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C-section

Birth Story, Part 3

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A few days ago, I shared part two of my birth story. Here is part three…

I pushed for about 30 minutes (three long pushes and then a minute of rest) with only the nurse and midwife and Mr. Handsome in the room. For the final 40 minutes, a few other medical staff arrived, including a nurse who would tend to the baby and a doctor from the same practice that the midwife worked at.

The midwife was very encouraging and continuously told me that everything was going well and that I was doing great. Looking back, however, I have a feeling that the fact that she brought in a doctor at the end meant that she thought there was a decent chance there would be complications. I’m very glad that no one told me that while I was delivering and that I was too out of it to figure it out for myself.

Pushing with an epidural wasn’t too painful, but it was still a lot of work, and there was a lot of pressure. Mr. Handsome held my hand and talked me through each push. I was so grateful that the baby’s vitals remained strong–that was one less thing to worry about. The process was more calm than I had expected, and the midwife and nurse did a great job keeping me relaxed and focused. When the baby finally arrived and I heard his first cry, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Suddenly, all my fears of having a C-section or the baby having to be whisked away to the NICU had melted away. He was big, but he was healthy and happy.

Mr. Handsome cut the cord, and the midwife laid the baby on my chest. After a few minutes, the nurse asked if she could take him over to the scale in the corner to weigh and measure him, and I said yes. Mr. Handsome followed and took pictures. Baby was 8 pounds 12 ounces and measured 21 inches long. Within a couple minutes, he was back with me. It took about an hour for the midwife and doctor to finish stitching. Needless to say, I was very thankful for that epidural! My emotions were a mess, and I bawled the entire time. I tried to focus on the beautiful baby in my arms, but it was difficult not to think about the discomfort that the stitching was causing. …

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Birth Story, Part 1

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First off, I want to say thank you for all the support, well wishes, and prayers that you all have provided throughout my pregnancy. Being pregnant was a special time, but I’m so glad to have it all behind me and to have my baby in my arms. Waking up the morning after the birth without feeling nauseous and being able to brush my teeth without gagging was an incredible feeling!

Two weeks ahead of my due date, my blood pressure started creeping up. One week before, I spent a few hours in the hospital on monitors before I was released to go home. A couple days later, it was still high, so the nurse midwife scheduled an induction for the following day. She had also performed an ultrasound to make sure that Baby was doing well (which he was, praise God). The bad news was that he was measuring around 9 lbs, give or take about a pound. All the doctors and nurse midwives at the practice were shocked that I was “hiding” such a large child. I can only imagine how big he would have gotten if he had arrived two weeks overdue!

On the day of the induction, I had to fast starting at 3am, so I woke up and made myself a cheese sandwich. I understand that’s a bit of an odd thing to eat at 3am, but it was all that my tired self could come up with. We arrived at the hospital eight hours later, and the midwife started the induction drugs by 12pm. She started slow because I was only dilated 1 cm at that point. For the rest of the afternoon, my contractions slowly became stronger but were not yet painful, so Mr. Handsome’s mom and sister-in-law kept us distracted with games and conversation. The nurses were very kind and popped in frequently to make sure I was comfortable. I was surprised by all the menial tasks that they were eager to do for us, such as refilling our water bottles, fetching snacks, and re-positioning my pillows. They truly were there to serve their patients, rather than just monitor the medical side of things.

During those initial hours, the most difficult part was not being able to eat anything but clear liquids. By the time the baby arrived, I had fasted for 30 hours! I drank all-natural ginger ale to keep my stomach from becoming queasy and consumed who knows home many cups of Jello and bowls of chicken broth. Throughout the day, I felt my brain slowly becoming foggier, likely a combination of the drugs and a lack of food, so my mother-in-law ran to the store and bought saltine crackers. It wasn’t technically “allowed,” due to the risk of having food in the stomach if a C-section became necessary, but Mr. Handsome agreed that a few crackers wouldn’t hurt. And they really did help a lot!

Around 8pm, the midwife announced that it was time to break my water. At that point, Mr. Handsome was in the waiting room eating pizza that his dad and brother had made, but he rushed in to hold my hand.

To Be Continued…