Our Birth Story

I stayed awake too late on Thursday night, trying to get all those last minute things done that I'd somehow forgotten to do until 10pm the night before my c-section, and were suddenly vitally important.  But despite the late bedtime, I got a really good night's sleep, waking up only once to go to the bathroom, and again about 15 minutes before my alarm went off.  We had to be at the hospital at 5:45, so it was really early when we left.  I gave Finn a kiss (lucky for me he was still asleep) and we headed out.

As soon as I got there, I was checked in to a quiet room that's especially designed for c-section patients, and everyone got to work.  I had a nonstress test to make sure the baby was still doing ok, then got my IV, some fluid, Heidi got her OR garb on, and suddenly it was time to go back. When we first got back to the operating room area, they let me walk myself into the OR and climb up on the table.  Within minutes the anesthesiologist was there to administer my spinal - I had to lean forward as he prepped me, and Chimichanga did not like that at all.  It was incredibly uncomfortable, so much so that I barely felt the stick and burn as they numbed me.  Chimi started to move around a lot as I turned to lie back on the table, and the last thing I felt as the spinal kicked in was his butt trying once again to shove up under my rib cage.

Me and Lisa before surgery

Heidi ready for the OR

I had the typical blood pressure drop with the spinal, and so there were a few minutes of increasing my fluids and giving me some meds to bring up my pressure while I felt lightheaded and tingly.  Soon anesthesia was checking to make sure I was properly numb, I was being draped and prepped and Heidi was coming back into the room and my blood pressure was up - it was baby time!  The radio was playing, and as soon as Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole's Over the Rainbow started to play, I teared up.  I commented on how that song always makes me cry, and then I was given one more reason for that song to make me cry, because I heard Zachary's first cry as he was born while it was playing, at 7:29am on 2/7/14.

Dr. L held him up for me to see, and Heidi left my side to go be with him and report back on what was happening with him.  "He's so cute!" "He's 9pounds 8ounces!"  "His liver is normal!" amongst others, most of which she had to yell to be heard over his very robust cry.  Then the NICU nurse practicioner came over to tell me he was perfect, and everything looked good, and Heidi joined us while holding Zachary. She was able to sit down next to me for a few minutes so I could look at him and nuzzle for a few minutes, before they sent them out to recovery while they finished up with me.

Heidi, Zachary and me

I was then wheeled out into the recovery area, and finally got to hold my boy.  The nurse put him skin to skin on my chest, and left us for just a minute, saying she'd be right back to help him try to nurse, but as soon as she put him down he started rooting around and trying to latch on to my skin.  So Heidi helped me to move him and he was trying to nurse within minutes of being in my arms.

I vaguely noticed the nurse come back in to check my bleeding and she noted that it seemed like I was bleeding a lot, and then another who looked at the monitor and said, "Is that her blood pressure?"  I glanced up and saw 63/40, and then there was a flurry of activity as they checked my blood pressure again, changed my fluids, Dr. L came in and started to exam me and anesthesia was called to come back in.  They decided I was hemorrhaging, and Dr. L began to try to remove clots from my uterus while pressing on my abdomen and they gave me meds to help my uterus clamp down.  I am so thankful the spinal was still working, as I can tell from how much my body was moving as they worked on me that I would have been in horrible pain if it hadn't been.

They did a good job of keeping calm, and surprisingly I felt better with my blood pressure barely measuring on the monitor than I had in the OR when it was in the 90s.  I knew it was serious - I remember thinking that I really hoped they didn't have to take me back to the OR for an emergency hysterectomy because the recovery from that would be awful and I wouldn't be able to go home on Sunday - but I never felt overly anxious.  I'm not sure if it was because they were so calm in their management, or if it was because of the fact that I was distracted by Zachary, but it really wasn't until later that I realized how bad it could have been - and that it was pretty bad to begin with (my hemoglobin went from 13.5 pre-op to 8.4 post-op).

Our time in recovery was a bit longer than anticipated, but I finally made it back to the room, and Zachary was able to come with me.  He had a abdominal x-ray done in the room, which was normal, and then he had to go down to radiology for an ultrasound (Aunt Heidi was able to go with him for that) while they continued to monitor me and give me lots and lots of fluids.  My blood pressure stayed low for a while, but finally came back into the low normal range about the time the pediatrician stopped by to let me know all his tests were normal. In addition to the worries about his liver calcifications, I had been worried that I didn't do as well with my gestational diabetes as I could have, so I was also very relieved when his blood sugars all came back normal, and he was alert and breathing well.

X-ray

I had a hamburger, hush puppies and a chocolate shake with Reese's cups for lunch, and though I only managed a few bites of the burger and the hush puppies, I did get the entire shake finished by the late afternoon. I was feeling pretty out of it, and asked to get the pain pump changed to oral meds as quickly as possible, which left me feeling a little more uncomfortable, but a lot more awake.  I was able to get the catheter out in the evening, and walked to the bathroom with assistance so I was cleared to go on my own after that.  Friday night was a blur of Zachary waking to eat - each time struggling to get latched on, but then eating like a champ once he was - and Heidi helping me by bringing him to me in the bed.

Saturday I was feeling much better - still really tired, but I was able to stand up straight, and I took a shower.  I had wonderful food all day, and just a few visitors, which was perfect.  Lisa came to hang out at lunch, and stayed while Heidi went back to the house to shower and change clothes.  I managed a walk in the hallways, and Facetimed with Finn.  He was so bemused by Zachary - I wish I'd been able to video it, he was excited and confused, all at the same time.  He definitely missed me, and didn't sleep well while I was gone.

Aunt Heidi with Zachary

Sunday morning Dr. L came by and pronounced me fit enough to go home.  I ended up deciding to circumcise Zachary - I was undecided when I'd arrived at the hospital, but the pediatrician on call was someone I know and trust, and she said she would do both sugar water and local anesthetic, and use the Plastibell, which just seems so much better to me than the way they did it with Finn.  He was sound asleep when he came back to the room, and was completely content all day, just nursing a lot and sleeping...which is what I think he would have done, anyway!

Baby Zachary

We had lunch at the hospital, then loaded everything up to head home.  Zachary woke up just as we were leaving the room, and so we got to the car and the first thing I did was get into the front seat with him and nurse him in the loading zone before putting him into the car seat, which he hated, until he fell asleep.  I still can't quite believe I had a postpartum hemorrhage and still was able to leave the hospital in two days!

Zachary is such a sweet baby. He has a huge set of lungs on him, but he doesn't cry too often, and when he does, it never lasts long.  He loves to snuggle, and makes the cutest little noises.  Finn is in love with his baby brother...but that's a subject for another post.