was circling things on her menus) arrived, and Paul decided to run out and get her something a bit more substantial, and a few magazines to occupy her through the evening and following morning.
Hospital workers directed Paul to the nearby Safeway. He was surprised to see, when he walked in just before 6 pm, that it closed at 6 pm. He was even more surprised to see the shelves were bare. Then he realized that the supermarket didn't just close at 6 pm, it closed FOREVER at 6 pm. Luckily, there was a drug store next door, so he stocked up with snacks and Vanity Fair and headed back to the hospital.
Thus fortified, Susan prepared herself for a night alone with Nick, who was nursing well, sleeping well and generally being a very easy boy to live with. He was, however, coughing up a bit of mucus. This is very normal for babies, particularly those who are born quickly (or by C-section). Going through the birth canal is like a Heimlich maneuver for babies - the tight squeeze clears out their breathways. Nick flew through so fast he didn't get much benefit of it. Concerned because she was working on about 2 hours of sleep in the last 48, Susan opted to leave Nick in the nursery for a few hours so she could rest without fearing he would choke and she wouldn't hear him. Then the nurses pointed out that Nick hadn't urinated yet. Remembering that this was what had kept us from leaving the hospital with Lux, Susan reluctantly agreed to allow the nurses to give Nick some formula and keep him until dawn. Then she settled down to get some much needed rest. It seemed almost unbelievable that less than 24 hours earlier she had given birth. The whole event was so quick and hazy that Susan had the uneasy feeling of waking up in the morning after a drunken night in college, knowing she had done something embarassing and yet not being able to put a finger on it. Oh yeah, I mooned a bunch of strangers in the parking lot! Why had that seemed like a good idea? Oh yeah, baby was being born!
Guilt and eagerness to reclaim her son had Susan up, washed and dressed by 6 am and headed for the nursery. Nick had done fine, just a little mucus and he drank a lot of formula. Sadly, he still hadn't urinated. Paul came in around 9:30, feeling rested and thankfully bearing hot coffee (the dining service fairy had carefully indicated that I wished to drink only whole milk for breakfast) and a croissant that Karen had bought on her way to take over care of Lux. Then began the waiting game we remembered so well.
Dr. Bizarro had done us wrong again - there was no way we could leave in the morning as he had assured us since the doctor from his practice (Dr. Chen, a lovely woman) wasn't going to be doing rounds until the afternoon. Plus, Nick STILL HADN'T URINATED. We used the morning to bond with Nick and get his hearing tested and then we met with Dr. Chen the moment she came in. She gave Nick a clean bill of health, except she wouldn't let us leave until he urinated. Resigned to waiting until 2:30, when she would return, we grumped about the hospital room, when mercy of mercies, Nick did his job. All the pestering we had been doing of the staff paid off and as soon as we presented the wet diaper, we were allowed to pack up and get out. Hurrah, we were going home!
Experienced parents now, it took us no time to get Nick into his car seat, and we were off. He slept all the way home, and long enough for us to lavish attention on Lux, who was busy refusing to nap when we arrived. Paul and Karen had put up our "It's a Boy" sign on the front of the house, which made Susan tear up, and all was well.
We spent the afternoon and evening as a happy family. Lux likes to hold Nick and steal his hat. Nick likes to sleep and eat and not a whole lot more. We watched the Oscars and drank a little champagne to celebrate and Paul and Lux made popcorn. Lux watched it pop and learned how to say "pop, pop, pop!".
We got through our first night home pretty well. Lux slept soundly, which helped matters. It took a few hours for Susan to remember how to deal with a newborn in a bassinet at her side, but it all came back to her before long and she and Nick got into a nice little routine. Lux seemed happy enough to discover that her brother was still there in the morning. Now we are cozy at home, watching the snow fall, sitting in front of the fire and giving Lux a little extra attention, as her nerves are a bit on edge after such a hectic weekend.
This morning, Nick decided to amaze us by losing his belly button stump at only 2.5 days old. It took MUCH longer for Lux and belly button stumps are gross, so this was a welcome development.
If ever there was to be a next time, we have decided it will have to be a home birth. Between the harried rides to the hospital and the ordeal of trying to leave the hospital, it just isn't worth it.
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