Monday, March 07, 2005
Birth story
Feb 21 2005.
We all got up at 0530. Started getting ready took my shower, rechecked my bag to make sure I didn't forget anything, got the boys up and moving.... Then at 0600 I called the hospital. I was clear to come in. No one else was there in labor. I have been having contractions for the past couple of days Nothing worth timing... they went from 5 minutes apart to 20 to 10....well you get the point. I figure this labor will be a breeze.
We get there at 0630 I check in and go upstairs to labor and delivery. I get my oh so fashionable open in the back show your but to the world gown ;) . Then they hook me up to the IV. Or should I say try? They had a student nurse there and I was OK being the guinea pig. She however missed my vein...well ok she didn't miss it she just went through it! lol The nurse she was working with adjusted it and then it was better. They hooked up my IV then my pitocin, then my antibiotics (since I was Strep B positive). I was straped up to the monitors to monitor Gradys heartrate and my contractions. My contractions when I was first hooked up BEFORE the pitocin started they were about 2.5-3 minutes apart, however they were not strong enough or long enough to be very productive. Grady's heartrate was a bit high at times but still within the range of normal. It was kind of scary though his heartrate would range from the high end to the very low end. Nothing like a constant monitor to make a mom obsess.
So the pitocin starts up. Makes the contrations stronger. Not unbearable. Enough to make me stop mid sentence and concentrate to breathe through them. This continues to mid morning when my doctor comes in to check my cervix. My cervix was still VERY high, the pain of the doctor trying to reach it was oh man just terrible. Once he got it though he held on. He was trying to get in there to break my water. No sign of the baby's head which means he was still high up. He tried to break my water ... yeah ok that hurt too a lot. After a few attempts he could't reach it to break it.... So he quit. There was no change in my cervix from the last dr appointment.
Every hour they upped the pitocin. I would be contracting OK they would up the pitocin and BAM I would quit contracting! How is that logical?? Then about 30-45 mintues later the contrax would pick up again and then they would up it and then they would stop.
That evening around 4 Dr. Ramsden came back in to check my progress. After all that pitocin and all that contracting... NO change! No change in dilation, thickness or babys position. He ordered the pitocin stopped. He said I should eat dinner and that night they would give me a couple of doses of cervical ripening agent. I still had contractions off of the pitocin. though the pills to ripen my cervix seemed to have no effect. The doc was hoping they would help really start my labor.
Feb 22
Come 7 am the doc had called in and asked that my pitocin be restarted...this however I didn't learn until later... because it was not restarted. The doctor came in about 0830 to check me... but found the pit was not restarted. So he went out and said...restart it. he said OK I will be back this afternoon to check you. Well 9 came and went and 10..... THEN someone came in at 1015 to restart the pitocin. My doctor came in at 1:30 to check me. Found out when the pit was restarted and got a little hot under the collar. He checked my cervix....would youlike to take a guess?? NO CHANGE! No dialation thinning or baby position change. I was in tears. He said OK here is what we can do. A: stop the pitocin send you home and bring you back next week to try again. Or B: stop the pitocin and go for a C-section. He said I wil let you and your husband talk about it. I will be here for a little bit or you can reach me at the office. I was so upset. I wanted things to work better than my other 2 deliveries. I wanted a baby that I could take home with me and it not end up in the NICU. I did not want to become sick or have a baby that was sick (again) Dh and I talked about it. Letting things go another week. We would be facing an even larger baby, and who is to say we wouldn't go through 2 more days of inducing to end up with a c-section anyway? So I said I wanted to be done. It had been about 30+ hours at that time and I was tired. I was frustrated and seemed to be at the end of my patience. So dh agreed. He stepped out and told the doctor that we are going to go forward with a C-section. No problem. The doc ordered the pitocin stopped. Now THAT they got done in 5 minutes LOL. I signed the appropriate papers. My doctor answered all of my questions about the c-section I had and then he left to go get me onthe board for the surgery.
He comes up and tells us we are looking at about 5-6 pm. No problem. DH and DS#1 heard out to lunch. Next thing I know at 2:30 the nurses come in and say I have to get prepped for surgery right then. They had an opening and they are going to get me in sooner! I got shaved lol, I got my catheder (OUCH) and then I sat there... and waited. DH and DS came back in the midst of the catheder and were asked to wait until it was done. DH was in shock I think that it was happening then.
About 4 I got rolled into the OR. The staff was amazing. they explained everything. and I met my new best friend...the anesthesiologist!!! He was wonderful . I was getting a spinal block instead of an epidural. this was a first for me. They roll me from the prep area into the OR. They have had dh get his scrubs on and wait until they are done prepping me. I get on the operating table and sit up for the spinal block put in. Let me say.... i think I am one of the few who laughed while they were getting their spinal LOL My doctor was there, holding my hand. He is such a great guy and I am disappointed he is moving to another practice, possibly in another state even. ANYWAY.... They get the spinal in. To be honest this guy did a GREAT job. They get me down on the table and then my legs start to get warm. Then numb. So things are getting ready to go. He checks me about a minute later. I was numb up to the chest and good to go. they get me washed off and the drape up and bring hubby in.
Once he was in and sit down they started to cut. DH wanted nothing to do with taping the c-section or looking or anything lol. He held my hand. I could tell he was about as nervous as I was. He is my rock.... I would have been a basket case without him.
I felt the doctors tugging at me a little bit. Next thing I know Dr. Ramsden says "it's a boy!! And he is peeing !" LOL yup he came into the world bawling and peeing!! He gets handed off to the nurses and brought over to get dried off, warmed up, and taken care of. Next thing I know I hear how he is STILL peeing AND pooping! Not just a little but more than I think any baby should have LOL. Everytime they would clean him up and change the towels he would go again. He lost almost a pound I am sure! But they do not weigh them in the OR just upstairs in the nursery... for exactly that reason often the babies lose a lot of weight with that first bowel movement.
They finally brought him over to see me. I could hear him grunting... having a little trouble breathing. With my past experiences this worried me a lot. But they assured me that this is very normal in c-section babies and not to worry.
So baby Grady and dad left together to go upstairs to the nursery (which since it was just him I know little to nothing of the story). Meanwhile I was getting stiched up and stapled up too. I was put back on pitocin because my uterus was "floppy" after all that labor and a big baby.
They move me into the recovery room and they did something amazing. They staff took and printed up pictures of Grady for me! They said that C-section moms do a lot better and worry about their babies less when they have the pictures to look at :) In the recovery room they kept making sure I was getting feeling back. And by the time for me to go back up to my room I was able to wiggle my legs.
When I got back into my room it was about an hour until I was able to see my new son. He was having some problems breathing but it was not a big deal he was getting better. Thay had taken a chest x-ray to besure had checked his blood sugars too. His APGAR scores were actually 9 and 9. So on paper he was actually doing well
I lost a little steam in this posting as I had to stop for a feeding diaper change and another feeding.
I finally got Grady in my room with me. And I got to look at all of his fingers and toes and feed him for the first time. He was a nursing pro from the first feeding. It was then that I came to the decision finally on what his name would be. Grady John-Park Lewman. We really liked the name Grady ...and by the way everyone who hears it likes it. And trust me it fits him. The John is for my dad who passed away. Park is a family tradition on dh's fathers side. So with the middle name we were able to actually honor both sides of the family.
The pediatrician I was less than thrilled with. But it was over ONE statement. Little things that make me think...no thank you. Within 18 hours of Grady being born she asked if my milk had come in, when I said no she suggested supplementing!. ANYONE who has done any research on breastfeeding knows it takes anywhere from 2-5 days for your milk to come in.
We were both discharged from the hospital 2 days after delivery. I was happy to be home. Being at home helped my recovery. this c-section recovery has honestly almost been easier than my vaginal deliveries.
3 days after delivery my staples were taken out. turns out on the skin around the scar I got a yeast infection.
4 days after delivery Grady went back to the doctor and had his weight checked and his billirubin levels checked. They went from 9.3 to 10.1. But they were still under the concern level. This is the time that a child came out of the office and touched Grady on the face. This child had crust coming out of his eyes and nose well I was ticked this kids parent didn't stop their sick child from touching a newborn. But I got more ticked off when Grady turned up with PINK EYE!!!!
I am feeling great. Recovery is great. I am adjusting to being a mom of a newborn again. I love this little man so very much it almost makes me cry. He is perfect. Everything we dreamed of and hoped for.
We all got up at 0530. Started getting ready took my shower, rechecked my bag to make sure I didn't forget anything, got the boys up and moving.... Then at 0600 I called the hospital. I was clear to come in. No one else was there in labor. I have been having contractions for the past couple of days Nothing worth timing... they went from 5 minutes apart to 20 to 10....well you get the point. I figure this labor will be a breeze.
We get there at 0630 I check in and go upstairs to labor and delivery. I get my oh so fashionable open in the back show your but to the world gown ;) . Then they hook me up to the IV. Or should I say try? They had a student nurse there and I was OK being the guinea pig. She however missed my vein...well ok she didn't miss it she just went through it! lol The nurse she was working with adjusted it and then it was better. They hooked up my IV then my pitocin, then my antibiotics (since I was Strep B positive). I was straped up to the monitors to monitor Gradys heartrate and my contractions. My contractions when I was first hooked up BEFORE the pitocin started they were about 2.5-3 minutes apart, however they were not strong enough or long enough to be very productive. Grady's heartrate was a bit high at times but still within the range of normal. It was kind of scary though his heartrate would range from the high end to the very low end. Nothing like a constant monitor to make a mom obsess.
So the pitocin starts up. Makes the contrations stronger. Not unbearable. Enough to make me stop mid sentence and concentrate to breathe through them. This continues to mid morning when my doctor comes in to check my cervix. My cervix was still VERY high, the pain of the doctor trying to reach it was oh man just terrible. Once he got it though he held on. He was trying to get in there to break my water. No sign of the baby's head which means he was still high up. He tried to break my water ... yeah ok that hurt too a lot. After a few attempts he could't reach it to break it.... So he quit. There was no change in my cervix from the last dr appointment.
Every hour they upped the pitocin. I would be contracting OK they would up the pitocin and BAM I would quit contracting! How is that logical?? Then about 30-45 mintues later the contrax would pick up again and then they would up it and then they would stop.
That evening around 4 Dr. Ramsden came back in to check my progress. After all that pitocin and all that contracting... NO change! No change in dilation, thickness or babys position. He ordered the pitocin stopped. He said I should eat dinner and that night they would give me a couple of doses of cervical ripening agent. I still had contractions off of the pitocin. though the pills to ripen my cervix seemed to have no effect. The doc was hoping they would help really start my labor.
Feb 22
Come 7 am the doc had called in and asked that my pitocin be restarted...this however I didn't learn until later... because it was not restarted. The doctor came in about 0830 to check me... but found the pit was not restarted. So he went out and said...restart it. he said OK I will be back this afternoon to check you. Well 9 came and went and 10..... THEN someone came in at 1015 to restart the pitocin. My doctor came in at 1:30 to check me. Found out when the pit was restarted and got a little hot under the collar. He checked my cervix....would youlike to take a guess?? NO CHANGE! No dialation thinning or baby position change. I was in tears. He said OK here is what we can do. A: stop the pitocin send you home and bring you back next week to try again. Or B: stop the pitocin and go for a C-section. He said I wil let you and your husband talk about it. I will be here for a little bit or you can reach me at the office. I was so upset. I wanted things to work better than my other 2 deliveries. I wanted a baby that I could take home with me and it not end up in the NICU. I did not want to become sick or have a baby that was sick (again) Dh and I talked about it. Letting things go another week. We would be facing an even larger baby, and who is to say we wouldn't go through 2 more days of inducing to end up with a c-section anyway? So I said I wanted to be done. It had been about 30+ hours at that time and I was tired. I was frustrated and seemed to be at the end of my patience. So dh agreed. He stepped out and told the doctor that we are going to go forward with a C-section. No problem. The doc ordered the pitocin stopped. Now THAT they got done in 5 minutes LOL. I signed the appropriate papers. My doctor answered all of my questions about the c-section I had and then he left to go get me onthe board for the surgery.
He comes up and tells us we are looking at about 5-6 pm. No problem. DH and DS#1 heard out to lunch. Next thing I know at 2:30 the nurses come in and say I have to get prepped for surgery right then. They had an opening and they are going to get me in sooner! I got shaved lol, I got my catheder (OUCH) and then I sat there... and waited. DH and DS came back in the midst of the catheder and were asked to wait until it was done. DH was in shock I think that it was happening then.
About 4 I got rolled into the OR. The staff was amazing. they explained everything. and I met my new best friend...the anesthesiologist!!! He was wonderful . I was getting a spinal block instead of an epidural. this was a first for me. They roll me from the prep area into the OR. They have had dh get his scrubs on and wait until they are done prepping me. I get on the operating table and sit up for the spinal block put in. Let me say.... i think I am one of the few who laughed while they were getting their spinal LOL My doctor was there, holding my hand. He is such a great guy and I am disappointed he is moving to another practice, possibly in another state even. ANYWAY.... They get the spinal in. To be honest this guy did a GREAT job. They get me down on the table and then my legs start to get warm. Then numb. So things are getting ready to go. He checks me about a minute later. I was numb up to the chest and good to go. they get me washed off and the drape up and bring hubby in.
Once he was in and sit down they started to cut. DH wanted nothing to do with taping the c-section or looking or anything lol. He held my hand. I could tell he was about as nervous as I was. He is my rock.... I would have been a basket case without him.
I felt the doctors tugging at me a little bit. Next thing I know Dr. Ramsden says "it's a boy!! And he is peeing !" LOL yup he came into the world bawling and peeing!! He gets handed off to the nurses and brought over to get dried off, warmed up, and taken care of. Next thing I know I hear how he is STILL peeing AND pooping! Not just a little but more than I think any baby should have LOL. Everytime they would clean him up and change the towels he would go again. He lost almost a pound I am sure! But they do not weigh them in the OR just upstairs in the nursery... for exactly that reason often the babies lose a lot of weight with that first bowel movement.
They finally brought him over to see me. I could hear him grunting... having a little trouble breathing. With my past experiences this worried me a lot. But they assured me that this is very normal in c-section babies and not to worry.
So baby Grady and dad left together to go upstairs to the nursery (which since it was just him I know little to nothing of the story). Meanwhile I was getting stiched up and stapled up too. I was put back on pitocin because my uterus was "floppy" after all that labor and a big baby.
They move me into the recovery room and they did something amazing. They staff took and printed up pictures of Grady for me! They said that C-section moms do a lot better and worry about their babies less when they have the pictures to look at :) In the recovery room they kept making sure I was getting feeling back. And by the time for me to go back up to my room I was able to wiggle my legs.
When I got back into my room it was about an hour until I was able to see my new son. He was having some problems breathing but it was not a big deal he was getting better. Thay had taken a chest x-ray to besure had checked his blood sugars too. His APGAR scores were actually 9 and 9. So on paper he was actually doing well
I lost a little steam in this posting as I had to stop for a feeding diaper change and another feeding.
I finally got Grady in my room with me. And I got to look at all of his fingers and toes and feed him for the first time. He was a nursing pro from the first feeding. It was then that I came to the decision finally on what his name would be. Grady John-Park Lewman. We really liked the name Grady ...and by the way everyone who hears it likes it. And trust me it fits him. The John is for my dad who passed away. Park is a family tradition on dh's fathers side. So with the middle name we were able to actually honor both sides of the family.
The pediatrician I was less than thrilled with. But it was over ONE statement. Little things that make me think...no thank you. Within 18 hours of Grady being born she asked if my milk had come in, when I said no she suggested supplementing!. ANYONE who has done any research on breastfeeding knows it takes anywhere from 2-5 days for your milk to come in.
We were both discharged from the hospital 2 days after delivery. I was happy to be home. Being at home helped my recovery. this c-section recovery has honestly almost been easier than my vaginal deliveries.
3 days after delivery my staples were taken out. turns out on the skin around the scar I got a yeast infection.
4 days after delivery Grady went back to the doctor and had his weight checked and his billirubin levels checked. They went from 9.3 to 10.1. But they were still under the concern level. This is the time that a child came out of the office and touched Grady on the face. This child had crust coming out of his eyes and nose well I was ticked this kids parent didn't stop their sick child from touching a newborn. But I got more ticked off when Grady turned up with PINK EYE!!!!
I am feeling great. Recovery is great. I am adjusting to being a mom of a newborn again. I love this little man so very much it almost makes me cry. He is perfect. Everything we dreamed of and hoped for.
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YAY! What a neat story! So glad everything worked out for you and little Grady. He sure is handsome boy!
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