Presli Lillie Hoopes

38 1/2 weeks pregnant and ready to pop!

Just before going into surgery, last belly picture at exactly 39 weeks.

Presli's first picture, only seconds old.

Nice and clean after her first bath

So excited to hold my baby even though I am feeling sick

First picture with mommy and daddy in the recovery room.

Our good friends had their baby just two days after us, so we visited them before we left the hospital.
All ready to go home (well to drive to Richfield)
Watching cartoons with mommy
So tiny in daddy's hands
Hali's gift from baby Presli, she loved it!

On September 23, 2007 at 9:41 our sweet 7lb 4oz and 19in baby girl joined our family. Getting her here was a much less painful and stressful process than Hali. To begin with we chose a day and marked the calendar for when she would arrive. That in of itself was great! She was due Sept 30, so I got to skip a whole week of pregnancy.

We went into the hospital at about 7:30 and my c-section was scheduled for 9:00. I got my IV, filled out all the paperwork and didn't wait long before they had me walking down to hall to where I would be having my baby. Such a different experience than my first delivery! I was pretty calm throughout the whole morning, but as I was walking to the operating room I started to get a little nervous. I was without Travis throughout the beginning procedures so that didn’t help. Even though this was my second c-section this was the first one I would remember. With Hali, after 17 hours of labor my epidural was no longer working. We needed to get her out because I had a fever and they were worried about Hali getting an infection, so they had to put me completely out. Sadly, I don't remember her birth. So with Presli I was just hoping and praying everything would work with the anesthesia so I would be able to see and hear her when she was born.

I received my spinal and was surprised that I literally felt nothing before he said I was done and I could lie down. That was the easy part. They laid me down and I could feel my feet starting to get warm. I wasn't really sure how long it should take for me to be completely numb so I was getting a little worried that as they were prepping me and I could still feel it. My doctor knew I was really worried about this so he assured me he would make sure I was extra numb before he started. My paranoia comes from the fact that when I went into my c-section with Hali they started pinching me for the surgery and I could feel everything they were doing, so I started freaking out and so they put me to sleep.

They tested to make sure I was numb and began. Once they had started they let Travis come in and that calmed me down a lot. I was surprised with how quick it went, and how much tugging and pulling I could feel. It felt like they were pulling her from my chest, and I didn't like that feeling at all. I also had to finally close my eyes because they kept hitting the sheet (because they were pulling quite hard) in front of my face, and at some point I saw fluid spray onto the sheet! At that time I just kept my eyes closed and concentrated on breathing until I heard her cry. Later Travis said to me "you were so out of it during the whole thing, you kept opening and closing your eyes." I told him I wasn't out of it, I just didn't need a visual as to how much force they were putting into getting her out. There were a couple of times that I felt so nauseous I wanted to throw up. Finally, I heard the little gurgled cry and I think I was in shock. It was the best sound I have ever heard in my life! My doctor tried to hold her up over the sheet so I could see her, but all I saw was her little wrinkled forehead. It was such a neat experience to be awake for all of it, but it also made me feel really sad that I missed out on all of that with Hali! I was surprise to hear she was only 7lb 4oz. I wasn't expecting her to be that much smaller that Hali who was 8lbs.

When Travis brought her over to me I was surprised to see she looked a lot like Hali. However, I think that is really the only time I have seen her sister in her. The older she gets the more Barney she gets in her. After she was born Travis went with her to get checked out and I headed to the recovery room. I was feeling quite good after, just SO thirsty! After about a half hour Travis brought her into me and I couldn't believe how small she was. She nursed instantly which was such a blessing since Hali was never great at nursing. After taking a couple pictures in the recovery room we headed up to my room. Just being wheeled down the halls in the bed made me so nauseous.

When I got to my room our whole family was there including Hali. She wasn't really sure what was going on and she got very scared when she saw me hooked up to things, and sick. I told Travis I wanted to be there when she saw her sister for the first time. She was being very shy and wasn't really sure what to think about Presli, but only because I think she was worried about me.

It was after only being in my room for a couple of minutes that I asked my parents about how my Grandpa Barney was doing (he had been hospitalized just the day before) that I found out he had passed away only one hour before Presli was born. They knew when we called them to come to the hospital just before my surgery, but didn't want to ruin my experience. I know the timing was no coincidence. There is no doubt in my mind that my grandpa wanted to see his new great grand-daughter before she left for this earth to give her a big hug and kiss, tell her she is a 'good kid' and send her on her way. I like to think she has a special bond with my grandpa because the day he left this earth is the day she entered. Presli's middle name Lillie is after my Grandpa Barney's mom Lillie.

Having Presli in our hospital room with us throughout my stay was surreal. It was so nice to not have to get out of bed and get wheeled to another floor to the NICU to see, hold and feed my baby! Hali would come and visit periodically until she would get bored in our tiny room. She liked Presli, but was still nervous about me being in the bed.

With Hali I stayed in the hospital 4 days, but with Presli I left after two and a half days because I really wanted to go to my grandpa's funeral in Richfield. I knew it would be rough, but I didn't want to miss it. So two days after my c-section we basically left the hospital and headed to Richfield. That whole weekend was a blur because of the medications I was on, but I am so glad I went!

This c-section was a little rougher for me to recover from, but I think a big part of that was the fact that I traveled right after having her and then we went on vacation to San Diego when she was only two weeks old. So I never really got to just lay in bed to rest and recover.

Presli has been such a sweet spirit in our home. She is such a good baby and we are just thrilled to have her here with us happy and healthy!