Birthday.

A sleepless night, well not entirely. I'm sure that 3 hours constitutes a good nights' sleep the day before your baby is born. I woke up myself around 5:30 on November 29, 2007 - knowing full well that all those nerves and fears about a c-section and birth were about to come into full swing. I knew my Mom and Melissa would be there around 6am, being as that Alexa's delivery was scheduled for 7:30 that morning. Who knew if they would take me early or late? I wasn't a priority case, being as that anyone who came in in premature labor or any other extreme condition could easily bump me out of my OR. My nurse from the night before, Maria, came in to prep me before surgery. Placing a second 'just in case' IV in my other arm, giving me a bag of sugar instead of salt water, and ahem, shaving what need be to prevent any issues during surgery. At 6 my family was there, and by 7:15 they came in to get me. They wheeled a gurney to my room, forced me to don a hospital gown- I had gone 29 days in the hospital without EVER putting one on! - and off we went. I was taken downstairs to the first floor, Labor and Delivery, and put into a pre/post op room. I was given something horrendous to drink to prep my very empty stomach, and in walked the coolest anesthesiologist EVER. I can't remember his name now, but man was he great to have around during surgery.
7:30 rolls around, and Dr. Zaveri and Dr. Bitar walk in to wheel me down. Scott was taken to put on a space suit, I swear that's what it looked like, and I was wheeled into a very cold operating room. My nurses' name for delivery was Carolyn, and she was incredible. When they told me to sit up and lean into her while they prepped me for my spinal block, she was fantastic. And honestly - everyone bitches that the spinal block and the epidurals hurt - bullshit. I felt NOTHING. A pinch, that's literally it. I was laid down and almost immediately my legs and everything from the chest down went numb. It would be HOURS before I could really feel anything again. Jamie Farley - the saint that she is - and sister of my best friend, happened to be interning at St Joe's and conveniently in OB/GYN, walked in to be with me during surgery and while the baby was delivered as well. Scott walked in, my Doctors walked in, and it was go time.
The incision to my belly was made at roughly 8 am. At 8:13 AM on November 29, 2007, I heard the sweetest cry I will EVER hear. After much tugging, pulling, and what felt like rib breaking pressure, we had us a little girl. Alexa Cailyn Barrett was born at 34 weeks 3 days gestation, weighing in 3 pounds 9.8 ounces, 17 inches long, and utterly perfect. She was so incredibly tiny, but perfect. She could breathe on her own, she was pink and screaming, had her eyes wide open like who the HELL told you it was time for me to get yanked out of there, and was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She was taken out to be shown to my Mom and sister, while I was stitched and glued back together. She was taken to the NICU and I was taken back upstairs to 306.
I spent the remainder of that day alternating between throwing up, passing out, and being on one hell of a jittery trip due to all the drugs they had pumped into my body. The morphine made me sick, the anti nausea meds made me feel like I was jumping out of my skin. I didn't feel ok again until very late in the evening. Scott spent time in the NICU with Alexa to check on her. Everyone really got to see her but me. Scott had sent me pictures from his phone to mine of Lexi so I had at least that much to look at.
It was the roughest day of my life, and yet the most incredible. I had done it. 7.5 months of pregnancy, and I had managed to deliver the tiniest little miracle. She was doing excellent, I was doing better, and I could not be more happy or more blessed.