Okay, so here goes the whole story about the best Good Friday (and maybe the worst???) I've ever had. I will give ample warnings before anything that could be deemed graphic, but none of it is that bad.
We took off from home at 6am, two boys in pj's in tow. The snow storm had already begun and it was actually quite beautiful outside. I love falling snow, even after a whole winter of it. Rachael was up and waiting for the boys and they eagerly went inside. I even forgot to kiss them goodbye! Then Rob and I got him breakfast and hit the road. The roads weren't bad at all, but the snow was blowing quite a bit. We got to the hospital right on time.
Not having done a hospital tour, we didn't know what to expect. I did have info on the hospital so that helped, but we were surprised to find that I was to go straight into my room. At Kaiser (where the boys were born) we were shuttled from room to room before finally ending up in the actual room for the stay. At Oconomowoc, they have Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Post-partum rooms, so mine was a before-and-after surgery room. Anyway, we unpacked and I got into my airy hospital gown to prepare for multiple horrible things to come my way.
Trish, our nurse for the morning, came in with stacks of paperwork for Rob and I to sign and began to prep me for surgery. I got to drink a shot of nasty stuff to settle my stomach (which never worked for any of the c-sections) and then prepared for one of my least favorite parts of the surgery: the IV. I inherited the worst veins ever from my father (thanks, Dad!) and always have trouble with IV's....especially since I couldn't have anything to drink prior to surgery. For over an hour, various nursing staff members came in to look at my veins. I was poked in both hands and on the meat of my forearm until they gave up and called in the anesthesiologist. He got there right before surgery and put in the IV in the crook of my left arm, the spot normally used for blood draws. Not the best place for an IV, but it worked. By this time, I was shaking pretty badly, nervous about the next step (the spinal), and not in a good frame of mind. But, it was time to leave and I was wheeled down the hall to the surgery room.
WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SURGERY DETAILS. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. The surgery room looked like a leftover closet, but that was my final observation before getting poked in the back. I had told the anesthesiologist that my last spinal was too low to work. He decided against my advice and tried twice in the same spot. It hurt terribly...pain shooting down my legs. **shudder** I was bawling by this point and really too stressed for another go at it. He asked if I wanted to go under and I said yes. Before they laid me down, I had to sign a consent form. That was probably the worst signature ever and very shaky. Anyway, they laid me down and had Rob come in to say hi real quick. I apologized to him, b/c going under meant that he could not be in the room. He later told me that he was so happy that I would be at peace during this surgery and wasn't worried about not going in. (He did manage to sneak in...the pediatrician asked him to come in. Rob didn't think he should have, but he went inside. He said he would rather not have seen me with a tube down my throat. The surgeon caught him and he left.) One of the pluses to the spinal was that they would administer it before putting in the catheter. The plans changed, and some Nazi-concentration camp trained nurse put it in. VERY PAINFUL!! That's the last thing I remember until recovery.
I'M DONE WITH YUCKY STUFF. When I woke up in recovery, I apparently tried to get off the table. I remember thinking that I had to go to the bathroom and then check on the boys. It finally dawned on me that I was in the recovery room. I was given instructions (which I didn't remember) and then laid there until I was taken back to my room. I had a pain pump installed (praise the Lord) and was able to give myself meds when necessary. When I got to the room, Rob and Anna were waiting for me. Rob showed her to me. Now, I must admit that it was not love at first sight. She looked different from the boys (who looked identical at birth) and was all red and blotchy. Trust me, it didn't take long to fall in love with that face, but I'm going to blame my non-maternal moment on the recovery.
The rest of the day was spent in various stages of pain and sleepiness. I couldn't keep my eyes open longer than a few minutes at any point and remember very little of what went on. Anna was started on a bottle, but we did manage some initial nursing sessions. She's still using the bottle, but her nursing skills (and mine) have improved. We're going with a combo thing right now and I'm so happy. I'm just thankful that she's taken to nursing, unlike the boys who wouldn't do it. I told Rob that she could quit right now and I'd be happy, just because we were able to do it. I'm not looking to exclusively breastfeed or be some champion nursing mom who keeps going through toddlerhood (although I fully support moms who want to do those things). I just want to enjoy my baby and give her the best of both worlds: great nutrition and antibodies from the breastmilk and feeding time with Daddy on the bottle. We're happy.
Anyway, that's the story of her birth. Oh, Anna's apgars were 8 and 9. She had a bit of trouble with body heat, so we're making sure she stays warm, but otherwise she's a perfectly healthy little girl. Adorable, too. And sweet. And a very pretty princess. Can you tell I love her???
3 comments:
Can't wait to see more pics!!!
Hey, did you find out if she was breach like the boys?
She was not breech. So, had I been in a hospital that allowed VBAC's after two c-sections, she could have come naturally. I'm not complaining though...I'd rather have stomach pains than other pains :) Can't imagine how natural birth moms do it!
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