Sleeping Schedule and Surgery

I had to have a little outpatient surgery last week. As I tell people, "They left a little something in there when Molly was born." No, it wasn't a metal medical instrument, latex glove, or anything like that. That would be a good story. It was about a 1 pound piece of the amniotic sac. So, I had to have a D&C. I told Ryan not to take the day off of work because he's had to miss so much school already, and I know how hard it is to have a sub. Besides it wasn't that invasive of a procedure. So, my parents took care of Molly at the hospital while I was there.

It was a long day. We were there from 9am to 5pm. I opted to have a spinal anesthesia instead of general anesthesia so that medicine would not get into my breast milk. The procedure was quick and successful. (The worst part of the entire day was not having the spinal administered, but the first two botched attempts at inserting the IV needle. I was dehydrated from breastfeeding on top of the mandatory fasting period. So, it made my veins very tiny and constricted.) Then, they wheeled me into recovery. There I was, completely coherent, but numb from the belly down. Everyone else in recovery had had general anesthesia, and they were in various stages of consciousness and were emitting various decibel levels of snores!

I asked how long I had to be there. The nurse told me several hours until I regained feeling in my legs. I asked if my family could come see me. She told me no, that people in recovery weren't usually able to talk to anyone. I asked if I could at least have some magazines. She decided that I might just drive everyone crazy due to my boredom. So, she got me transferred pretty quickly to Stage 3 Recovery, a wonderful place with TVs, families visiting, alert patients, lunch trays, and a nice selection of beverages. I was reunited with my parents and Molly there. My parents did a great job of taking care of Molly. She was pretty cooperative!

Molly is still being a pretty good baby. We aren't trying to keep her on a tight schedule, however, we try to get her to sleep after she's been awake 1-2 hours. Dr. Weissbluth in his book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child advises that babies get overtired after being awake 2 hours. It seems to be pretty accurate with Molly. She has a couple of fussy periods each day: after she's been up a short time in the morning and then for a few hours in the evening. We've learned that the fussiness indicates that she needs to sleep, but is having difficulty falling asleep.
We are so thankful that she's an easy baby. I'm also thankful that I've been able to shower every morning since she's been born!