Hospital Stay

The time spent in the hospital was sad and I was recovering from a tiring labor.  A white rose hung from the hospital room door (a signal to staffers that I was a patient who lost a child).

From Slideshow

The nurses at Lakeside are amazing.  I was fortunate to have nurses who specialize in dealing with deliveries like mine.  How sad that it is even necessary but I'm so grateful to all of them.  Lori was my nurse when we first arrived & overnight.  She was there for my epidural and I saw her again at the end of my stay.  She was so kind.  Linda was there the morning I started pushing.  She was like a mom to me-very loving and caring.  She cried right along with us and was a great coach during labor.  She stopped in to say bye before we left the hospital.  Mary was great. She had the fun job of dealing with my catheter and trying to get me to "go" on my own.  That would prove to be quite the challenge for everyone.  She was very patient and caring the whole time.  Sarah was there when I woke up crying at 1:00 am on Wed. morning.  She sat with Tim & I for two hours and we just talked about random things until I could calm down enough to sleep.  She shared other birth stories that helped me cope with ours.  We are forever grateful there are people like these in the world.

I posted a few times on Facebook and received an overwhelming response from family & friends.  I really think the thoughts & prayers and seeing the support got us through those tough days.  We didn't feel so isolated and it was a way to tell people all at once.  I guess we didn't realize how much people cared.  I think that kept me sane.

It was hard being in a hospital bed when there were things to be handled (Sofia's funeral arrangements).  Tim's brother, Jeff was so helpful.  We truly appreciated him going with Tim to the mortuary & cemetery to work out the details.  They relayed information to me so we could make final decisions.  When it came to the flowers (for her casket), we naturally chose pink roses.  They asked Jeff if we wanted ribbon and I'm so glad he said yes.  The flowers were gorgeous.  My favorite part was how they tied knots in the pink ribbon and put baby roses in the knots.  It reminded me of flowers I'd seen in old family photos before my time, and I've always loved the long ribbon tied in knots.  It was meant to be.
Tim's sister, Michelle & family drove to town to see us.  Unfortunately they weren't there to see Sofia right after she was delivered but we were glad they came to support us.  Michelle sat with me until 4:00 am on Wed. night/Thurs. morning.  She helped me look through all the prayer card & scripture choices.  We both had copies and landed on the same one.  It was meant to be.
Sofia's going home outfit was what we decided she should wear for her service, but I didn't have any tights or shoes.  We felt it was necessary for her funeral so Sarah went shopping and bought those for her.  We really appreciated that.  My parents & sister and Tim's parents & siblings were all very supportive.  My mom sat with me a lot.

A couple women from my Dr. office stopped by with a signed card and offered a prayer in my hospital room.  It was very nice.  Tim was out with Jeff at the time but my mom & Sarah were there to join us in a prayer.  They were in tears, and so were we.

Since I had an epidural my labor wasn't physically painful.  I'd say the most physical pain I endured was each time they put in a catheter after labor was over.  Having that done after giving birth is very painful.  My bladder was over-distended (too full) for too long and my body was worn out from 4 hours of pushing.  I didn't have the urge to go at all.  It was so frustrating.  I've never talked so much about pee to so many people in my entire life!  All modesty has gone out the window.  I felt like a two year old being potty trained.  My body forgot how!  I had to leave the hospital with a catheter.  As if I didn't have enough to deal with.