It was definitely not what I expected. I had stupidly worked up in my head that a c-section is the "easy" way to deliver a baby. After all, you never feel a contraction and you don't have to push the baby out. Easy, right? Ummm, no. Not for someone like me anyway. I'm what you would call a "head case." I have several irrational fears regarding medical things and they are 99% in my head. Not a good combination for someone about to be cut open while she's awake.
We went to the hospital early in the morning on April 16, 2012 to have a baby!
NOTE: I only thought this was the worst picture I've ever taken until I saw the ones from the hospital pre-delivery--awful! You will not see any of those on this blog--ever!
Eden was still tucked in bed with Nina and Aunt Sarah at our house caring for her. We arrived on time, paid our deductible, checked in, and got settled in our room. I was very cool, calm, and collected at this point. My nurse was very sweet, and we got a good laugh out of her name. It was Regina, pronounced like vagina with an "R." Yes, we're immature.
Anyway, I was really dreading the IV because, well, I'm a pansy with a low pain tolerance and tiny veins. This fear played out to truly be the worst part because, for some reason, the IV stung really bad the entire time it was in (yes, the entire time!). Luckily Ben had overseen Regina doing my IV and he confirmed that she did it correctly, so the stinging I felt was not her fault. I was just going to have to suck it up. So suck it up, I did.
Shortly after that, we were told that an emergency c-section was going to bump us back a bit. Understandable. So we just chilled in the room and waited. Then we were told that the next scheduled c-section was also going to bump us. That's when we spoke up and demanded that we be taken first since we were scheduled first. We were blessed to have an anesthesiologist who totally agreed with us and advocated for us. Well, she actually kind of did a sneaky move. She acted like she didn't know that we weren't next in line, went ahead and did my spinal block, and called to say I was ready. There is a certain timeframe you have to work with once the spinal block is in, so they went ahead and took me back, putting us back in our proper spot in line. ;)
Now about the spinal block. One would think that I would have also had a very hard time with this, considering it is a HUGE needle being inserted into my spine. But no. It was a cinch. I was an awesome patient and didn't even flinch when she did it! I think the biggest reason was that it was on my back where I couldn't see it. At any rate, I'm just happy I didn't pass out or throw up.
Back to the action. Once the spinal block was in, we were told it would still be a while since my doctor needed to finish up from another patient. So, Ben headed down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Next thing I know, they are rolling me out of the room because it was time to go--my doctor was ready! I let them know where Ben was, so they caught him in the hallway, gave him the lovely dad outfit to wear, and told him to get dressed and wait for them to get him.
I was kind of freaking out because we went from it being a very methodical process to very rushed all of the sudden (aaah, loss of control!). When they were lifting me from the bed to the operating table, reality set in that I couldn't feel the majority of my body and that I was about to be cut open. Oh, and that I was about to have a baby!
The OR was very cold, and I had all kinds of meds being pushed through my IV and my spinal block, so I started shivering. And I couldn't stop. The team of nurses and doctors around me were all female, which was a huge blessing because they were very nurturing and maternal. My anesthesiologist actually sat next to my head and stroked my hair to try to calm me down since Ben couldn't be in the room until it was completely prepped. I had heated blankets and even a heater blowing by my face, but I just couldn't stop shaking. It was freaking me out. Again, I'm a head case.
This is my sweet nurse anesthetist keeping me as calm as possible...and that's my "oh, #@$%" face.
I kept asking where Ben was (probably did so about 50 times). They assured me that they would get him as soon as the blue curtain went up (meaning I was fully prepped). So as soon as I saw that curtain go up, I asked one more time where he was...and then I saw him. I knew that he could help calm me down, and he did. He distracted me by singing songs, showing me photos from the camera that we had taken earlier in the day, etc.
Then I saw and heard my doctor. Another calming voice for me. She said she was ready and she did a test cut. I could feel it. Commence shaking again. When I told her I could feel it (not just pressure, but actual pain), I felt a rush of meds through my spine and was instantly calmer (weird feeling). I remembered that Dr. Adigun had told me it would take 7 minutes (or was it 11?) from first cut to having the baby out, so I just kept telling myself that I could endure it for 7 (or 11) minutes.
But let me tell you, it was a crazy feeling and I didn't like it one bit. I could feel so much tugging and I knew exactly what was going on. Not cool for someone who is a head case! I would have much rather NOT been awake for that! Although, I'm glad I was since I was able to see my child as soon as she was born. A trade-off, I guess. ;)
When Dr. A told me to brace for a lot of pressure, I knew we were almost done. She pulled Callie Jeanne out by her bum and then apparently Cal dove back in. There was a tiny bit of commotion to get her out, but when they did she was completely healthy and had a loud set of lungs on her! She was born at 12:51pm, was 7.1 pounds and 19 inches long!
A "fresh" Callie Jeanne Huss--eyes alert and head full of black hair!
Before Dr. A put me back together, she looked for any reasons why Callie was breech and wouldn't flip into position. She found a fibroid (benign tumor) that was enlarged during pregnancy, causing Cal to not really have room to flip. It was nice to have a reason so I didn't feel any guilt over not being able to get her to flip. (Moms tend to feel guilt over lots of things!)
The area where they cleaned Callie up and weighed and measured her was in the same room, so Ben got to step over there and take pics while I was being put back together. It was nice for me to be distracted by watching him and seeing the pictures that he was taking. Before long, I got to hold Cal on my chest for a longer amount of time. Sweet moments that I'm glad are captured on film because I honestly don't remember them.
1 comment:
Aw, tear. :') I need to send you all of my iPhone pics from that day too! I think i sent most of them to Ben then, but just in case!
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