We had the c-section scheduled for 8:30 so we got to the hospital at 6:00 that Thursday morning. We took Cullen in his pajamas and met our parents there when I checked in. The nurses started prepping me for surgery right away and before I even realized we were ready to go. We also took this time to play with Cullen a little, talk about what it means to be a big brother, and let him open his big brother gift.
As soon as they let Corey in the room, my nerves started to calm. No matter what, we were about to have another little one in our lives. Not long after the surgery started, I heard the sweetest little cry. The doctor held her up for me to see. I couldn’t believe how tiny she was, but she was absolutely perfect. Corey followed the nurses to check on Colette while they weighed, measured, and evaluated her. He came back and reported that she weighed 4lb 8oz, was 18.5 inches long, and to everyone’s surprise, had near perfect APGAR scores. Despite being SO little, our tiny little girl was indeed perfect.
Corey held Colette right next to me while they finished up, and before long, we were ready to go back to our room. This is when I got to kiss her head, touch her face, and see her eyes for the very first time. Because she was doing so well, they said Colette could come to the room with us, but we would have to monitor her temperature and blood sugar closely. If anything changed, they would take her to the nursery, but for now, she was staying with us. The nurse placed her on my chest and we headed back to our room.
As we got back to our room, Cullen was able to come in for just a minute to meet his new little sister. It was love at first site. Cullen had the biggest smile on his face, reached out his arms and said, “A baby! I need to hold her!” While our families waited back out in the waiting room, Corey and I spent about an hour and a half alone with our newest little one.
The next few days and nights in the hospital we focused on getting Colette to nurse, which we are still working on, and keeping her warm. After about 24 hours, she had kept her temperature up and her blood sugar up where it needed to be and she stayed in the room with us the entire time. We got very little sleep over the next couple of days, but that is mainly because I wanted to soak up every minute with our little girl.
We were all able to go home Sunday. Even though Colette was so small, she JUST fit in the car seat, she was healthy enough to go home with us without ever leaving our side. Colette’s birth was truly an answer to prayers. Throughout this entire pregnancy, our family, friends, and church have been praying for Colette. God answered each and every one of those prayers by giving us a perfectly healthy little girl.
We have been home for a couple of weeks now and things are great! Colette is a very content and easy baby. Our only issue at this point is that she is still having trouble nursing because she is so small, but we are working through that and she is eating like a champ. I remember being super stressed at this point with Cullen, but it has been completely different this time around. Maybe because we have been through so much this time already or perhaps because we have been through this part of having a newborn before.
Corey and I are in love with this little girl, and Cullen loves her just as much. We are a very happy family of four and are so blessed to have welcomed Colette into our lives!