Read Ellery’s Birth Story Parts one and Part two
Once we were back in our room Ellery and I had our first nursing session. It was beautiful and she took to it like a champ. She nursed, unlatched, and fell right to sleep.
While I was enjoying these first moments with my little lady, the nurse informed us that the doctor found signs of an unexplained uterine infection when she was completing the c-section.
This infection, we later came to learn, is known as Chorioamnionitis, and is one of the leading causes of stillborn babies. Because of Ellery’s exposure to this infection, she would need to undergo a prophylactic antibiotic treatment because if she did begin to show signs of this infection it very quickly could lead to sepsis. Due to her risk of infection, it was required she stay in the special care nursery for monitoring and medication.
My heart was crushed! As any mom who has had a baby in a NICU or nursery, it is physically painful to have your baby separated from you but I knew it was for her best interest and the nursing staff assured me I could go down there and be with her whenever and for however long I wanted.
So after a while together and a successful nursing session, she was taken to the nursery. Because she was exposed to infection she did receive her first bath with the nurses and sadly we had to miss it but after just an hour or so we went down to see her for the first time.
She was in a tiny pink hat and was hooked to an IV, O2 monitor and heart rate monitor, but she was ours! Over the next 36 hours, I spent nearly every waking moment with little miss E down in the nursery. The nurses would set up a chair and I’d nurse her and snuggle her until I had to head back to my room for my care or to sleep for a bit.
Luckily after just 24 hours, we were able to take all but the IV off so holding her became less complicated. And finally, after 36 hours and no signs of infection, our little lady was unhooked and carted down to our room where she stayed for the remaining night.
That final night in the hospital was everything I had hoped for. Despite the soreness every time I moved due to the c-section, Ellery nursed like a champ and slept snuggled up on my chest. She was perfect and healthy and we couldn’t be happier that she was ours.
