Ashlynn Grace Marshall
9 lbs 11 oz
21.75 inches
12:45 pm
The last few weeks of my pregnancy, I was fully prepared to be whisked off to the hospital at any point (I had Braxton Hicks Contractions for quite a while). Finally my due date came and went, one by one days past. Finally 6 days past my due date on Saturday, I went back to my OBGYN. Initially, I had a VBAC planned for this birth. I wanted to experience the "natural" way of giving birth. I had a very traumatic emergency C-section with Peyton, as my epidural did not work, which made the choice to do VBAC over elective C-section very easy for me. Wes and I talked to the OBGYN, and we discussed the possibility of a VBAC not happening.
I was left with two choices:
- Continue to wait and hope for the possibility of a VBAC (and induce with the balloon method as it can be risky for baby to induce a VBAC)
- Opt for an elective C-section
Though the second choice was not ideal at the time, it meant the baby would be safely delivered as I was already fairly overdue. We decided to try to wait a few more days and if nothing were to happen, we would go for an elective C-section (at the time we were given the option of a Wed or Fri C-section).
The next few days, I continued to hope and pray that I would go into labour naturally, but nothing was happening (and I was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable). On Monday, I went in for an ultrasound to ensure that the baby was still doing well and was in fact in a position that would allow a VBAC in the first place. Everything was well at the time, so we continued to wait.
Tuesday I called the OB office to ask about our next steps after looking at the ultrasound results. They decided to schedule a C-section for Sat (which would be 12 days overdue), unless something were to happen naturally before that point.
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| Monday's Ultrasound - 41 Weeks |
The next few days, I must have read story after story about elective C-sections and the difference between them and emergency C-sections. Stories about Spinal Blocks vs. Epidurals. I totally psyched myself up for the whole thing.
Wed morning I went in for my pre-op appointment. We discussed some of the details of the surgery and more specifically, the spinal block.
Thursday and Friday, I kept myself busy, which helped keep myself from worrying about Saturday. Friday night, we dropped off Peyton at Wes' parents house for the night, telling her about the baby she would meet the next time we saw her.
Friday night, I got around 6 hours of sleep. We woke up Saturday morning, knowing it would be the day our next child would be born (though not knowing whether it was a girl or a boy). I double checked the hospital bag I had packed (and added a few things to it as my stay would be a bit longer now). We left for the hospital, ensuring we were there by 10 am. It was such a different experience than when I came to the hospital after my water had broke with Peyton. Much more calm and though I was a bucket of nerves, I was more prepared I felt as I had been anticipating this day.
Around 11 am, we called Peyton and I talked to her (she totally helped me calm my nerves and just hearing her voice made me remember the joy of birth and what a blessing children are). We got the IV put in (first try- YAY!), listened to the baby's heartbeat one last time, took some medicine that would help with the spinal block symptoms later on. Filled out paperwork (as due to the fact it was a last minute elective C-section), and then we waited. Wes put on his scrubs and we waited some more. Our C-section was scheduled for noon but due to the fact the surgery before mine took a little longer than expected, we got in around 12:15.
The nurse we had this entire time (Holly was her name) was amazing. She was very supportive and could see the nerves on both my and Wes' face. She took the time to calm us as much as possible and really did make me feel like I would be in good hands. Wes was not allowed in the theatre until I had my spinal put in and I was on the table. Holly took me and held me while they put the freezing and spinal block into my spine. It is a very strange feeling. Though it doesn't hurt, you can feel them hitting nerves and bone... a strange feeling. They kept hitting bone, but on the third try, we finally got the spinal to work. Immediately, a rush of heat came up my feet to my stomache. The nurses helped me lay down on the bed and get everything ready. One of the possible symptoms of a spinal block is feeling nauseous. I could not feel my bottom half but was getting the urge to puke without feeling my stomache... it just felt strange. It came and went in waves for about 8 minutes.
During this time, the doctors made their way into the room. Wes was also allowed to come in the room finally. The surgery itself was SO much easier than the first C-section. I did not feel anything (barely any tugging even), but due to the fact I had read stories about C-sections I knew what to listen for. I heard the vaccuum sound as they got fluids out from around the baby and knew the baby would be out very soon. I told Wes to be prepared and let me know the moment the baby was out. He held my hand and played with my hair to calm me down the entire time. We got to talk this time and get ready for this baby, rather than me being in so much pain I couldn't enjoy a moment of it.
Then the doctor told us the baby had a big head. I thought baby was out by this point but the Dr told me just the head so far. After a minute, Wes and I could hear the little whimper, and slowly it became more constant and a bit louder. The baby was here!
They showed me the baby over the curtain and then took her to be washed off (at this point I asked if it was a boy or girl since I either missed them saying it or they didn't say anything assuming we knew). I was able to enjoy the moment and seeing the tears on Wes' face just made it a special moment.
I told Wes he could go with the baby to the other side of the room to ensure she was good and just to stay with her (as I was in good hands and no pain). He took some pictures of her and came and showed me, I could look back but couldn't see her face right on just the nurses cleaning her and weighing her.
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| Our Second Bundle of Joy- What a blessing she is! |
The stitching up took the longest amount of time. But again... not painful and I could see my daughter throughout it (the nurses even took pictures of us during this time).
When we were about to be done, they counted the tools used during surgery. I heard them counting each set of 5 .. but one had a set of 4... I told Wes to look over and see if everything was okay. After a minute or less, I heard them say they found it (thank goodness !).
After the actual surgery was done, I was moved onto another bed to take me to the recovery room. What a strange feeling. I still could not feel my entire body under my chest. The nurses and doctors took the sheet under me while I held my body tightly with my hands. They lifted me and rolled me (again... can't feel half my body and it felt like I was going to fall flat on my face). But then I was on the stretcher and in the recovery room which was across the hall in the matter of a minute or two. I was at this point able to hold and feed the baby. She fed immediately and for quite a while (the nurse called her a little piglet which has stuck a bit only because she snorts when she is upset).
We are so happy to finally have her here and the whole C-section experience was MUCH more pleasant experience. To the doctors, nurses and anybody else who shared this moment with us - Thank you!
At this point, I knew it wasn't over, as I still had recovery left.
To be continued....
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