Sybil Lucille Prochaska

Sybil Lucille Prochaska was born on August 22, 2014 at 8:10am. She was 7lbs 4oz and 19.5 inches long.

I am partially shocked that I made it to August 22nd and all went as planned. I had been having contractions on and off for weeks. And I just knew this little girl was not going to make things easy. I had also convinced myself that I was carrying so much differently this time so that must mean the ultrasound tech was wrong and that this girl was really a boy.

My last day of work was August 20th. I took that Thursday off to get some last minute things done around the house, do bloodwork at the hospital, and spend some extra time with Charlotte. My mom and Jason's mom drove up after work since we would be leaving at 5:30 the next morning. We went out to dinner and then I tried to relax for the evening. When it came time to put Charlie to bed, I lost it. I was crying and crying, knowing that it was our last night as a family of three and worrying about how it was going to affect her. I was also worried she was going to be upset when she woke up the next morning to find that we were gone. It was an emotional night.

I finally got a little bit of sleep and I was up and ready to go at 5am. Of course, I started having contractions again. They hooked me up to the monitors when we go to the hospital and the nurse was like "do you feel those?" I said "Yep. I get them pretty much every day." She said "Oh they are coming every 5 minutes. Are you sure you don't want to try for a VBAC?" I laughed and said no. This baby is coming out the way I planned this time - none of that traumatic labor leading to an emergency c-section like last time.

I wasn't nervous about the c-section until they walked me back to the OR. Ok, it's weird to walk into your own surgery and get on the table. It just didn't seem natural. I was shaking so bad - both from nerves and from it being freezing in there. They surgical team was so nice and they made me feel really at ease, but I was really wanting Jason in there. They said he couldn't come in until I was completely prepped. I felt better once I saw my doctor. I was like finally - a familiar face. She reassured me that everything was going to be just fine. And then they told me they were starting. And I panicked. Jason wasn't in the room yet. Finally he walked in, and I felt so much better.

This c-section was smoother than my last, but once again I birthed a baby with a larger than average head, and she got stuck. There was an intense amount of pressure being put on me to get her out, and I really thought they were going to break a rib. Finally, I heard my baby cry. I was so relieved to hear that sound. The first words out of my mouth - "Is it still a girl?" Everyone laughed. The team was commenting on her big head and I heard them say 8'10. I was like holy cow, she's big. But then I realized they were saying 8:10, as in the time of birth. I could see them tending to my new baby girl in the corner, and I thought "wow, she has so much more hair than Charlie did." And then I started crying, missing Charlie again. I heard the team talking about how the baby had swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid so they were cleaning it out. I looked at Jason with panic, but he gave me a thumbs up sign to assure me it was fine. I could hear her cry in between them sucking the fluid out so that made me feel better. Finally J got to bring her over to me. At this point, we still weren't sure what her name would be, but when I saw her face, I just knew she was Sybil.

Jason went with the nurses back to the room to get Sybil cleaned up while I got stitched up. It went by so much quicker than my first c-section. Before I knew it we were back in the room and Sybil was on my chest. She looked a lot like Charlie, but she had her own look as well. We spent the next 2 hours getting to know our new daughter. Around 11am, our moms, my sister, and Charlotte came to visit. Oh my goodness, Charlie just had the biggest smile on her face when she walked in. In fact, my sister said when they showed her a picture of Sybil on her phone that Charlie said "It's a wonderful day in my life." How cute is that. I was so happy to see her smiling. I wanted her to crawl into bed with me so I could hug her, but I think she was a little freaked out by seeing me laid out looking like hell.

Our stay in the hospital was pretty uneventful. The first night was pretty bad. No one told me that c-section babies sleep the entire first day and barely eat so then they are up the entire first night. Fun! But it's been getting better since then. The worst part of the recovery for me was the gas pains I got in my shoulders. After surgery, some air can get trapped and it moves up in your body and it HURTS. It was way worse to deal with than my incision.

We got released Sunday and have been adjusting to our new life as a family of 4. My mom or Jason's mom has been up here this first week helping out. It's so nice because Charlie is loving having the extra company and I like having some help so I don't feel like I'm neglecting one of the kids. My mom leaves tomorrow and then we are going to try to swing a week on our own in hopes that we will find a new routine soon. It honestly hasn't been bad. Sybil is a pretty laid back baby and Charlie really likes her (so far). I'm just hoping this trend continues - at least until I get the nights figured out. I feel like the first 2 weeks are survival mode - there is no hope of really getting a schedule down. That part is hard for me because I thrive on routine, but I'm just having to let go a little bit.

Sybil Lucille Prochaska

Charlotte on the left, Sybil on the right

My beautiful babies