My name is Meredith and my husband, Ken, and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy, Michael James, into the world on August 5, 2024 at AdventHealth Winter Park.
This was my first pregnancy and I was quite nervous about the labor and delivery process. Over the summer, I took several childbirth, breastfeeding, and infant care classes, both virtual and in person, and they were helpful, but nothing can prepare you for caring for a newborn in real life! Around the 37/38 week mark, when it was determined that my breech baby was most likely not going to turn into the head-down position at this late in the pregnancy, my OB doctor contacted AdventHealth Winter Park to have a scheduled c-section arranged for me in my 39th week!
At my 38-week OB appointment, my blood pressure was elevated and one ankle was more swollen than the other. My OB told my husband and I we should go over to AdventHealth Winter Park OB triage to be evaluated, and there was potential that I might need to have the c-section that day – talk about nerve wracking! After about 4 hours of having my blood pressure and other vitals monitored, it was determined I was free to leave. What a relief! I then spent the weekend at home finalizing our hospital go-bags and keeping my feet up in preparation for Monday.
On the day of surgery, we arrived to the hospital at 4:30am for my scheduled surgery at 7:00am. The intake nurses (Janay and Cayla), anesthesia team, and my OB all spent time individually with Ken and I in our pre-op room explaining how the process would go and prepping me for the procedure. Then, it was go-time. The circulating nurse Melanie wheeled me down to the operating room. I was nervous to receive the epidural, as I had never had that done before, and Melanie helped me remain calm. The entire surgery team was phenomenal, including Natalie the nurse anesthetist who I casually chatted with during the operation! Chatting with her helped me remain calm. At 7:35am, Baby Michael entered the world, a beautiful and healthy baby boy at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20.5 inches in length!
After a few hours in the post-op room, it was time for the three of us to go to the Mother/Baby floor, to get settled into our room where we would be for the next several days. The nurses, lactation consultants, and all other AdventHealth team members we interacted with throughout our stay were spectacular. My husband, myself, and Baby Michael are forever grateful. We stayed 3 nights for the extra support from the team with caring for a newborn while recovering from a c-section. It's funny; I tell everywhere how I was so scared of how difficult c-section recovery could be, but for me, that was nothing compared to caring for a newborn baby! We could not have had such an incredibly smooth pregnancy and delivery without the incredible team members at AdventHealth Winter Park. Michael and his mommy and daddy thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We cannot recommend AdventHealth Winter Park enough!
