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C-sections
my c-section experience
I will just start by saying this - all I wanted was an all natural vaginal birth and when I found out at 38 weeks that my baby was still a footling breech and I was needing a c-section, I was absolutely devastated. I cried in the doctor's office as he booked my c-section and we signed the consent forms. However, as time went on I became more accepting of this fact and realized that as long as me and my baby were safe and sound at the end of it all, then it really didn't matter how he made his way out into the world.
I was experiencing a multitude of emotions the morning of my baby's birth. I was anxious, nervous, unsure, but most of all I was so excited because I was going to be meeting my baby that day. As we were getting ready to leave, I started having actual contractions about 20 minutes apart, but they weren't too intense. We arrived at the hospital two hours before I was scheduled for the section. We checked in and they took me right into triage where they did an ultrasound to confirm that the baby was still breech. About an hour later, I was brought to the pre-op area where my IV was started and I received antibiotics and fluids. By this point my contractions were every fifteen minutes and were getting quite painful, I was feeling most in the pain in my lower back. I was finally brought into the OR ten minutes after I was scheduled to go in, which kind of annoyed me since I am a very punctual person.
I was introduced to everyone in the OR and my doctor came in and jokingly said, "well this isn't right, a patient smiling on the operating table", to which I responsed "of course I'm smiling, I will finally get to meet my baby today". The anesthetist gave me the spinal which wasn't too bad. The freezing pinched a bit and the worst part was staying hunched over for such a long period of time (it took 3 attempts to get it in). I could feel the medication work immediately as my feet and legs felt as though they were asleep. By the time I was lying back down, everything was completely numb. I just wanted to laugh because it was such an abnormal feeling. They inserted the foley and draped my body. Then they brought my husband in and they started the surgery.
I could feel where they were touching me and felt tugging and pulling but never felt any actual pain. I remember the doctor saying "we have two feet" and then the nurse telling me that I would feel a lot of pressure. Since my baby was still high up in my uterus, they had to push him down and they sure used a lot of pressure which was very uncomfortable. Then my doctor said "you have a son" and I could hear my baby trying to cry but I knew he was in some distress. My baby boy came out centrally cyanosed, flopping, and having a hard time breathing. His first apgar was a four and his five minute apgar was still only a six. He needed to be ventillated briefly and to be seen by the NICU team. However, by the time the NICU team was able to assess him maybe five minutes later, he was breathing just fine. As my doctor was suturing me up he informed me that I have a mild bicornuate uterus which explains why my baby never flipped.
I went into the OR around 0930 and my son Logan was born at 1028, weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces, and 19 3/4 inches long. Twenty minutes later I was all sutured up and we were headed to the recovery room. What I was most worried about was being separated from my baby but the hospital where I delivered keeps mom and baby together unless something goes wrong. So Logan stayed with me in the OR and we were wheeled down to recovery together.
The nurses immediately placed Logan on my chest and helped me breastfeed him. Even though that first contact was delayed, it didn't matter at that point. An hour and a half later they brought us to our room. By 10pm that night they had removed my IV, my catheter, and I had went for a walk. All I was getting for pain control was tylenol and naproxen every 8 hours, and that kept me pretty much pain-free. I was even able to shower the next morning.
Recovery from the c-section has went really well. It has been a little over two weeks since the surgery and I feel completely normal. My incision has healed fabulously and it will leave minimal scarring. I had no issues arise with breastfeeding that could be related to having had a c-section. My milk came in in abundance on day three and I had no issues with positioning Logan to feed - we just used lots of pillows. Still having a small amount of vaginal bleeding but nothing to get worked up about. I have already lost 30 pounds of pregnancy weight (I had a fair amount of swelling) so only 20 more pounds to go.
Sorry this post is so long but I thought I would post about my experience because initially I was so angry and upset about needing a c-section, but now, after having such an amazing experience, I know that needing a c-section isn't the end of the world.
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Re: my c-section experience
I am so glad for your and your experience. Thank you for sharing. Like you, all I wanted and had planned for was a natural vaginal birth. Last Friday I learned my baby is in the frank breech position. To make matters worse, my AFI is too low to make me a good candidate for an ECV.
I still have about a week to see if my AFI increases to a level that would allow me to try for an ECV, but a c-section has become a very real possibility. I am very upset and am riding an emotional roller coaster right now.
Reading your story was exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you.
This was my experience as well.I was terrified but it turned out to be great. I have nothing but positive memories and thoughts about my c/s. I think I got really lucky having such amazing doctors and nurses. I wish it were the same for every woman.