Miss Josephine J Hartman

From the beginning...
I had an appointment on March 17th - St. Patty's day, to check on the baby, and see how much she had grown in a week. My doctor shared his concerns, after the sonogram, and suggested I get admitted that night. The plan, thin out my cervix overnight - and if my body participates, then start inducing in the morning. The accommodations were very nice, we had a great view of the lake, and we felt quite comfortable. At least I have some green on my gown, right?

The nurses prepared this bed for Neil - how nice is that?

Annnd the nurses suggested I order a lot of food before the kitchen closes at 10pm. I had to stop eating by midnight. So I did. The sandwich wasn't very good, but those cookies....yum. The cheesecake was a pressure order - the nurses basically made me order it. It was quite tasty.

I didn't get any sleep that night. Nurses and the on call doctor were in every hour on the hour. It wasn't fun. Neil however was snoring - apparently he was getting decent sleep. The fact they said, we'll wake you at 6am was hilarious. Did they think I would get any sleep? 6am could not come soon enough. They did more tests and informed me a doctor would be in by 7am to talk with me. Which doctor? They had no clue. Now, the office that I go through has 7 ob/gyns - isn't that nuts? And you just never know who's on call. The nurses don't even know. I was nervous. Mind you, I met all of them, and generally like them all...of course I would've liked my main doctor to walk in the room, but he was on call the day before. 7am rolls by, and walks in the newest member of Ob/Gyn Associates of Erie - Ms. Dr. Warner. I immediately thought of my friends Bryan and Christina who are expecting as well - she is their FAVORITE. After discussing my options w/her we decided to go ahead with a c-section - and within the hour, I was entering the operating room. Long story short, I'm a small person - small person + no dilation + big baby = complications. They were also nervous about her sugar levels - and didn't want to wait another day.
Neil - all prepped and ready to join me in the operating room:

While he was getting ready, a team of about 12 people were getting me ready. The job at hand? To numb me from my ribs to my toes. This was a challenge. I gave the anesthesiologists (yes, there were 2) a difficult time. I couldn't relax. The problem? The catheter. Yeeeouch. Just trying to sit up was super awkward and just down right painful. One of the anesthesiologists stood in front of me, practically hugging me, to get me to relax. Finally - a warm tingly feeling flowed down my legs. As soon as it happened, Dr. Warner's team went to work. It was like a blur. I do remember being very entertained by her team. Neil came in laughing at the fact I was super alert and joking around. I had a nurse right by my head giving me the play by play...and there were a few others I felt were in there, just to be in there. They were hilarious, and I enjoyed their company, that's for sure.
What I appreciated the most was how covered they kept me. There were sheets up everywhere. And whatever part of me wasn't being operated on, was covered with warm blankets. Neil didn't see anything he shouldn't - is what I'm saying. Within minutes Dr. Warner says "okay dad stand up!" Neil does. Then she says "okay dad, sit down." And then the cry. That wonderful cry. It had me in tears immediately. Dr. Warner then popped her head over the sheet and said "we made the right decision!" They put her on the scale, and the guesses began from everyone in the room. They were quite surprised that she only weighed 8lbs, 7ozs.. To me, she was tiny.
Neil went over and took some photos. Here's one:

She was extremely mad...
Neil brought her over to me, and I was surprised I could move my hands. I had heard that they tie your hands down...and have known women who have had their hands tied down during this operation. But mine were not. One of the anesthesiologists immediately took our camera and started taking photos.

I couldn't believe she was finally here...
At this point, we still didn't have a name for her. We shared what our ideas were to Dr. W, and she definitely gave her two cents...Josephine is my most favorite baby name ever! Throughout the surgery, she kept referring to her as Josephine. :) It helped us w/the decision...
They got me all wrapped up, and I was strolled down the hall to a pre-recovery area. We could hear a baby crying, and it was shocking how I just knew it was my daughter.

After little Miss and I got ourselves cleaned up, they shipped us up one more floor to our room for the next few days. Our stay at this hospital was amazing. We have zero complaints. The food was good. Accommodations were awesome. The staff went above and beyond to be there for us. This is a picture of Neil's bed:

This is Neil taking advantage of me out of bed....

Josephine and her mommy:

Isn't she squishy?
These are just the most recent photos I've taken of her:
All swaddled up... and then free of the swaddle...

Funny faces I caught...

And then precious...

She looks so different to me in the above photo. She is changing everyday.
We are learning more and more each day. What she likes (food), what she dislikes (diaper changes)...
We took some video footage of the weekend, which I really wanted to post on here - but they're not working :( Oh well...I'll try and figure it out.