The Stork Dinner

Stella was born and we were quickly getting used to our lives being plus one.  We anticipated staying through until Saturday afternoon some time.  Stella's delivery had been easy and she was perfectly healthy, so we were enjoying our brief stay in the hospital.  We knew that since she was born early in the morning, we would at least be staying through Friday.  The nurses let us know that they wanted us to stay through to Saturday, so we told ourselves it would be good to have one more night of support.  It was then my parents told us about The Stork Dinner.

The first night new parents were in the hospital, St. Mary's would prepare them what was called The Stork Dinner.  There would be steak and lobster, champagne, and overall a pretty incredible meal.  Steve and I thought perhaps this tradition was still happening, so we waited to see if we would be having this special meal on Friday night. 

Later in the morning that she was born, Steve left us to go get his luggage from the airport and to get some breakfast.  While he was gone, numerous nurses and doctors came in and ran screenings and the necessary tests on Stella and me.  Stella and I were struggling through breastfeeding, but nonetheless, she was doing well in her new surroundings.  When we saw the menu of dinner options for Mom only, we decided that The Stork Dinner was not longer happening.  Night 1 ended with some delicious JJ's pizza and the final game of the World Series.  It also ended with a beer for Mom!  Aunt Margo suggested that she recommended to patients who were breastfeeding to have a beer to help with milk production.  So, I had my first beer in almost a year!  It was a Guinness and it was delicious :).  

We woke up after a LONG and sleepless night.  Steve decided to head out to shower and grab us some lunch.  I thought everything was going well, and it was looking like we could be discharged by the time Steve returned.  Boy was I wrong!  After my doctor cleared me, all I had to do was wait for the pediatrician.  Stella's doctor had the weekend off for the holiday, so there was an interim doctor making rounds that weekend on his behalf.  This GIRL walked in my room, and just her appearance made me question her authority.  She had on a sweater dress, high heeled boots, and some pretty substantial makeup.  Then, she spoke!  It was like listening to a character from Valley Girl tell me about my daughter. Apparently, this teenager informed me that we had a problem: She was not happy with Stella's progress.  Stella had lost more than 10% of her birth weight, and her charts weren't showing enough dirty diapers and feedings.  So, this teenager told me, "Um, yeah.  So, I would be a lot more comfortable if you stayed another night.  Is that okay?"  Seriously?  No, it was not okay!

Steve returned with a delicious lunch (love that man!) to find a not so happy wife.  I informed him that a "doctor" had told me that our daughter was not thriving and we had to stay.  I was so frustrated because even though Stella was not breastfeeding well yet, we had been supplementing her with formula.  When I looked back through the logs we had been taking, she had many dirty diapers and successful feedings, so I was baffled that Stella's charts were not mirroring this.  Looking back on it, all I can figure is that between the multiple nurse changes, the data was not being entered into Stella's charts.  Regardless, this teenager had bought us another day at the hospital.

Luckily for us, we had a lot of family who wanted to come see Stella.  We had visitors all throughout the day, and we capped off the evening with another amazing meal... SUPER BURRITO!  Lord bless my parents for creating our own parties in our hospital room with some amazing meals and company!  We had both forgotten all about The Stork Dinner because we were having such amazing meals brought to us all the time :).

Sunday morning came and we were more than ready to go home.  We were determined that we were going home; with or without the teenage doctor's say so.  We packed up everything, dressed Stella (finally in clothes not from the hospital) and waited for the doctors to make rounds and sign off on charts.  I think we were both a little antsy because neither of us could sit still.  I kept peeking my head out the door and looking for a doctor or a nurse.  Finally, a nurse came to get Stella to take her to the nursery to be checked out.  We waited for what seemed like hours, so I finally could not take it anymore. 

I walked down the hall to the nursery, and there she was, waiting in her hospital bed.  As it seemed she wasn't going anywhere, I took the long way back to our room down the hallway.  I turned the corner and there she was... our teenage doctor.  "Oh my God, where's your baby?  Aren't you gone already?"  No, you moron, I'm here because of you, and we're still waiting to be checked out by you!  "Seriously, you should be gone.  Let's go get your baby."  I followed my new-found alli into the nursery and wheeled Stella back into our room.  She was my key out of the hospital and I was going to be her best friend if it got us out of the hospital!  Thankfully, she was happy with Stella's progress, so we were out of there!

We were thrilled and beyond ready to leave.  We walked out of the maternity wing (well, I was wheeled out) and made our way to the front door.  While Steve went to get the car, I was welcomed to the world of being an overprotective mother.  We had to go through the emergency waiting room, so I had the pleasure of seeing every odd ball that Reno had to offer on a Sunday morning.  Of course, they all wanted to see Stella.  I was horrified by all the toothless (and I'm not exaggerating) and freakish people who were trying to lift the blanket over Stella to see her.  The nurse helped me evade the masses, and she also gave me some sound advice.  "Did random people ever touch your belly when you were pregnant?  Now that your baby is born everyone is going to feel entitled to her.  Prepare yourself, but everyone will be trying to sneak a peek and touch your baby, with or without your consent."  With her sound advice, I rushed out the door to the safety of our car.

Happily, we arrived home with our newest addition.  Little did we know, but my dad had planned to give us our very own Stork Dinner.  Dad knows that Steve's favorite food is Thanksgiving food.  Steve would probably think I'm the best wife ever if I roasted a turkey once a week!  So, Dad had planned to cook us a full Thanksgiving feast to welcome us home.  There was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing; everything you would ever hope to see in a proper Thanksgiving feast.  It was delicious!  To say the least, I think Steve was pretty grateful to have this very thoughtful meal waiting for us when we came home, and so was I.

We were finally free from the hospital to start our lives as a family, and our first night together at home began with our very own version of The Stork Dinner.