Welcome to the world AIDEN JOHN EDWARD REDMAN

The much anticipated 8th of April arrived!  The house was very quiet with the kids away which was just weird!  We had to be at the hospital which is about 30km away (takes up to an hour with traffic) by 10am so we were up fairly early - I couldn't really sleep anyway!!  

The last photo of me being pregnant - I was so HUGE!!

We got to the hospital and had to wait around for over half an hour to be admitted.  As most of you probably know I have a really big phobia of vomit... well while we were sitting there waiting to be admitted this old man walked past vomitting really loudly into a bucket - I was so freaked out!!!

We finally got all the paperwork done and headed up to the ward.  The other two kids were born at a different hospital but I had to go to Monash this time due to the diabetes - they are better equipped with special care nurseries and specialist doctors.

The rooms at Monash were quite a bit older and not as nice as we'd had at Dandenong.  But as it was my 3rd Cesarean I got my own room so we were pretty happy with that.  So things were going along nicely - we'd been told I was first on the afternoon list which started at 1.30pm so we were expecting to have a bit of a wait around.  Mark decided to go and get some lunch - while he was away one of the midwives came in and said "Where's your husband? We are going soon" which sent me into a bit of a panic - so I madly texted Mark saying get back here now!! Then while we were completing some more paperwork the midwife said to me "So there's nothing else I need to know... you don't have diabetes or anything" and I was shocked that was the whole reason I was at that hospital and the doctor who I'd seen less than 20 mins ago had just discussed the diabetes with me!! Then she asked if I was on insulin - when I told her yes and the doses she was shocked and said "Well your baby won't be coming back to the ward with you"  I was in tears by this stage - not once had anyone mentioned this to me.  Apparently because of the high insulin doses they monitor babies in the special care nursery for a couple of days until they can regulate their blood sugar on their own.  It's not that it was that bad that was going to happen it was more a shock of not having been told til we were literally ready to go into surgery.  Anyway so then there was a mad dash to express some colostrum since I wouldn't be seeing the baby for goodness knows how long after his birth.

This photo was taken while we were waiting before I knew about the baby going to special care nursery! 

After that little panic it was time to be wheeled to surgery.  By this time my mum and sister had arrived as well and they came up to the surgical waiting area to wait til I went in.  Yes I was still crying but oh well what can you do!  Mum & Kirsty waited with me while Mark went off to get changed etc.  Then they took me off to put the spinal block in - OMG that was horrible!! I don't know what they were doing but they couldn't get it to go into my back straight - I kept feeling it down my right leg.  It's really uncomfortable because I had to sit there while bending over forwards (over my huge tummy) while they try and stick a needle in your back!  One of the nurses was a man from Texas who was just lovely and kept holding my hand and chatting to me trying to take my mind off it.  After maybe 20 tries and 40 mins someone else had a try and got it in straight away.  

It was finally in and time to go into surgery.  The laid me down on the bed and Mark arrived dressed in his scrubs - we forgot to take a photo it was a  bit of a blur by this stage to be honest!  Mark and I chatted to each other while the doctors got started.  There was a big clock in the room which we were looking at and my this stage it was about 1.45pm.  It such a weird feeling having a cesarean - you can feel all this pushing and pulling.  I could feel them really pushing down on my tummy as if they were trying to pop the baby out!  Then at 1.51pm he was born and we heard him cry - he must have been filled up with a bit of gunk because he was giving a strange muffled gurgly cry.  Then the doctors checked him over and wrapped him up etc by this stage Mark was starting to feel a little faint!! So they gave him and icy pole to try to get him to recover.  Needless to say he didn't cut the cord!!  Actually he did really well at Ethan's birth and did manage to cut his cord but not so with the other two!

Welcome to the world Aiden John Edward Redman - we had been very undecided about the name I have liked Aiden for a long time but Mark wasn't so keen - we tossed up lots of other names but kept coming back to Aiden.  John is after my Dad and Edward is after Mark's Dad.

He was covered in so much vermix - he had gunk everywhere even in his ears lol!!  He's not looking very happy in this next photo!

Then I finally got to see my beautiful baby boy!

I couldn't actually hold him though because I was hooked up to too many machines.  Mark and I posed for a couple of photos then he was whisked off to the special care nursery. 

Mark went with him leaving me all on my lonesome to wait while they stitched me back together - again a very weird experience!! Not really sure why but with the other two kids I couldn't feel anything at all but this time my legs still felt tingly which they said was fine so it felt like I could feel everything they were doing - although it didn't actually hurt - as I said very weird feeling! 

I then went off to recovery and I'm not really sure what happened next - will have to get Mark to write his account of what happened next but from what I've been told Aiden was weighed 3.63kg (8lb) and measured 52cm.  He was also hooked up to a drip to stablise his blood sugar.

Obviously at some point here we were told about his foot but I'll save that for another post about his castings etc

This was the first photo I saw of Aiden.  After he was settled Mark came into recovery to see me and come back to the ward with me.  Boy that was weird too - been through all this operation then there was no baby to show for it - only a couple of photos.  It didn't even seem like it was my baby - especially since in the special care nursery they dress them in their clothes so he wasn't even wearing the outfits we'd picked for him. 

Mum & Dad bought the kids into the hospital shortly after that to meet their new brother - they were both super excited and totally smitten!  When they came to see me they were just so excited!

It was still all very weird for me laying in my bed in my room having everyone else see Aiden and telling me how gorgeous he was but me not seeing him.  Because of the cesarean I couldn't get out of bed to go and see him and obviously with him being on a drip etc they couldn't bring him to see me.  I was starting to get quite upset by it all.  I asked one midwife and she pretty much said I would just have to wait til the next day - then we had another midwife come in and she said that if Mark would help her she would push my bed over to the special care nursery so I could have a cuddle.  I am so grateful for that midwife!

They pushed my bed over and parked me in the hallway so I could finally get a cuddle with my beautiful baby boy.  Here's a photo of our first cuddle - this is about 7pm so nearly 5 hours after he was born.

Simone came in for a cuddle too!

His poor little twisted foot :( This was really the first time I got to see his foot. 

More cuddles with Mummy.  I didn't want to leave him!  We got to cuddle for just over an hour before they took me back to my room.

The nurses in the special care nursery took wonderful care of him and I didn't get to see him again til about 11am the next day.   Mark stopped by to check on Aiden on his way home around 10pm but the rest of that night is a blur - can't really remember what happened at all - those painkillers were obviously doing their job!