Giving birth, and just simply being in a hospital with a newborn is tiring and let me tell you I’ve never been so sleep deprived. Who needs there vitals checked at 3 am in the morning? Can’t they wait till it’s 7 and I’ve had 0.0000001 seconds of sleep so I don’t just completely die from sleep deprivation…

This go around in the hospital was full of a constant flow of nurses in and out of our room at odd hours through the night. Once daylight hit the amount of times they came in decreased dramatically, as if we could sleep when our newborn was up. This go around we had no judgement on our age and marital status. Crazy how a two year difference and a signature on a piece of paper can change the minds of so many people. We didn’t get rude comments, most of the nurses took me seriously and I didn’t have to fight for the right to have my baby’s last name the same as Peytons. This time since we weren’t allowed to have visitors it was kinda peaceful due to the fact that we didn’t have a constant flow of family members in and out all day long to see our new arrival. We were blessed to have such a strong support team from our families but this mama needs her sleep!

I’m the type of mom where I don’t want my newborn being transported around the unit without me. I want all her test to be done in my room with my supervision. Call me high maintenance but I spent nine whole months creating this beautiful baby girl and pushed her out naturally feeling every bit of pain. So yes I want to make sure my child is being taken care of properly, not saying the nurses wouldn’t but I feel that sometimes these nurses (especially the ones without kids) get so caught up in the line of duty that they forget this is a newborn and can be kinda rough at times. Thankfully I didn’t have a huge problem with the nurses I got dealt with. One however really made my skin crawl at her response to my request. I had simply asked if my baby could have her first bath in the room with me, I want to be apart of every first I can get. This nurse really came back and asked me,

“Do you think I’m gonna kidnap her”?

Oooooooo I could just feel the come back at the tip of my tongue, but I knew respect. Emmalynn absolutely loved her first bath, especially when the nurse washed her hair. After her bath they sat her underneath a heater for 20 minutes to get her body temperature back up.

Since we weren’t allowed to have visitors Peytons mom made us signs she was gonna hold up from the parking lot.

Unfortunately we got a room in front of a parking garage instead of the parking lot. However that didn’t stop my mother in law from supporting us in any way she could!!!!!!

So guess what she did!!!!

She drove to the top level of the parking garage and held up the signs for us to see out our window! It was priceless and so supportive, all our nurses came to the window to see her as well. The staff thought this was beyond awesome for her to make this much effort in showing us support. I couldn’t agreed even more with there thoughts because it truly was amazing. Emmalynn will definitely know her mimi loves her. Now the hospital food wasn’t the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had. It was edible and for someone starving I couldn’t complain. But thank God my mother in law brought me not only one but two waffles to eat from Black Bear Diner! (Not a paid ad)

The hospitals breakfast option of pancakes, sausage and potatoes was definitely a hit. I don’t know what it is about waffles and pancakes but they have been on my list of foods to devour. Thankfully we got to go home the next day after Emmalynn was born. Not gonna lie it was kinda scary to go home so early, with just a 24 hour old baby. I’ve done this before but geese having a newborn is nerve racking!!!!! No matter how many kids you have, how old you are. I will say it again, having a new born is nerve racking! This little human we made is so fragile and delicate even a sneeze I’m looking over my shoulder to make sure she’s okay. Not only that making sure she’s still breathing is something I do probably ever 2 minutes. I tend to hold my breathe to make sure I can be as still as possible to see her chest rise and fall. Now we’re going home all by ourselves without the nurses, without an emergency call button. Without doctor’s around us in case something went wrong. Now it’s real life, This precious baby is our responsibility. The realization hit me when the nurse came in to tell us the good news that we were going home! I couldn’t wait to put her in the car seat and head home to see Paighton.

Once you put your baby in the car seat for the first time you truly understand how tiny tiny they are. Driving home with Emmalynn I was way more relaxed going home than when we brought Paighton home for the first time. Our hospital stay during a pandemic wasn’t scary at all. I know many people who are scared to give birth at this time because of COVID-19. Mamas,dads, family let me ease your mind! The hospital staff took good care of us throughout the whole process! We weren’t neglected what so ever. The only thing was I wasn’t able to have my family come visit, I wasn’t able to have my mom physically in the room with me while we welcomed Emmalynn. But I thank God I was able to have Peyton by my side! However on the bright side we got to leave the hospital earlier and come back home to Paighton!

This experience was one for the books and Emmalynn will definitely have an interesting birth story!! I thank God for a safe and healthy delivery during this time. I can’t wait to share Paighton and emmalynns first time meeting experience with all of you!