The hospital stay

We stayed in the hospital all day the 20th and 21st and were ready to check out around noon on the 22nd. I loved the hospital we were at and truly appreciated all of my nurses. Everyone was so kind and helpful and I really felt taken care of. They got me out of bed the evening of the 20th and I sat in a recliner and had dinner, before getting back in bed. Because I was bed bound, Greg was on diaper and swaddle duty and he did great! I loved seeing him with his son, I could tell he loved being a father already, and loved this little guy.

 The next morning, they took my catheter out and told me to call them when I needed to use the restroom, so they could help me out of bed. After successfully getting out of bed at that point, they told me I was free to get up on my own.

I'd read that moving around soon after a c section is really helpful with recovery so I tried to get up regularly. We walked around the maternity unit, I walked in my room, etc. The immediate aftermath of the c section wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I never needed any prescription pain medications once what they gave me through the epidural wore off, I just took Motrin and Tylenol. I was grateful to be in a hospital bed that inclined and reclined for me so I didn't have to lift myself up from laying down to feed him or get out of bed. At some point, the doctor came to check on me and took the dressing off my incision, which shocked me. I couldn't believe the incision would just be exposed from there on out! Once the incision uncovered and they took out the iv, I was able to shower, which was a nerve wracking experience. The nurses told me I was a model c section patient because I got up and walked frequently :)

Lewis was a sleepy little guy in the hospital. The first time I fed him, he latched and sucked for quite awhile. After that, he was constantly showing the hunger cues, but wouldn't really wake up to eat. That was challenging for me because I felt like I was constantly trying to feed him. Eventually, the sound of him sucking on his fingers would make my toes curl, cuz I knew it meant I needed to try feeding him again! But looking back, I'm glad I persevered and kept trying to feed him on demand because I think it was really important in helping my milk come in after the c section.

We had to feed him an ounce of formula in the hospital because he didn't pee in his first 24 hours. That broke my heart and scared me that he would prefer a bottle over me, but luckily he didn't show any signs of confusion.  Lewis barely ever cried, only when he was being disturbed, like a diaper change or something. He liked to be held and Greg and I were more than happy to snuggle him!