Caroline Barbara
Birthday: 08/26/2019
Time: 11:15am
Weight: 6 lbs, 10 oz
Height: 18 inches
Caroline Barbara arrived on Monday August, 26th via c-section at the local hospital here in Medan. While I’m not new to having babies, this was a whole new experience having a baby in a different country.
We arrived at 6:00am on Monday for all of the surgery pre-check stuff with the surgery scheduled for 8:00am. When we arrived the nurses were confused. Even though we had confirmed on the Saturday before with the hospital that we were scheduled for a Monday morning c-section, they mixed up and had us scheduled for Tuesday morning. They quickly called my doctor and got it rescheduled for 11am. While I didn’t want to wait around, I’m glad we didn’t have to go home and come back the next day.
Unfortunately, Matt was not allowed in the operating room here like he was for both births in the U.S. I will admit, I felt pretty lonely as they wheeled me into the O.R. without Matt and with doctors and nurses who didn’t speak English fluently. Luckily, my anesthesiologist spoke English quite well and my Indonesian was enough to get me by with the nurses. They put me at ease quickly and were quite happy to chit-chat with me in Indonesian.
Caroline arrived quickly after the surgery began and she cried and cried right away. They told me she was a girl and then I cried. (I would have cried if she had been a boy, too.) They cleaned her up and let me nuzzle her quickly before they whisked her away to the nursery. I believe Matt got to see her during that time.
It took longer than I would have liked to finish up, but who am I to complain when they helped me deliver a beautiful little girl? They took me to recovery where I sat for the longest hour of my life then I was wheeled up to my room to be reunited with Matt and our new little girl.
I was sent home from the hospital after only 3 days, just like with the other 2 girls. I have been healing quickly and Caroline has been eating and sleeping like a champ.
Prayers
Kali’s continued healing
Caroline’s continued growth and health
Laurel and Eleanor’s adjustment to being big sisters and sharing mom
All of the paperwork that is involved in having a child abroad
Our upcoming travel for Caroline’s passport and our work visas
Caroline Barbara
Caroline is Matt’s maternal grandmother’s name and Barbara is his mother’s name. When we looked up the meaning of “Barbara” we knew that had to be one of her names. “Barbara” means foreign woman. We thought that to be a fitting name for a our foreign born daughter.
