Heidi Faith Macleod was born at 1:10 pm on March 13th 2012 weighing 4 lbs 13 ounces. They claimed her length to be 19 1/2 inches long...but I think that might be inaccurate.
After Heidi was taken away to the U of A to await surgery, I hung out in the recovery room before they took me to my room. Kevin decided it would be nicer for me to have a private room, and after he made sure I was all set up he left to go be with Heidi.
Luckily, everything lined up perfectly for Heidi to get her pacemaker. 5 short hours after her birth, the operating room was empty and the surgeon was ready to go. I was told this doesn't often happen and it was a great stroke of luck for her.
The surgery took about two hours and her chest took an incision about 2 inches long. The pacemaker itself can be felt just underneath her rib cage on the right side. It is about the size and weight of three stacked quarters. After the pacemaker was installed she was perfectly fine. Of course she was then hooked up to some IV's for pain meds and fluids, and that's how she was fed for the first couple of days.
With Heidi at the NICU at the U of A, and me in my bed at the Royal Alex, we both settled in for our first night of recovery.
By the next morning I felt like a caged animal. I wasn't moving around too quickly, but I was moving and wanted desperately to see my child. I was impatiently waiting in my room and having my vitals constantly checked wondering when the doctor would show up and give me a day pass to get the heck out of there. Nobody came and the hours passed SO slowly. I was texting back and forth with Kevin a little about Heidi (and of course he'd been there since early in the morning), but it was limited because cell phones were not allowed in the NICU.
I was hormonal, away from my baby and getting angry. I had made the decision that I would be leaving when Kevin came around noon, whether I had a pass or not. I mean, really? Who is going to deny a mother from leaving to see her baby? Just so happened that as Kevin and I were getting ready to leave, the doctor phoned and authorized my day pass...
And then I got to see her...
The IV's and breathing tube and wires were mostly just side effects from having surgery.
She is beautiful and perfect and wonderful. The nurse said, "She's small but mighty."
After Heidi was taken away to the U of A to await surgery, I hung out in the recovery room before they took me to my room. Kevin decided it would be nicer for me to have a private room, and after he made sure I was all set up he left to go be with Heidi.
Luckily, everything lined up perfectly for Heidi to get her pacemaker. 5 short hours after her birth, the operating room was empty and the surgeon was ready to go. I was told this doesn't often happen and it was a great stroke of luck for her.
The surgery took about two hours and her chest took an incision about 2 inches long. The pacemaker itself can be felt just underneath her rib cage on the right side. It is about the size and weight of three stacked quarters. After the pacemaker was installed she was perfectly fine. Of course she was then hooked up to some IV's for pain meds and fluids, and that's how she was fed for the first couple of days.
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| And this is Heidi's x-ray |
By the next morning I felt like a caged animal. I wasn't moving around too quickly, but I was moving and wanted desperately to see my child. I was impatiently waiting in my room and having my vitals constantly checked wondering when the doctor would show up and give me a day pass to get the heck out of there. Nobody came and the hours passed SO slowly. I was texting back and forth with Kevin a little about Heidi (and of course he'd been there since early in the morning), but it was limited because cell phones were not allowed in the NICU.
I was hormonal, away from my baby and getting angry. I had made the decision that I would be leaving when Kevin came around noon, whether I had a pass or not. I mean, really? Who is going to deny a mother from leaving to see her baby? Just so happened that as Kevin and I were getting ready to leave, the doctor phoned and authorized my day pass...
And then I got to see her...
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| Heidi Faith |
She is beautiful and perfect and wonderful. The nurse said, "She's small but mighty."
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