D.C. Area Babies
Anyone have a planned c-section at VHC? Or a planned c-section in general and can reassure me it's not the worst thing ever?
37 week appointment - not great news - please reassure me!
Wow. Didn't see this coming. First of all, I waited an hour to be seen (not as bad as the 2 hours last week) but at least I got to see my primary OB (who was my doc for years before I was pg). I trust her implicitly - she's not only an MD, but she has her PhD as well.
I
had my GBS test today, and we discussed my results from the u/s last
week which placed the baby in the 90th percentile for size. She was
far less concerned with that than with the fact that the baby is NOT IN
THE RIGHT POSITION. Holy crap. I didn't see this coming at all 
Anyone have a planned c-section at VHC? Or a planned c-section in general and can reassure me it's not the worst thing ever?
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Re: 37 week appointment - not great news - please reassure me!
I had an emergency c-s and if we have #2, (s)he will be a scheduled c-s, mostly b/c I have no desire for a VBAC, half my body is messed up, why mess up the other half?
There are many positives to this, you won't go thru labor pain (unless you go into labor before 39w), you'll get to pick your baby's b-day and know your last day of work and when to go to the hospital. If you are one of those super-organized people, you'll love this part! Everything will be so much easier to plan b/c you'll know when you'll have your baby.
Good luck with everything, it'll all turn out well!!
While there is still time for the baby to change positions (although from your post it doesn't seem like doc thinks it likely), C-sections aren;t that bad. And if you don't spend all day pushing only to end up in a C-section you will be less sore overall. I had 2 c-sections. The first was because they thought Maggie was in the right position to start when I had my induction, but either she turned or they were wrong since after 1.5 hours I went from 4cm-9cm and the doc though she was presenting face first instead of the top of her head - turns out that was her butt and after an u/s confirmed it we went straight to the ER.
Scheduling my second one was much easier. Although the second time it actually felt like a weird way to have a baby,. The first time everything was so rushed and I was in so much pain I would have given myself the spinal if I had to , so it didn't feel weird, but the second time everything was calm and it seemed a little surreal. My recovery from the second C-section was so easy and everyone I know IRL has had easy recoveries - my SIL was just out going for long walks with her baby and she is only 1w pp.
My niece was always transverse throughout my sis's pregnancy. But her water broke when she was 35 weeks. So when she got to the hospital they did a quick U/S to confirm the baby's position and then she went straight to the ER.
No matter which way you give birth, you end up with an adorable little baby in your baby arms. If you want a blow by blow of my second non-emergency C-section just ask.
Wow, this is a surprise. I can understand why you would be nervous. I'll defer to the ladies who have had c-sections, but obviously a planned cs is much better than an emergency one. You have some time to get your mind around it and prepare. You'll do great! I understand VHC is a wonderful hospital!
Tracy - I would love a blow by blow if you don't mind.
Have you considered turning the baby?
Keep in mind the growth ultrasounds are also quite often off by 1-2 lbs.
My friend had her baby at VHC (not a c-sec though) and loved it!
You prob don't remember me telling you this, but it was nothing! I do remember you saying you have a high pain threshold for pain.....please take the meds. They help you heal so much faster. I am so happy to answer any questions for you. Honestly, when it came to having DS #2, there was no question in my mind that I would have another scheduled c-section.
GOOD LUCK!!
Sorry you are stressed! My water broke at 37 weeks and 12 hours later I had made zero progress and DDs heart rate was dropping/my blood pressure was dropping so the doctor gave me the option to wait a little longer and see if I progressed or to have a c-section. I was concerned about DD and DH was concerned about both of us so we had no hesitation in the choosing the c-section. My experience was great- she was healthy, I was fine, it was quick, I had very little post-surgery pain (I was only taking Motrin the next day) and my recovery was easy. I know everyone has much different experiences but I have not second guessed my decision in any way. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to give you details offline (toreybATgmail).
Thanks for reassuring me, ladies
I guess I am mostly worried about the post-partum recovery, since it's not just like recovering from surgery, and that's all I have to deal with. It's that on top of a newborn! Seems overwhelming. My DH will be super helpful, I know that... but it still seems daunting.
I am thinking that turning him may not really be the issue. He's likely transverse for a reason (his head is too big, or my pelvis too small).
No problem. I scheduled it for 9AM to be the second one and so we could do the daycare drop off for Maggie in the morning, but I would have preferred being the first one in if it weren't for that. I did have to go the day before for some bloodwork. I get there and change out of my clothes (into a bag that will be taken to my final room - they put it under my bed) and into the hospital gown. They weigh, take BP, put on the compression stockings and start my IV. I get a lot of anxiety about needles so the IV part made me anxious but it never is as bad as I make it out in my head so I sucked it up and didn't procrastinate about it and it really wasn't very painful.
Then the anesthesiologist comes in and tells me everything he will be doing. And we just sit in the preop area until the ER and my OB are ready. The anes tried to give me something to swallow to help my stomach since the first C-section I puked a couple of times afterward and I was very pukey for this whole pregnancy. I tried to get out of it since bad tastes set my puking off but the nurse said to take it like a shot and I really had to. It made me puke and then they were all like oh well, then you don't get it. It really didn't seem like the big deal they made it out to be before I took it so I wish I hadn't even tried it.
I get wheeled back to the ER and change over to the ER bed. DH has to wait outside until I get my spinal. I sit on the edge of the bed and lean over a pillow to arch my back so he can see to the needle in. They give a numbing shot first which pretty much feels like a bee sting - I am not signing up for it every day but even being a needle phobe it isn't THAT bad. After that it is just some pressure as they do the actual spinal - personally I barely notice. However it is rather cold in the ER, so they blow up this warm air pocket over my upper body.
They drape me and get me arranged and bring in DH. They do the pinching to make sure the spinal is working and I feel nothing but some tugging at my body (body is moving but I don't feel anything). When the spinal kicks in your legs begin to feel warm and it travels up the body - kind of nice until you realize you can't move your legs. I never really noticed that I couldn't move my legs until I tried and they didn't move.
The anesth dr talks to me the whole time and monitors my BP. The only thing I felt this time around that I don't remember from the first was feeling like I had trouble breathing - like I couldn't take a deep breath. The doc said that is normal because the spinal is numbing a lot of my chest too and so my brain thinks I may not be breathing deeply but my body is getting enough oxygen - he suggested just concentrating on my breathing and I found I was deeply breathing just fine. So I had to keep telling myself that my breathing was fine and I just concentrated on that to keep myself focused. I think maybe I didn't remember that from the first time because everything was so fast and I already was probably breathing fast from being in labor pain and then the excitement of the e-c-section and they had to get her out quick because they didn't want her to drop down the birth canal.
Now I did puke a few times during the C-section but I do not think this very common. I was very sick during my second pregnancy (not my first) and needed meds for almost the whole thing to get my puking down to just 2-3 times per week so I think I was just extra sensitive. Also this time I had a lot of amniotic fluid - bordering on too much and I was seen by the peri every week at the end - and they checked my blood levels twice and my count was very low both times. So while doing the section I lost quite a bit of blood, there was a lot of fluid loss too which dropped my BP and the anesth dr said that was why I was puking. I didn't get sick until after my first section but I think that was from the meds - I am also pretty sensitive to pain meds and a lot of them can make me nauseous.
So during all this Molly is born. They take her over to the scale, weigh her, check vitals and wrap her up to give to DH to hold and bring over to me to see her and kiss her. Here is our first family pic with Maggie, we didn't have one of Molly just other pics of her. They then take her to the nursery to clean her up and get everything set while they stitch me up. This time it takes about 25 min for them to stitch me up but I needed my old scar cut out (I had a lot of scar tissue build up from it not healing properly) and they used all stitches instead of staples due to my healing issues from the first section. At this time anesth pushes more drugs to last me through a few hours until I can start swallowing my pain meds.
They transfer me over to a new bed and wheel me to post op. Where the nurses check my vitals and make sure a room is ready for me. I am there about 1 hour to make sure everything is OK - I am awfully loopy from the drugs at this point and I think I do get a little rest. They then wheel me to my final room where I get to know the nurse on duty and they immediately bring Molly in. Due to my nausea I tried sipping very slowly at some water but it came back up and the rest of the day I kept trying to drink and maybe eat some jello. Eventually I got some more anti-nausea meds and I was better after that.
The catheter (which went in after the spinal) came out the next morning and I could get up out of bed after that. I had a cold at the time which really sucked because coughing hurt so if you have a cold I suggest postponing if at all possible. While in the hospital I took the meds as often as they said I could - once I went home was when I started cutting back on the heavier meds and just taking my ibuprofen with the percocet at night to help me sleep for the first 2 weeks. But I was lifting Maggie into her high chair and into the crib after 1 week and after 3 weeks I don't think I was doing much of anything differently.
Hope this helps - I always like to know what is going to happen as much as possible. If you have any questions just let me know.
I can understand your concern but take a deep breath because it will be okay. So many women go through this and you will be able to handle it just like the rest of us. In my case, the baby was in the right position and I'm pretty tall and wide-hipped so I did not expect any issues. Well, it turns out that the opening in my pelvis is small (who knew?). So, I went through a full labor and then DD couldn't fit through my pelvis so I had to have an unplanned C-section.
The recovery will take longer which was the hardest part for me. I believe that it took me about 4 weeks to really feel back to myself. It's different for everyone but it's important to be patient with your body and to allow it to heal in it's own time.
Here are a few tips that may help:
1. Bring whatever you and DH need to the hospital to make yourself comfortable. I ended up staying 3 nights. The things I really found handy were my crocs, a robe, a water bottle, an eye mask, my camera, my computer and my cell phone.
2. When you are recovering, don't be afraid to let your baby go into the nursery for a few hours during the day or at night so you can get rest. Just tell them if you are EBF so that they will bring DC to you when they need feeding.
3. When people say, "let me know if I can help you in any way", tell them to bring your food after you get home from the hospital. I think that for the first week, people brought us food everyday which was a huge help.
My friend had a funny comment about c-sections. She said, "at least you get to take home a prize". When you go to get your appendix removed or something, there's no prize at the end but just remember, it is all worth it for the baby.
You will do better than you expect and once you hold the baby in your arms you will know that it's all going to be okay.
P.S. I met you many years ago at one of your events at the Labaneze Taverna in Falls Church. Funny that we are both married and in the motherhood part of life now.
Oh no, you met me at the worst event in the 6 year history of Metro Women! That's kind of funny though... I didn't think I still knew anyone who attended that dinner.
I like the last part about the surgery at least leading to something rewarding. That is a very good point.
Is there a choice between getting a "spinal" or an "epidural?" I'd like to feel more parts of my body - the idea of not feeling like I am breathing when I am terrifies me. Plus, if I understand correctly, you can continue to receive the epidural meds after the surgery, even until the next day, right?
I think you always get a spinal. I haven't heard of anyone getting an epidural unless they were in labor beforehand and the c-section is a surprise. Sorry about the breathing thing - it really isn't that bad. I just wanted to mention it in case you felt that way during the c-section, mention it to the anesth but know that everything is still fine and normal. Also it really went away right after they took the baby out too so some of it may have just been pressure from the baby and all the manipulations they do to get the baby out. Also it isn't the feeling of not being able to breath so much as feeling like you can't get a deep breath. It made me a little anxious but it didn't freak me out (and I freak out easily).
I did not get to pick, they called me and told me when to be there. This is Inova FFX.
I have had 2 c-sections. One emergency after 96 hours of induction, the 2nd planned. Super easy and I held both girls right away and they never let my sight.
My baby was transverse from 25-33 weeks and at 33 weeks went breech. So, I had to have a scheduled c-section at VHC and to be honest I could not have been happier to have a c-section.
There was no labor which was great. I did get an epidural with some extra drugs (i forgot which ones). And I did keep the epi in for a day and then was on pain meds (via pump) until I went home. Ask the anthes. to explain everything to you and tell him about your fears. I did (I was scard I was going to feel the incision) and he was very sweet and eased my mind thoughout the process.
You do feel alot of pressure and pulling and tugging. Since my baby was breech they had to examine my uterus. Never heard of that before..so they had to take it out in order to do so. When they were placing it back I thought I was going to throw up. It wasn't painful just made me feel nauseous.
At no point during the c-section did I feel that I was not able to breath. The anthes. and nurses talked to me throughout the surgery about the baby, the nursery, anything to keep my calm. They really were amazing.
The recovery was great too. I had heard horror stories but I was but I recovered well and quickly.
I know its devasting to hear that you are going to have a c-section. I was but then I looked at the postives which for me was no long labor or labor pains my two biggest fear and I am a very modest person and the thought of my business out there in the open for all to see or having to have constant exams made me cringe.
My doctor assured me that I could have a VBAC If I ever had another child I and I told her no thanks I will stick to a c-section.
Good luck to you and remember in the end you will have a beautiful baby regardless of how they entered the world!
I don't know the answer about whether you have a choice but they do give you pain management and the doctors will come see you and ask you how you are doing. For the first 24 hours, I was feeling great and I didn't realize until later that I was hooked up to a tube and still getting meds
. They also give you medication to take orally after you leave the hospital (mine was oxycotin) and that also really helped. So, there is a lot of medication to help decrease the pain and just remember to communicate with your doctors and nurses because they will help you.
This is really helpful since you delivered at VHC! Which doctor's practice do you go to? How long did the whole surgery take? Did the baby have to leave while you were in recovery? I know this might sound irrational, but I am so put off by the idea that I'll have to be stitched up (staples or dissolvable stitches?) while the baby is in another room. And then DH will have to leave to be with him when I just wish we could all be together. I know that isn't really possible, but it's something that makes me sad.
You know, I felt the same way you did prior to my delivery. I totally envisioned delivering vaginally, being able to hold my baby skin-to-skin right away, and breastfeeding right away. Per my birth story, you know that's not how it happened. But you know what? It wasn't that bad. I was even against pacifiers while she was at the hospital but it turns out it has had no affect on our success with breastfeeding. I was in surgery for about an hour. They get the baby out very quickly, less than half an hour, and then she's off to the recovery room to wait for you with Dad (at least at Fairfax). I wanted to breastfeed as soon as I got down to recovery but the nurses down there wanted me to wait an hour and once they gave me the go-ahead, I haven't looked back and we've been very successful with the breastfeeding especially once my milk came in.
The stitches are dissolvable. The incision, at least mine, is really not that big and I actually have a hard time seeing it partly because my tummy is in the way. The incision is so low like where your underwear elastic would hit your body. As for recovery, this is my advice. Stay ahead of the pain and really take it easy for at least a week, maybe 10 days. For the first 48 hours after the c-section, I felt great. I didn't even need the ibuprofen they offered. I was walking around fine, etc. But Day 3, when I thought I was going to go home, it started to hit me. It's not the incision really that bothered me though when I coughed and laughed I will admit that hurts but my whole body seemed to ache. After that I was on a regimen of ibuprofen and Percocet. The Percocet made me feel great and may have given me a false sense of well-being as I probably could have bounced back much quicker had I really let myself rest and recover for at least a week. I'd say it took me about 12 days before I physically felt normal. I still have some lingering issues but nothing I feel like time and rest won't take care of. I still probably push myself more than I should but I'm stubborn I admit it.
A c-section isn't the end of the world. I felt just like you did about it prior and I would like to perhaps attempt a VBAC in future pregnancies but what can you do sometimes? Of course, you could be a trooper like the generations before us that did it without epidurals and c-sections. My mom delivered my brother breach without either but it wasn't fun to say the least. Just respect the fact that a c-section is major abdominal surgery and let your body rest and heal up and you will be up and at 'em in no time. I met my New Mom's group a week after delivery for lunch and I went to a wedding 10 days after delivery.
Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
"the worst thing ever" is a baby who isn't born healthy, certainly not a csection.
I had a planned csection with my twins, and I have another one planned for this kiddo in two weeks. The csections with my twins was a breeze compared to all my fears (and I had many). With a csection you get a spinal for pain, which was scary because I'm not a big fan of needles, but once I got it, I didn't feel a thing during the csection. I could see my girls right away, and DH was actually holding one of them before the doctor was even done stiching me up. I was given both girls to hold as soon as the surgery was finished and they actually wheeled me to recovery still holding the babies (and praying that I wouldn't drop them off the side of the moving gurney). I was up and walking around and taking a shower the next day,. I was pushing a double stroller with two babies in it the day they came home from the hospital at 4 days old.
I think the whole process took about 45 minutes. Getting to the baby and getting her out was the qucik part. It took longer to stich me up. The baby stayed in the OR with us for about 20 mintues (I got to hold her) and then they had to take her to the nursery (while I was getting stiched up) to clean her up and do all the other things they do to newborns. I made my hubby go with her and I stayed on my own but I didn't have a problem with that. I didn't get to see her in recovery my husband cam to see me once and a while but he stayed with DD for most of the time. I was in recovery for about 30 mintues. Once I got to my room, they brought me my DD.
I see Dr. Bannon/Armstrong/Lawson. They are all wonderful. Dr. Bannon is my primary but Armstrong was on call the day I went to the hospital.
VHC was great and the nurses that were with me during the c-section were really supportive. I had a great experience there!
Dr. Bannon had given me some exercises to try and flip her around but she never did and I didn't want them to try to move her because I thought it was just too risky. Some babies do flip at the last minute so they is still a chance but if you do have to have a section, it really is not bad at all.