Tales of the Flowers: The story behind the birth of Alli!

Our newest addition to the family is here! Welcome baby Alli!

How about the story behind the day she was born?
Because baby Ian was a c-section, baby Alli was planned long ago to also be a c-section. The only question T and I had was, would she wait for her scheduled day or not. There were a couple times we thought we might be going to the hospital early, but in the end, she waited until it was time.

Theresa's been feeling pretty good this entire pregnancy and this morning was no different. Theresa checked her packing list one more time to make sure there was nothing we were forgetting.

The night before, Ian made sure to give hugs and kisses to baby sister (in mommy's belly).
T and I can usually leave the house without any issues, but Ian must have felt something about this morning was off. He had a little bit of a hard time of it telling us goodbye. He'll be staying with T's parents while we're at the hospital.

The short drive to the hospital was nice (which was also a pleasant change from Ian's birth).

Checking in with the labor and delivery desk. There were a few other pregnant women sitting around here, obviously in pain, having contractions and just trying to breathe through it. T was certainly feeling glad that she wouldn't have to go through all that this time around.

A short time later, we're led back to a shared room. There is a new mom in the bed next to us and we're separated by a privacy screen. T gets all prepped for surgery and I get dressed out in my bunny suit as well.
Theresa's doctor stops by and chats for a little while before the surgery. One of the new things her doctor is doing is letting her patients pick the music that is playing while they're in the operating room. Without too much hesitation, of course Theresa picks Disney music. Her doctor said that's the first time anyone's chosen Disney music for an operation, but she's excited to see what kind of mix we get from Pandora.

A few minutes later, T's bed is wheeled over to the operating room. I follow behind and wait for them to get T prepped and call me in.

So many emotions going through me as I'm waiting outside in the chair. Excitement to have another child coming soon. Nervous about that child being a girl, which will be so much different than a boy. And thoughts of what the future will hold with a little girl in the mix.
While I'm waiting outside, I'm hearing Disney music playing from the room. Songs like "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, and "For the First Time in Forever" from Frozen which couldn't be more appropriate for the situation.

I was invited to come into the room and join Theresa. Once again, she's having a little bit of a rough time with the anesthesia and has an upset stomach.

They have a "curtain" blocking the views where all the action is happening, but luckily for me, one of the surgical lights has a pretty reflective surface and I'm able to follow along with what's going on. As we're coming down to the big moment, more appropriate Disney songs are playing like "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan, and "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled.

When it's finally time, the song "Hallelujah" from the non-Disney movie Shrek is playing in the background. I can see the doctors cut through the amniotic sac and see all the fluids coming out. It won't be long now!
Let's switch to the video where you'll get to hear her first cries, see her when she's only seconds old and gets to meet daddy for the first time, then meet mommy shortly afterwards.

I got to cut the umbilical cord.

Going over to meet mommy for the first time ever.

Getting her first kiss ever from her mommy.
Welcome Allison Lynn Flowers!

Going back over to get a little more cleaned up. Holding on to her daddy's hand.

And calming down a bit.

Next Alli and I left for the recovery room and Theresa was just a few minutes behind us.

Skin to skin is said to be important for newborns, so Alli and Theresa laid together for the next hour.

And tried to catch a few zzzs.

Eventually I got a hold of her again. Whenever she got a little fussy I would sing to her. One of the old standbys with Ian is the song from the Disney ride it's a small world.

After a couple hours, it was time to head over to the post partum room. Both Theresa and Alli were wheeled down the hall to the room we'd spend the next few days in. We were told that we'd likely be here until Tuesday (since it was a c-section). Monday would be the earliest they'd let us go.

In our new room, we finally get some time for ourselves with no nurses or anyone else surrounding us. Alli has taken a nice long nap.

Before it got too late, we had a few very special visitors come see us.
It's big brother Ian! Ian has been talking about you for a while now. Giving you hugs and kisses through mommy's belly and saying goodnight to you every night. So of course I got their first meeting in person on video.

At first he wasn't too sure about her.

But at least he was curious.

Of course the grandparents wanted to hold their new granddaughter.

Ian brought his new sister a present. It's Shellie May (Duffy's girlfriend).

And Alli happened to have some gifts for Ian as well. As soon as he heard he was getting a gift, he immediately dropped what was in his hands.

Getting up close to his baby sister.

And giving her a kiss on the head. Funny thing is, now whenever his mommy asks him for a kiss, he won't kiss her on the cheek, but instead stretches up and kisses her on the forehead.

And of course Grandpa gets some time holding her too.

Curious little boy.

The first night was interesting. After taking a solid 3.5 hour nap, Alli decided she wanted to be nursing constantly. Theresa got brief 20 minute stints of sleep between the constant feedings. One thing we did appreciate was that we weren't constantly being interrupted by the nurses. T's nurse is also Alli's nurse, so instead of multiple visits throughout the night for various things, we could get everything done at once.

Hi Alli. Ready to start your day?
Alli's pediatrician came to the hospital (on a Saturday) to check her out and give her a clean bill of health. With all that nursing (and what comes as a result of lots of nursing) Alli's jaundice levels are very low.

The day after her c-section, Theresa was feeling pretty good. The best recovery for her is to get up and start moving, so we did just that. Alli came along in her bassinet while T and I walked around the halls.

One thing we're really glad we brought. These Swaddle-Me swaddles. When Ian was born, we tried doing it with just the blankets, and while it wasn't difficult, it could have been better. These are shaped like they're supposed to be and have velcro to hold everything in place.

Later in the day on Saturday we took Alli to get her first bath. Her brother absolutely loves playing in the water. I wonder how she'll do.

Here are some of the highlights.

Well I guess we'll have to work on that.

Right after the bath, the mobile cart comes around and we check out her heart. Basically it's just a sensor they put on both the foot and the hand to check blood oxygenation levels. No problems passing the heart test on the first try. Whew, that's a relief.

After the screaming session that was the bath, Alli was worn out. That makes it a perfect time to check her hearing. For this test, they put headphones on both ears along with sensors on her forehead and back. A tone is played through the speakers and the sensors detect brain activity in response to the tones. The test has to be done when she's asleep, otherwise there is too much brain activity to detect the response. Alli passed!

It's nice to have family nearby. Earlier today Theresa was taken off the liquids only diet and has been able to have more solid foods. Once she heard that, she asked her mom to bring her favorite comfort meal, Korean food. They also brought me Chick-fil-A. While the cafeteria downstairs wasn't bad, this kind of food is preferred.

Alli had given Ian 3 Tsum Tsums on his first visit. On his second visit, he got 2 more. Got to make him feel special during this whole time too.

Now that she's up and walking around, eating regular foods, has been off the IV for a while and is tolerating the pain well, Theresa is wanting to get home. It's only 30 hours after her surgery, but she doesn't want to just sit around here doing nothing. She mentions to the nurses that she'd like to go home early and they were a little surprised. They check with the doctor, and T gets tentative approval to go home on Sunday! Sweet!

T's been getting her meals (if she wanted them) from room service. I've been getting mine from the cafeteria downstairs. For new parents though, room service does offer a celebration meal. For lunch and dinner, I was told this consists of a steak dinner. It's Sunday morning and we were hoping to be gone before lunch. We still asked for the celebration meal, but were told they didn't do anything special for breakfast, but we could still have the cake and sparkling cider if we wanted. Sure, why not. Cake is good for breakfast.

Congratulations Alli!

In anticipation of leaving early, I had the room packed up and everything down to the car by 10:30am on Sunday morning. All we need now is a doctor to clear us to leave.
That doctor apparently had a very busy morning with a couple emergencies he needed to attend, so he didn't get over to us until 2pm. We're just glad to be going home early!