Sterling's birth story-HORRIBLE C-SECTION experience!

MistySierra03

So 2 weeks ago I had my baby boy!  I posted this on my month board, but I thought I'd share this with all of you.  So here we go...

 On December 21st, I had a prenatal check up appointment to determine if and when I would need to be induced early due to high blood pressure.  It turns out I did need to be induced, so my doctor left to go call the on call doctor at the hospital I was to deliver at.  The husband and I thought we'd have at least a few more days, but she came back in the room with a piece of paper that said "7PM".  Great.  We were to go to the hospital THAT NIGHT!  She said that they wanted me to come in and be monitored for an hour or so to see if my blood pressure got any lower.

So we packed our overnight bags, left for the hospital (after having lunch at Chili's!) and they hooked me up to the monitors.  After about 1 1/2 hours, the doctor came in and said that my blood pressure was getting higher, I had protein in my urine and I was showing signs of preeclampsia.  So because of that I was to be admitted, given medicine in my vagina to soften my cervix and put on pitocin in the morning.

After getting settled in my L&D room, I was given the medicine and we were to wait.  It was about 2AM when I started having horrible cramps and I was not able to get any sleep at all.  So the nurse came in to check me, and it turns out that the cramps I was having were actually contractions.  They called the doctor in and he said my contractions were getting too strong and they were too close together so they gave me a shot to slow down my labor.  He said I was able to get the epidural now so they got that all done for me.  At about 4:30AM, after the epidural, they had me lay on one side because the baby's heart rate was showing signs of distress.  At about 5 they put the oxygen mask on me to see if that would help.  Then the doctor broke my water.  Around 7AM the epidural was wearing off because I was laying on one side, so they gave me more medicine and had me lay on the other side.  My labor started to pick up again, so they gave me another shot to slow it back down.

At 8:30, the next doctor who was on-call came in and told me that the baby's heart rate wasn't showing signs of improvement and that they needed to do a c-section right away.  After that everything was such a blur.  My husband was terrified for me, but I was terrified for the baby.  They wheeled me back, got me all ready on the operating table and started to test whether or not I could feel anything.  I could.  So they gave me more medicine, called my husband back and got started.  As soon as that scalpel cut into my skin, I could feel it.  I started yelling "I CAN FEEL THAT!!"  They said "Well is it pressure?"  I said "NO!  I FEEL YOU CUTTING ME!"  After that I don't remember anything.  They had to put me under general anesthetic because I could feel everything and I was moving around.  Apparently when the doctor went in to grab the baby, he flipped back up into my ribs and the doctor had to go in elbow deep to grab him.  

I remember waking up still on the operating table, my eyes were still closed but I was awake, and I had a tube in my throat.  I kept trying to swallow 'cause I was freaking out!  I didn't know what was going on.  I heard the nurses telling me to relax, then I blacked out again.  Next thing I know I'm waking up in a bed in the recovery room.  I couldn't fully open my eyes, I had an oxygen mask on and my lips and throat were horribly dry.  I could hear my husband talking to the nurse, but I can't remember what they were talking about.  Then I heard my little boy cry.  I tried opening my eyes, but I couldn't.  Finally after a while I could open them, but my vision was ridiculously blurry.  All I wanted to do was to see my son, but I couldn't.  I could make out the shapes of my husband holding our son, and he was trying to show him to me, but I couldn't see.  It took about 45 minutes until I could fully see anything.  As I look back and remember this, it makes me super jealous.  Everyone else got to see my son before I did, they got to hold him, take pictures and all that before I was even awake to know my son was okay.  A friend of mine even posted his picture on Facebook before I even woke up!  It really upsets me that all this happened without me.  But when I was finally awake and able to see my son, I was way too happy to be bothered by it.

They kept me in that room for about 1 1/2 hours, and finally transferred me over to the overnight recovery rooms were we spent the rest of our stay there.  I had a lot of family waiting for me and Sterling to show up.  It was really nice to have so much support.  After everyone left, my husband told me what had happened during the surgery.  He said that after they delivered Sterling, they kicked him out.  They told him that the baby was fine but didn't tell him how I was doing.  He said he had never been so terrified in his life.  Eventually they told him I was okay.  

So we spent 2 days in the hospital, and they let us go home on Christmas Eve.  They told us that Sterling was jaundice, but they said if I fed him a lot and gave him some formula that it would leave his system, but they wanted us to go in the next morning for a blood test to test his levels.  So we went in the next day, and they were higher.  Then they had us come back the next day for another test and they were even higher!  We were afraid that we'd have to go back to the hospital so he could get the UV treatment, but when we went back the third time his levels were a lot lower and they said he'd be fine.

Anyways, the 2 weeks at home have been amazing!  I'm so in love with my precious baby boy.  He's so adorable and so handsome!  My husband has been amazing as well.  Since I ended up with a c-section I'm very limited in what I can do, so he's been having to do everything around the house and help me do things like shower and such.  But it's been great.  Although I'm not allowed to leave the house for at least 3 weeks.

So ya!  Sterling Jackson Strong was born at 9:39AM on December 22.  He weighed 6lbs 5oz and was 20.5 inches long.  His original due date was January 4th. 

jcsntms06

Congratulations on the birth of your son. I'm sorry you had a horrible C-section and that you weren't the first person to see and hold your son. I'm glad to hear that you both are doing well.

SnowflakeBride06

I am so sorry you had to go through all that, hope you are feeling better now.  That's quite an ordeal, and I can relate I had a tough delivery with a c-section