Harmonicbabe26 birth story - warning super long haha

harmonicbabe26 · December 2014

Ok, looong overdue but here it is. Can you make it to the end? It's long... We were scheduled to go into the hospital at 10:30 and the procedure at 12:30. We were on time, got prepped, put the lovely gown on, they put in the IV and we waited. I was told no food after 4am that morning but I sneaked in a granola bar at 5:30 and then a black coffee around 9 am. Oh, my instructions also said no makeup - yeah right, I am not going anywhere in public without makeup, especially when I know I will have pics taken... Nobody said a thing about anything though. About 12:20 a nurse came in and said that unfortunately we were going to be delayed about an hour because of some emergency. Well the hour turned into 2 hours and the emergency was actually someone bleeding out following a delivery. That must have been scary. They took care of that person successfully and then the cleaning crew took forever to clean the OR. Throughout the process my biggest concern was about when I was going to be able to eat again, I was STARVING!!! Haha... I kept telling them, I really don't care about anything at this point, I just want to eat. And I was sooo glad I ate that granola bar when I did bc in the end it didn't matter time wise. Also, interestingly, I think I was actually having contractions the entire time! They had me attached to a monitor, and having all that down time and a clock on the wall i started timing. They were coming every 5 minutes for about 15-30 seconds. Now, I have no experience with spontaneous labor, and I always assumed that what I was having was Braxton-Hicks contractions. But seeing how they were regular and registering on the monitor, I wonder if they were actually real ones. At all my doc appts they said if I have BH's more than 5-6 times an hour to call the doc. I never thought I had them that often. But then laying there and paying attention for about an hour, I had them like 12 times in a row, pretty much exactly every 5 minutes... Maybe they were the real ones. If they were, I'm glad I was at the hospital and about to deliver. So finally after 2pm all the nurses started coming back in to do more checks, they put me on another IV bag (in total I had to go pee from this probably 12 times! It was ridiculous!) Finally the anesthesiologist came in to talk to us, then they started messing with the computer charts (nursing staff 'handing me over' to the OR staff) and apparently it was a day when their system crashed, so that took forever too! Man what a day for delays... Can't remember what time exactly we walked into the OR, must have been after 3pm bc the baby's time of birth is listed as 3:45 and the part of the section up to her birth was pretty quick. So anyways, they had me walk in on my own, which is different from how this was done in Switzerland where I had my first, over there they wheeled you everywhere. It is soooo surreal to WALK INTO your own OR... It was pretty small, table in the middle, big bucket with red, plastic liner at the foot (for the placenta and other gunk I guess). Strange, the things you remember... They had me sit on the table, and lean forward, elbows on my knees, so the doc would have good access to the spine, he numbed the injection site and then applied the spinal. No discomfort from either, and it started working super fast, by the time they were arranging my legs, I couldn't really feel anything. Also, the spinal was super strong, I felt it all the way up to my armpits, for a sec I was worried I would lose control over my lungs, it was getting kind of tough to breathe. And the numbness extended into my fingertips which was really weird. Throughout the entire thing I kept moving my hands, especially the left one, flexing my fingers and shaking them out, because I was losing feeing in them. I had the blood pressure cuff on that arm though, so that might have had something to do with circulation being cut off too. From then on it went pretty fast. At least the delivery part. My hubby came in all dressed in a plastic suit, and sat beside my head, they lifted the curtain and started working. Weird things were cracking me up - clearly drug effect haha. They were counting off all the instruments used/present, then all staff stated their own names and position. Later on, they did the tool count again and everyone was cracking jokes about how they need to make sure they didn't leave anything inside because insurance would get on their case. Then I started feeling really nauseous - the anesthesiologist warned us before to tell them if that was the case so they would know to help me right away. They gave me some Zofran through the IV, which I knew would not help at all, as it didn't help with my morning sickness either. And a few minutes later I actually puked a couple of times. They had a dish right there so it wasn't bad. And after that I felt better. They kept working and I was trying to focus and survive. The spinal felt really strong and I was a bit scared, I couldn't really talk, just whisper. So they went through all the layers etc and opened the uterus and BAM big surprise for everyone - except for me! - baby was breech. At all my appointments they had been insisting since about 28-30 weeks that she was head down but I didn't believe it. My first was breech and I had a personal theory that it had something to do with my build - I'm really slim with narrow hips, so I wonder if babies just don't have room to flip. Anywho, the doc commented how my uterus was really thin, esp near the old incision and that he would make sure to fix it to make it stronger. That's strike two and three in favor of a repeat cs. I could have ruptured my uterus had I tried to have a VBAC. That is IF they would have had me try a VBAC without confirming the baby's presentation... Not sure if they are required to do that with VBACs or not... Later I found out that when he cut through, he actually nicked my DD's butt cheek - obviously not a big deal at all, just something that happened, I can't even tell where it was and it's barely a week after. My hubby saw it though said he was slightly shocked haha... So they got her little booty out and I managed to whisper to MH to tell them the story of our 1st, who peed all over the docs when they pulled her out of me. And guess what - this girl did the same... Hah... Let out a fountain of pee. Then it was time to get the rest of the body and they had to push and kind of yank at me, which made me actually moan because it took my breath away. There was no pulling and tugging during my first cs, but I always heard about that part from others, and wondered what they were talking about. Now I know. I guess some difference in how they do it here vs Switzerland again. Then they showed me the baby, let me kiss and touch her, and she was taken to a little warmer station next to me to get checked out, cleaned and all that stuff. By the way, she has a strong pair of lungs on her. She was screaming so loud! And she was big, just as I predicted. I won the bet on both weight and length, almost 8lbs and 21inches even. By comparison, Katherine was 7.5lbs, 19inches. That's strike four in favor of having a repeat cs, esp combined with the other things. And then it was time to close up my belly. That took surprisingly long, I remember smelling the burnt smell of cauterization, that was weird. The docs and nurses kept chatting and cracking jokes. At one point I told them they should stop making me laugh since my muscles couldn't handle it. And the doc said that this is the way you know that everything was going great because they were able to relax and have fun at it. The doc also said 'my friend, you have absolutely NO belly fat' which I really loved hearing. I gained 50lbs this pregnancy and I had visions of fat tissue just springing from beneath my skin when it was time to cut me... He said that based on how great my first incision healed, this one will also heal great. Apparently it's genetic or something. I told them how much I gained and the doc asked 'well where did it all go??' And I said 'into my ass!!' Oh they had a good laugh over that. Towards the end the spinal started wearing off, I was able to wiggle my left toes, and I started feeling some discomfort from them working on me. I kept telling them that, don't think they believed me. When it was time to start pressing down on my uterus to contract it, and move me from the operating table to the recovery bed... wowza!! That hurt like hell, I was ready to scream! In recovery room they gave me a morphine shot and motrin and I felt a little better. The baby nurse kept working on the baby, took all the measurements, gave her shots, stamped her footprints etc etc... And then they put her on my chest and she stayed there for the rest if the night. So sweet. Oh the poor thing has a slightly lopsided noggin from being wedged under my ribs for so long. They said it will even out over the next couple of months, but I am already mentally prepared for needing a cranial band. Our first needed it and it was no big deal. Better get that fixed young and have a girl with the perfect round head. So from recovery first we got wheeled into one of the laboring rooms right next to the nurses station, and Hubby went to the car to bring up our stuff. It was getting pretty late, so he had to run home to take care of Katherine. And during that time I was moved to a different room, in the recovery wing of the maternity ward. We stayed in that room for the rest of the time. It was all good. Baby was feeding or sleeping on me, I wasn't in pain, just hungry. I am already forgetting what I was able to do, I think they let me have a cup of ice chips and said if that all went good then I could have water and food later. During the night all kinds of people kept coming in and checking on us. Around 3am I felt a gush of blood come out, and called the nurses in to come check on me, which they did, they changed all the padding and wrapping on me and we went back to sleep. I remember waking every 15 minutes or so, I kept watching the wall clock and the 15-30 min increments. I already can't remember if the baby slept on me or in the bassinet that night. Probably a combo. It was exhausting between her crying and all the checks. It got better over time. By the last day of our stay we had a system worked out for sleeping, feeding and managing the nurse interruptions. And in the morning, before the morning nurse shift started, they had me try getting out of bed. That was about 14hrs post op. I was so scared of that, but it actually went pretty good. They helped me walk over to the bathroom, then I was cleaned, given new clothes, they cleaned and changed my bed. Crazy to think that I was walking so soon after. Slow moving, but moving. In total we stayed at the hospital 4 nights, the max amount of time allowed by our insurance. I wanted to maximize care, make sure the baby was gaining (which she started to do on our last day there yay). She also had elevated bili levels so we waited to see if she would need the light treatment. And I was having some weird reactions to pain, not meds, just getting really shaky if I didn't move for a while and then tried getting up. All normal, caused by hormones and surgery. And all went away eventually. The funniest thing was me developing a massive headache on day 2 or 3, that just kept getting worse and worse, I kept getting more and more concerned. And finally after talking to my nurse we figured out if was CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL!! I had not had any coffee since the morning of my surgery. So crazy! I knew I was addicted to caffeine but didn't realize how much! I sent hubby to the cafeteria for a big cup of strong coffee and by that evening my headache was gone! I've been drinking my daily cup of joe religiously since then. It doesn't bother the baby, and I don't get headaches so all good. During the stay I had a doc come in check on me every day, also a Lactation Consultant, which was really nice, and the baby was checked by the pedi. On Thursday I took my first longer walk all around the maternity ward and in the evening Hubby brought Katherine to visit. It was kind of surreal to have my two worlds - my old life and new life - collide. She did great with the baby, was interested and excited, and best of all, did not cling to me. She's been really good about that ever since actually. She got some 'big sister' gifts from the Little One and we went for a walk around the hallways... Friday night Hubby brought her in to visit again. All good again, she got some Elsa gear (Frozen) and was so pumped. Then on Saturday we started getting ready to go home. Before we left we had the hospital photographer come and shoot some newborn pics of the Little One and we left around 1pm. So that's it... Can't believe it's been 3 weeks since then. What a roller coaster ride... Some closing thoughts - it is totally possible to love two kids equally at the same time haha, though the love you have for each is slightly different since they have different needs. I am seeing my First in a completely new light, she seems SO BIG and stout, whereas when we were leaving for the hospital just a few days earlier I only saw my tiny baby in her... Recovering from a csection is really not bad, and I would risk saying that 2nd time around it is much easier. Might be because I can't feel sorry for myself too much with two kids needing attention, or maybe my body is tougher now after caring for a toddler, or maybe it was being forced to walk and move so much sooner... Not sure. But I feel really good! Obviously, I took my pain meds till I ran out of them, but now I'm totally fine... Can't wait for the fake pregnant belly to go away... Really ready for that... And as of this morning (3w post partum) I lost 20lbs without doing anything. Hope this continues haha...

NeonNoon · December 2014

Glad it all went well in the end, and it seems like you handled things really well too! Thanks for taking the time to explain all the details. I'm kind of freaked out about the birth and find reading about others' experiences to be very useful.

Looks like you managed OK with H being away for 2 weeks?

Hope you continue to recover well and congrats again.

mandyreads · December 2014

Such a good story. Congrats again.

lcwed · December 2014

Congratulations on a successful delivery and recovery and yah for dropping 20 pounds already.

tmorash · December 2014

Congratulations! Glad to hear it all went smoothly.

Samuelismomma · December 2014

Great birth story! So glad everything went good! Congrats. Wishing you quick recovery:)

marijaa333 · December 2014

Wow, congratulations! You are a brave mom!

How could they not know your baby was breech? Do they not check on ultrasound before starting? The bit about nicking her is really scary - what if she wasn't breach and they nicked elsewhere?

So glad that it all went well and you are recovering well. You sound like you have an awesome sense of humor.

Congrats again and thank you so much for sharing!

supersarah77 · December 2014

I loved reading your birth story! And te comparisons between your experience with your first born and this one was really interesting. Congratulations on another healthy baby girl!

mdogan29 · December 2014

That was awesome!! I really enjoyed reading it -- thanks for sharing with us!! Congrats again!

harmonicbabe26 · December 2014

marijaa333 said:

Wow, congratulations! You are a brave mom!

How could they not know your baby was breach? Do they not check on ultrasound before starting? The bit about nicking her is really scary - what if she wasn't breach and they nicked elsewhere?

So glad that it all went well and you are recovering well. You sound like you have an awesome sense of humor.

Congrats again and thank you so much for sharing!

@marijaa333‌ I know right??!! I am shocked that every doc I saw (in this office you see different providers all the time) kept insisting that she was head down. They do a check where they 'feel' the baby through your belly and they were always pointing to her head on the bottom. I just KNEW that was not right. I guess they never did any additional u/s because I was going for a repeat cs. Maybe if. I was trying for a VBAC they would have been checking to confirm correct presentation and to avoid complications... And yes, if she was head down, he would have cut her somewhere on the head... Scary!

marijaa333 · December 2014

That's exactly what I was thinking! Eeek.

So glad all went well in the end!!

harmonicbabe26 · December 2014

Oh i remembered one more funny story from the operating table. At one point the convo got to the topic of placentas and what people do with them. One of the nurses assisting said she heard you could ship it off to have it dehydrated and turned into pills. And supposedly it could be done overnight. At that everyone said. 'Yeah right' probably not getting your own placenta pills then.

And I told them about a girl i knew in Switzerland, kind of a crunchy granola type - sorry not trying to be judgmental, just giving some side info - who had her midwife save the placenta, and then they met up after birth and made SMOOTHIES with it!!! Yuuuuck!!! All the docs were laughing and gagging at that haha... But i swear it's true, she really did that...

Oh and another one - so little one was plastered in that waxy vernix stuff. Her ears were totally clogged and the baby nurse decided to leave it alone and not try to scoop it out since it is good for the skin. And one of the other nurses said that she knew some older, old school baby nurses who would rub that stuff all over their hands (and not sure if any other places) hah...

Man the stuff all these people were talking about during this surgery... But like my doc said, it only meant that things were going well and they were happy and relaxed.

marijaa333 · December 2014

harmonicbabe26 said:

they met up after birth and made SMOOTHIES with it!!!

Truly disturbing...

BeckyP005 · December 2014

Congrats again! Thanks for sharing your story and it must of sucked with all the delays. Your pretty funny lol. Now I'm starting to freak out about giving birth!

chucktgirl · December 2014

Thank you for sharing your story! Great details. Congratulations!

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Harmonicbabe26 birth story - warning super long haha

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