Zach - the Birth Story
Dec 30, 20082:04pm
8 lbs 6 oz
21.5 inches
We arrived at the hospital around 11 a.m. and headed to Labor & Delivery. I was led to the recovery room, told to take off all my clothes except my socks, and directed to put on one of those lovely and fashionable hospital nighties (that sexy lingerie).
A nurse – Julie (who monitored me a few times in L&D earlier in the pregnancy) , hooked me up on the ever popular monitors – so by noon, I was lying in bed, ready to go.
So there I lay, listening to Baby Z bump and be bop around in side me while Dale studied his scrubs. He looked so handsome in them, like a hotty doctor from ER (yes , I’m biased, but my whole family, well, the females, always comment on how handsome Dale is. Although he’s 45, he looks very young, and sexy as a doctor - even one of his sister's said the same - heh heh).
We took a few pictures (won’t post mine, I look like a real goof, especiallly with the hair covering on my head. Me without hair is a step below me with hair - a rather huge step).
So time passes, and I really have to pee. In comes the nurse to unhook me so I can go attend to nature's calling. Then right back to the monitors. Time passes. I have to pee again. So Dale and I unhook me, not thinking that we’re setting off some kind of alarm at the nurses' station (they get alerted if something changes in the heart beat). In comes another nurse, to see what happened. I’m all, "Sorry! Had to pee!" In addition, I kept moving my legs and knees so it would knock out the monitor a bit, and in would come Julie, laughing, because she knew it was me being fidgety vs. something not being right on the monitors. How can I help it??!! I'm moments away from meeting this little guy!
So it’s 12:45…15 minutes until show time, when Julie walks in and says, "we have more time. Dr. R just went to delivery another baby."
Huh?? But…but….I’m on for 1pm! I’m all psyched up to have this baby! I can’t stop peeing! How dare another woman decide to go into labor right before my big show! What if it takes her hours to push??
Dale summed it up best: "What can you do."
So again – I have to pee. Another nurse unhooks me – and off I go.
I call my mom to tell her to pass the word to the family because we’re behind schedule.
Meanwhile, one of my sister-in-laws came up around noon to be there with us – but she’s not allowed in the recovery room. However, at one point, after Zach was born, she walked in with Dale to see me – only to get "disciplined" by the same nurse and ushered out quickly :-D My SIL acted like no one told her, so Julie was all, "I KNOW I told her! It’s like a slap in my face! She didn’t even listen to me!"
Dale and I got a chuckle out of that, although we understood why you can’t have just anyone walking in. There are other patients in the room as well (at least, there was one at the time when I was there). However, to be fair to my SIL, another nurse told her it should be ok if she went to see me.
Finally, at 1:30, I’m up. Nerves nervling…juices flowing….brain and heart pumping – SHOW TIME!
I’m wheeled into the operating room. Dale cannot come in while they give me my spinal. The room was very … well… operating roomish. I get up on a small table, and we have to wait for the anesthesiologist and a few other team members to arrive. So we wait. And wait.
Nerves start building again. About 10-15 minutes passes, when lo and behold, we have us a spinal guy!
The spinal felt odd … it didn’t really hurt… just was a tad uncomfortable. I felt a burning/stinging for a brief second … then pressure on a small part of my spine. They then laid me onto my back, and Dr Spinal asked if my legs felt tingly.
Yep … and warm. Good. That’s good.
He pokes me with a tiny pin on my chest – can you feel that? Yes. Good.
Then he pokes my abdomen. Can you feel that? No. Good.
Meanwhile, oxygen is put into my nose through a tiny tube, a huge blue sheet is lifted to separate my line of vision from my abdomen, and my arms are laid out on either side of me so I look like the letter T.
In comes my doctor …all smiling and happy … says hello … and on tape, he says, "This is Dr R. I am doing a caesarian section on Joanne. Is that correct, Joanne?"
Yes – you are absolutely right.
"Let’s start the incision."
"Wait! My husband’s not here!"
The nurse had already gone to get him … the doc told me not to worry …they would not let him see the start of the cutting, and before I know it, Dale is by my head, rubbing my arm and holding my hand.
I tell him how bizarre I feel because I can’t feel my legs … yet I’m wide awake.
On the other side of the sheet, the doc and his team are having a conversation … about life … as if they are socializing at a dinner! I’m thinking, how can he cut and talk? I’d need to concentrate! I guess years of practice! But even with years of practice... I mean, the guy is multi-tasking with my uterus and his staff.
Every so often, he’d say "time out" –… then they’d pause … then continue. I'd feel a tugging and pulling - but no pain.
Before I knew it …within 15 minutes … I hear Zachary’s beautiful cry! The staff tell Dale to stand up – and I hear him say, "Oh my God!" And he starts to cry … so I start to cry!
A member of the staff grabs Dale and takes him to see the baby.
Dale cuts the umbilical cord as I turn my head to try to see everything. All I can see are green scrubs everywhere. But I can still hear Zachary's beautiful and hearty cry.
Meanwhile, the doctor is busy stitching me up, now multi-tasking with staples, my skin, and his staff.
Dale comes back over to me, and one of the nurses hands him our son to hold. What an amazing sight! Dale places Zachary by my face so I can see him as the staff take our camera and start snapping all kinds of photos.
Then it’s time for Zachary to get weighed and measured, so they take him to the nursery. Dale asks if I want him to stay with me. I tell him, "Go with our baby."
It only takes about another 15 to 20 minutes to stitch me up, and before I know it, I’m back in recovery. I got a tiny bit sick (tossed my cookies just a tad) from the drugs in the spinal… but other than that, I’m fine.
A nurse comes in and wipes me down (boy was I sweating!). Turns out, this nurse used to work out at Bally’s near us. We recognize each other. She’s very pretty, so later I tell Dale he missed my sponge bath from the former Bally’s hotty :-D His comment: "Oh man. I missed all the fun!"
About 45 minutes later, Zachary is in my arms, and we’re bb-feeding for the first time. I’m new to this, so I need help, but he latches on and shakes his head like a tiny puppy shaking a rag in his mouth. Adorable!
Eventually, I’m in my room … hooked up to my IV and other tubing (talk about feeling like a science project) … and the rest, as they say, is history.
Everyone’s advice for a c-section was great … TAKE THE PAIN MEDS! I did – and often – and while it did hurt to laugh (Dale, of course, kept making me laugh), and cough. etc., I healed fairly quickly and was walking around by the 3rd day (another great piece of advice – walk when they tell you to walk!).
Even though Zach lost weight in the hospital (10% of his body weight...which led to us supplementing him with formula in addition to bb-feeding), Zach now weighs 8lbs 3oz… and to quote the nurse who visited us yesterday in our home, "He’s perfect! Absolutely perfect!"
I have to agree :)
posted by Joanne @ 7:51 AM
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