If you have been reading the blog or have been in contact with anyone who knows me, I am sure that you are aware that I have had the baby. Jess did a wonderful job of guest blogging for me, when the only access to the Internet that I had was a keyboard in the corner of my hospital room that plugged in somewhere I couldn't figure out.
Now with a week old little boy napping in his bouncer, I am finally getting the time to start this blog entry. No telling when I will finish it, as I hear his bird chirping right now, which usually is followed by a desire to eat.
In any case, although the facts are out there, I wanted to put out the story of James' birthday, if for nothing else than posterity and for him to read in the future.
When I last wrote, I was still desperately looking for ways to push myself closer to labor. A friend of ours told me that 2 out of the 3 of his children were born a day after his wife went to a grocery store here called Magruder's. Half as a joke, half because we had forgotten onion at the grocery store two days earlier, we went to Magruder's on Thursday. On top of that, when Glenn went out to frisbee, I pulled out the dance mat that goes with our imitation Dance Dance Revolution and did some easy dancing. Jamey and I were very good and I think I even danced better than I ever have when not pregnant! After 20 minutes, I was winded and sat down.
The next morning, I started to notice a little bit of wetness and began to think that perhaps my water sack had broken. I called the doctor and he told me to go into Fairfax Hospital and get it checked out, so off we went. Arriving at the hospital, I wasn't sure where to go, so instinctually we first went to the ER. When I told the woman my problem, she said, "And how far along are you?" I looked at her and said, "Today is my due date." Her eyes bulged and she directed me to labor and delivery. Once there, we were told that before they could do anything for us, we should go back downstairs and register!!! So back down we went, and on the way back up, I felt something that felt a little more like my water breaking, but still no knowing gush of water. Finally, in the triage, they hooked me up to the fetal monitors and determined via pH test, that I had indeed ruptured my water.
Now here is the strange thing.... at this point, I was still unsure as to whether this pressure I was feeling was contractions. I wasn't in a great amount of pain, per se. It just felt like a lot of pressure. So I turned to the nurse and shyly said, "This is a stupid question, but how can I tell if I have had any contractions?" She smiled and said, "Oh, you've had quite a number of contractions. " I said okay and continued lying there.
Once checked in, they put me on pitocin to get the contractions stronger and more regular. At that point, I was 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. At first the pitocin wasn't bad. I calmly watched some Ellen on the tiny tv, and greeted Jess when she came in from work. But by 4 PM, the contractions were beginning to be unbearable. Frankly, more than the contractions, I was having back labor, and my back was killing me. All I wanted was for that pain to go away. Each time the nurse came in, she asked my level of pain, and each time, when it didn't seem to be enough, she raised the level of pitocin. "I'm really sorry to say this, and it will sound terrible, but I was hoping by this point, you would be in a little more pain."
This sounds sadistic for her to say, but let me say that she was an AMAZING nurse, named Kate, and she was so friendly. Seeing her work made me want to advise all my students who are going to nursing school that they should work in Labor and Delivery. Finally, I told her that I was ready for my epidural. She pulled in the cart for the anaestheseologist, and it sat there taunting me for about 5 or ten minutes before the doctor showed up. By this time, it had to have been between 5 and 5:30 because the news was on. As Kate and Glenn held my hands, the man did his thing, and I must say, it didn't really hurt. So I have put in my vote for that one--- epidurals... not too painful. And if ever I had a test of the use of my breathing and tuning things out, this was it. As they were doing their work, Dr. Berry-- my OB-- came in, and stood in the background, listening to the news. I can't remember what story was on, but whatever it was, Dr. Berry found it fascinating and began to engage the anaestesiologist in conversation about it. I sat there thinking, "UM, hello???? Remember me??" But in the end, I used all my strength to focus on the letter H on my armband and tune out their voices. It worked and suddenly, it was in. And let me tell you... everything that is said about epidurals? Oh, it's true!! Best invention EVER! Suddenly, it felt that the labor could go on forever and I could handle it. I could push that baby out for days, and that would be fine. I was laughing again, and able to hold a conversation.
Every hour Dr. Berry came in to check me, and for two hours, he found that I wasn't going anywhere. As in, I wasn't dilating further, and I wasn't becoming more effaced. He looked dismayed and told me, that my contractions were also not really getting as strong as he would have liked. The reason? The baby's head was too big. In order to dilate more, we needed for his head to come down and press on my cervix. However, my pelvis was too small, so his head wasn't coming down to the cervix. Thus, I was stuck where I was.
I could have laid there for hours and hours, and in the end come to the same conclusion. Or I could take the next half hour and have my baby. So I chose the second option, and was off for my C section. Within minutes, I was prepped and ready to go... with one problem. Dr. Berry seemed to have disappeared. I listened to the nurses slowly get more angry that he was keeping us waiting, and it wasn't for about twenty minutes that he showed up and spit some anger back at them. "You were paging the wrong doctor! You paged Dr. Beery and not Dr. Berry," he bellowed. Apparently Dr.'s Berry and Beery had been sitting in the dr's lounge, but because Dr. Beery was off duty, he/she wasn't answering pages.
With his arrival it began, to the wonderful musical stylings of what I can only guess was HOT 99.5, judging by the song selection. "Shake It", "I Kissed a Girl", and "In This Club" were all among those played. And then, at 9:16 PM, as I lay there, I felt a strong pressure and I heard, "There he is." And then I heard something that made me laugh. It came from Dr. Berry, who til this point, just figured my average sized baby had a big head.
"Whoa, that's a BIG baby!" Dr. Berry exclaimed. "That might be a 10 lb. baby." The funniest part about the statement was the honest surprise in his voice. As I turned my head to the side, I saw them carry him to the warmer, his head alien-shaped from trying so hard to get through my pelvis, and covered in blood. Glenn left my side to welcome James Morgan into the world at 9 lb. 1 oz and 22 1/4 inches long.
The next several hours are a complete blur. I remember waking up in the PACU-- surgery recovery area. I was alone in my little triage area, but I turned my head and there, facing me, was the soft face of my little boy, fast asleep. It was a special moment, and although I couldn't really move, I felt connected to him right away. Eventually, they moved me up to my room, we bonded with Jamey, and "a few" visitors snuck up to see him. My parents were there, Glenn's parents too, and Aunt Joyce. In addition, Jess was still there waiting for Jamey, as were Monica, Marla, and Chris.
The stay in the hospital wasn't that eventful. Lots of visitors, another fantastic nurse, during the day times, and a lot of bonding time with James. Dad claims he has no eyes, but it was just that for the first week, he really likes to just sleep... Oh well!
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