birth experience number three

This is a fairly detailed account of my third childbirth experience. I tried not to be too graphic, but please use your own discretion when deciding whether to keep reading or not. Also, this is a book...sorry...but it's mostly for me anyway.

Friday, March 13th was my due date. I had a scheduled OB appointment that morning. I was hoping when I went in that I would have made some progress from the previous week (3 cm, 75% effaced). However, there was no change. It felt like a bigger deal than it normally would have because my doctor was going out of town for a week. She told me that she was on call until that evening so it was very unlikely that she would be delivering my baby. However, she kept telling me that I needed to wait until she got back to have the baby. I responded that I didn't think I had that much control over the situation. :)

On Saturday, March 14th, I woke up about 12:40 and decided to go sleep on the couch. As I headed down the hall, I realized that my water had most likely broken. I stopped by the bathroom and then headed to the couch. I only laid there a few minutes before my contractions got strong enough to be quite uncomfortable laying down. I knew at that point that I was in labor and that I wouldn't be sleeping. So, I got up and headed to the computer. You know, you can always occupy your time at the computer! :) One of the things I did during that time was to time my contractions. I used an online calculator to keep up with them so that I didn't have to think about it too much. Plus, I wanted to know how long they were lasting...and I didn't want to focus on them as much as the continuous timing would have required. Anyway, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and were lasting about 1 minute. After a little while of timing, I went back to the bedroom for something and let Matt know that I was in labor. I suggested that he should go ahead and get up...especially if he wanted to get a shower before going to the hospital. My contractions weren't unbearable, but they were definitely stronger than they had been that early with Caroline. I figured that we wouldn't be hanging around the house as long this time.

About 3:00, I called my mom. When she answered, I said "Good Morning" and she responded "Oh Yeah?" I thought it was funny. I told her that I was in labor and asked if she would head to our house. I told her not to rush, but that it would be good to head that way. Matt and I set about gathering things that we wanted to take to the hospital. After Mama got to the house, we finished getting things together and then headed to the hospital. As we got just a little ways from the house, I had a good contraction and told Matt that he really REALLY needed to drive gently. Luckily, I didn't have another one until we got to the hospital. By the time we got checked in at the hospital and were taken to a room, it was about 4:15.

The lady who took us to the room (I have no idea what her position was) gave me a gown to change into and a cup to pee in. She said something to the effect of "If your water has already broken it won't matter if we get a sample because we can't run it, but go ahead and do it anyway." I assured her that my water had broken but she still thought I should leave a sample (I didn't). Then, she wanted me to lay down in the bed. I told her that I had no intention of laying down until they were ready to do something because contractions hurt much worse that way. After going back and forth for a minute, she assured me that the nurses would be in right away to get things going so I went ahead and got in the bed...and the nurses came in as I did. (Yes, I was being a bit difficult, but I fully intended to stay "in charge" of my own labor as much as possible.) Anyway, the nurses hooked me up to the contraction and heart rate monitors. We chatted about what was happening and such. Then, the main nurse (I had two because one was a new-to-this-hospital nurse.) spotted my list of preferences for labor and delivery. Since I knew that I would not have my own doctor, one of the things I did while busying myself on the computer that morning was to type up this list. I thought that it would help the nurses and the doctor to know what I wanted. Anyway, after she spotted it, she sat down and we went through each point to make sure that she was clear on what I wanted. Both nurses were very much on board with me wanting to have a natural labor and delivery. I was very thankful for that!

After we finished going through the list, the nurse said it was time to check me. She said that once they checked me I might be able to get up, but that they needed to make sure everything was good because the baby's heart rate was not changing with the contractions like they like to see. She had the training nurse check me. After checking for a minute, she decided that she couldn't tell what she was feeling and that the main nurse needed to check. The main nurse came around to check me and immediately knew what was going on. She told me that I had a prolapsed cord (the umbilical cord was between the baby and my cervix) and that they needed to immediately "stand me on my head." I knew the danger of prolapsed chord and made sure that Matt was fully informed. (He didn't know ahead of time what it was, but with a description, he figured out the dangers very quickly.) So...she stood me on my head (tilted the bed so I was head down). She said that the baby's heart rate was still good, so it wasn't a major emergency. She also hesitantly told me that it was almost definite that I would be headed for a c-section. She told me later that she hesitated because she knew that I really wanted to do things naturally. She left to go call the doctor that was on call for my doctor - Dr. Nguyen (they all pronounce it "win"). When she came back, she said that he expected to do a c-section and that he would be in to check me soon. She said that the only way I wouldn't have a c-section is if the baby had moved and the cord was no longer in the way. At this point, I was confident that I would be headed for a c-section and was a bit anxious about it. I knew, however, that it was the safest route for the baby. I was ok with what was going to happen, but it still made me shake with nervousness. The nurse told me several times that Dr. Nguyen was one of the best. She told me that he would make a good decision for me and my baby. And she told me that he was one of the best at sewing up the incision after a c-section. Some of these sentiments were repeated by other nurses along the way as well.

When Dr. Nguyen came in, he confirmed the location of the cord and told me that we would be headed for a c-section. He did an ultrasound to check the position of the baby and cord. I worked to see the ultrasound under his arm, but I couldn't really tell what anything was...even when he pointed things out. Dr. Nguyen said that the baby was laying kinda diagonal so that her neck was what was pointed down. The bad part is that this position may have been what allowed the cord to move where it did. The good part is that her head was not pushing against the cord and was not cutting off the blood flow to her. Once he left, a flurry of activity began around me. The admissions lady came in with lots of papers for me to sign. A nurse came in to put in an iv. Another lady came in to draw blood. My labor and delivery nurses gave me all kinds of information about the c-section and also prepped me for surgery. There were literally at least three people doing something or trying to talk to me the whole time. During this whole process, Matt read papers for me to sign and filled in whatever was needed other than my signature. He also called my mom to let her know what was going on. I'm sure he did some other things, but I really didn't have much of an idea because of all the activity. (Matt, you'll have to fill in here.) At one point, I had two people talking to me and I think I said something like "Who am I supposed to be listening to?"

Before long, they were wheeling me down the hall to the OR and Matt was slipping on scrubs. He had to wait in the L&D room until they got me settled. In the meantime, I think my dad got there (Mama was at our house with our still sleeping kids). Again, Matt will have to fill in here. When we got to the OR, there was a lady on the side of the room counting very loudly. It was rather strange sounding. Just as I was about to ask what she was doing, somebody explained that she was counting all the instruments and that they would count again when they finished to make sure they had everything. They moved me to the operating table and the anesthesiologist quickly got to work. She had already explained to me that she would do the spinal (actually, I was thinking it would be an epidural) while I was laying down since I couldn't sit up due to the situation. She also told me that it was harder to do it laying down so I would need to really curve my back and be really still. I asked if we could wait until the current contraction was over (yes, I was also having strong contractions through all of this). She said that we could, but that I was going to have to stay in that position through several contractions. I have to say, I was a little nervous of the prospect of somebody sticking something into my spine. Again, though, I was trying to stay calm because I knew that what was happening was the safest for the baby. It took her a while to get to where she needed to be to inject the medicine. In the meantime, she hit something (my spinal cord?) that sent a feeling like a shock down my left leg. I kinda twitched and made a sound and she quickly asked where I felt it. She said that it would let her know where she was. Once she was able to get the medicine in, things started moving quickly.

She asked me if my lower half was feeling warm and within less than a minute it was. She told me that the doctor would do a "pinch test" in several places to see if I could feel anything. I kept waiting for him to say "ok, I'm going to pinch now" but he never did. Within a minute or two, the anesthesiologist told me that he had already cut me. Honestly, it was a bit of a relief to know that he had already started and that I felt nothing. I was kinda nervous that it wouldn't work and I would feel something. I know...they do this all the time...but I was still a little nervous about it. Not much later, Matt came in and they had him sit near my head where he could hold my right hand. My arms were stretched out on either side of me straight out. They weren't tied down or anything, but it was weird to be in that position. They also had a blanket over my arms. I think they probably put it there because I was shaking. Unfortunately, the shaking had nothing to do with being cold. I thought at first that it was just my nerves. It turns out that it was probably mainly the medicine that they had given me. I have to say, the shaking was really one of the most annoying parts of the whole process. I shook for hours...well, the top of me anyway...the bottom of me couldn't move. I was thankful that I didn't have a problem with the other side effect that the anesthesiologist had warned me about - difficulty breathing. They did have oxygen on me, though, until the baby was delivered.

It didn't take long after Matt came in the room before they told me that they were about ready to get the baby out. They said "you're going to feel a lot of pressure" and then the went ahead. (In hindsight, I wonder how you can feel a lot of pressure but never feel any pain.) They pulled her head out and I remember somebody asking if it was a girl (was that you Matt?) and they said that they didn't have her out enough yet. Then, they pulled her out the rest of the way and held her up where Matt could see. I remember him saying that she had her mouth wide open like she was ready to scream. I was just waiting to hear her. To me, that would be the indication that she was ok because at this point I still couldn't see her. It didn't take long before she was screaming loudly. I smiled. They announced that she was born at 6:27 AM. (I had to ask several times before I could remember what time they said.) After Matt had gone over to see her, I asked him if he had the camera. He had it but had not started taking pictures yet...but he did so quickly. Within a minute or two, somebody (who turned out to be the pediatrician) brought her over for me to see. I was instantly filled with joy at seeing with my own eyes that she was out and ok. (This is the moment in the picture that was posted previously.)

Matt stayed with the baby while they checked her out. They weighed her and announced that she was 9 lbs, 7.7 oz. I don't know when they measured her length, but she was 22 inches. Before heading to the nursery, they brought her over to let me see and touch her again. Matt stayed with her when they took her out of the OR. As he was about to walk out the door (which I could see), I hollered to him "So, are we going with the name we talked about?" and he gave a quick "Yes." Then, he left to follow the baby. The doctors and nurses in the room quickly asked me what her name was and I announced that it was Sara Katharine. They all thought that it was a pretty name (but they have to say that, don't they?). The doctor continued to work on finishing things up and the anesthesiologist hovered around my head. There was some discussion of popular music between her and one of the nurses. At one point, I heard one of the nurses say something about moving my bladder out of the way. I have to say, that was an odd thing to overhear. It was also a little bit discouraging for me because it had been a while (though I couldn't see the clock) and I thought that they were already sewing me up. At any rate, it took a while to finish things and sew me up. Somewhere along the way, the main L&D nurse came in and sat and held my hand. She chatted with me and tried to help me calm down some so that my shaking wouldn't be so bad. Somewhere along the way, I asked if I could see the placenta. We have pictures of the other two (weird, I know) so I wanted to at least get to see it. One of the nurses brought it over in a plastic ziploc-type bag. Eventually, they finished up, took the sheet down that blocked my view, and wheeled me to the recovery room.

After getting to the recovery room, Matt joined me. I was still shaking and really wanted to see Sara. It didn't take them too long to bring her to me. They told me that she could stay for a little while, but they would need to take her back after I tried to nurse so that they could get her a bath. We spent some time with our new little girl and took some pictures. I nursed her and then we let her go back to the nursery. Matt hung out with me and we chatted with the recovery room nurse. I'm not exactly sure how long we were there (maybe an hour and a half?), but somewhere along the way, Mama came in to see us. I guess that she and Daddy had switched out at some point. After she checked on me, she went back to our house to get the kids up and ready to come to the hospital.

Once the nurse confirmed that I was stable and I started to be able to wiggle my feet a little, they moved me to a postpartum room. I was expecting Sara to join us before long, but they were waiting for her to warm up after her bath. While we were waiting, my parents arrived with Nathan and Caroline. About 10:30, they finally brought Sara in from the nursery. The kids were very interested in seeing her. They each took a turn holding her. Caroline had a little trouble with that first visit. She didn't seem to have a problem with Sara specifically, but she was being quite ornery. I think having Mommy in a hospital bed who she basically couldn't touch and having a new baby was all a bit too much for her. By her visit later that afternoon, though, she was handling things much better. And by the time we went home, she was much more settled. Nathan seemed to handle the whole thing beautifully. He, of course, was interested in all the little things - what was the thing in my hand, what was the thing with the bag hanging from it, what was the tube running from under the sheets, why did he have to not touch my belly, etc.

As far as how things went the rest of the day for me...I was in a bit of a fog. I was really having to work hard to think straight and also to stay awake. By the evening, they removed my catheter and let me get up to go to the bathroom. That trip to the bathroom was definitely an effort and was quite painful. I made a point to get up several other times, though. I knew that it would be best for me to get moving when I could. On Sunday, I got up and walked down the hall several times. The hardest part was getting up. I guess after sitting for a while, it just took a little time to stretch everything back out again. It was definitely not a pretty picture. I honestly thought that it would take a while before I could get rid of the pain medicines. But by Friday, I was completely off of them. We went home on Monday - only two days after having a c-section. I think they let me go because I was doing so well getting up and because I really wanted to get home - especially because it was my birthday on Monday. And one more thought before I finish up. I never had any pain at the outer incision itself. And it has looked great the entire time! The nurses were right. Dr. Nguyen did a great job sewing me up!

Matt's filling in the blanks:
While the nurses were prepping Jennifer for surgery, I called my parents and let them know what was going on. I also tried to help answer questions and reassure Jennifer. After they took her off to the OR, I stayed behind and hung out. I called our Sunday school teacher to ask him to pray and let him know what was happening. Jennifer's dad arrived after that and we sat in the room waiting for them to come get me. I ate some of a granola bar that I had brought -- I was extremely hungry.

I did not ask if it was a girl during the C section -- I just looked.