Lucy's Birth, 13-Aug-2004

Lucy's Birth, 13-Aug-2004

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Lucy Inês Sexton was born on 13-Aug-2004, at 9:28 PM, at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, MN. Lucy joined us via an unplanned Caesarean Section. We went to the hospital at 6:00 PM, while Joana was having mild contractions, about 5 mins apart. The nurse thought they'd send us home, since we were still quite a few hours away from a birth. But when they did an ultrasound, after not quite being able to feel baby's head, they discovered that Lucy was breech (head up). Since they no longer try delivering babies breech, the doctor decided to do a C-section right away. The decision to do a C-section was at 8:00 PM and Lucy was born at 9:28. Vitals: When: 13, August, 2004 at 9:28 PM (8 days past due date) Where: St. Louis Park, MN Weight: 8 lb, ½ oz Length: 19" Mom and Dad stayed at the hospital for 4 days while Joana recovered from the C-section, arriving home Tues afternoon. Joana is doing fine, with only a little pain now. New grandmother Irene is helping out and we're all enjoying our time with new baby Lucy–our cute little Portugesinha! About Lucy's middle name "Inês" (pron. Ee-naysh): History of Inês de Castro Movie about Inês Send Sean & Joana, or Lucy, your comments (More photos of Lucy on main Photos page)
Lucy was the result of several IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) attempts. Here's a short bio on our doctor, Dr. Corfman, who runs Midwest Center for Reproductive Health. MCRH was phenomenal--compassionate and extraordinarily professional.



The birth..	All photos
Joana did only about 2 hrs of early labor before the doctor decided to do a C-section.	Sean waits to go into the OR.
Lucy is born	Lucy inhaled some Meconium (in utero feces) as she was born, so the nurses spent about half an hour suctioning her lungs and trying to get all the fluid out.
After they thought she was safe to move, Lucy went to the Level 2 nursery, where she got a good dose of Oxygen (to help her breathing and circulation) for the next couple hours. Here she was also weighed for the first time.	Since Lucy was in the Level 2 nursery to help her breathing, Joana didn't actually get to meet her until 0130h on Sat. morning–4 hours after her birth. Here she calls Irene to give her the good news.
Lucy in the Level 2 nursery. She got 100% Oxygen for the first few hours, since the Meconium that she inhaled caused her circulation to be a bit too low.	Lucy waits in the nursery to meet Mom. Her sucking reflex was quite strong from the very beginning.


Day #1–Saturday, 14-Aug We spent Saturday getting to know our little Portugesinha and learning how to take care of her. Grandma Irene (Joana's mom) came to visit. Also plenty of visits from OB and Pediatrician and more than a few nurses throughout the day. Lucy did a great job of breastfeeding. By the end of our stay, on Tuesday morning, one of the lactation consultants in the hospital brought a couple med students into our room to show them "a perfect example of a breastfeeding baby and Mom".		All photos
Joana and Lucy	Lucy Inês Sexton
Lucy loves to suck, whenever she is awake	For the moment, she has lots of nice dark hair
Mother and daughter	First photo as a family
Lucy was the only one of the three that got any sleep on Friday night.	Mom finally gets some sleep
Lucy and Joana	Lucy

Portuguesinha


Official hospital photos	All photos
Wide awake little girl



Day #2–Sunday, 15-Aug Sunday we had a few visitors, including both grandmas, and Sean's three sisters. We also talked to an Orthopaedic Surgeon, who talked about plans to put a soft harness on Lucy's hips for the first two months. She has one hip with soft ligaments that allow the hip to dislocate just a little bit. In order to make sure that the ball and socket joint forms properly, with the hip in the correct spot, she'll need the harness to hold her hips in the correct location. The doctor assured us that the harness won't bother Lucy at all–just make diaper changing a little more challenging.		All photos
By Sunday, Joana could get out of bed and sit in the rocking chair.	Mom and daughter
Hot little face	Joana and Lucy
Lucy with grandma Irene (Joana's mom)	Lucy with Aunt Denise
Joana now starting to walk around a bit	The cradle in the room--Lucy got to stay with us in the room for our entire stay, after the first 10 hours in the nursery
Vitals	Grandma Claudette (Sean's mom) and Lucy
Aunties Natalie and Nicole	Auntie Nicole
Lucy with her Dad	Sean and Lucy
Some quality "Dad time"	Mother and daughter
Joana enjoys her tasty hospital meal


Day #3–Sunday, 16-Aug Grandma Irene came to visit on Sunday, we had more practice in breastfeeding and diaper-changing, and Lucy got fitted for her hip-positioning harness.		All photos
Lucy with her grandma Irene	Granddaughter

Sleeping peacefully. You can see the top of her hip-positioning harness.	Getting some desperately needed sleep
Lucy in her bassinet	Mom and daughter
Feeding
	Dad does all of the diaper changing for now.
Lucy in her harness. She'll have to wear the harness for the first 6-8 weeks, but the doctor said that her hips would be just fine after that.


Lucy arrives home–Tuesday, 17-Aug The normal hospital stay after a C-section is four days, rather than two, so we got the full benefit of advice from nursers, doctors and lactation consultants. After finding the right window of opportunity when Lucy was sleeping well, we headed home on Tuesday afternoon.		All photos
Lucy comes home	Mom rode in back with Lucy
First order of business was to greet the dogs. Irene had brought back one of Lucy's burping cloths from the hospital, so they already knew her smell.	Joana still in some pain while walking
Lucy on her way into the house	Jack meets Lucy


At home with Lucy	All photos
Not enough hands to feed herself while feeding Lucy.	Finally, some snoozing. Notice Kirby's nose–being a herding dog, he has stuck like glue to Lucy since she got home, keeping her safe.