Sindorella
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
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My baby human & my baby canine. <3
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L<3VE
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Since she already rules the house, her accessories should reflect it…
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Since she already rules the house, her accessories should reflect it…
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Nikaia’s Birth Story!!
We arrived at the hospital at 6am on Tuesday (January 18th) and I checked into the L&D triage area where they started monitoring and getting my IV in. I was the only scheduled c-section that morning so things were pretty kick back. Nurses wandered in and out, we chit chatted with them (and discovered that one of them loved Doctor Who which was very amusing for Adam), I got a last minute ultrasound to check Kaia’s position (still very head up) and after a few hours of getting all connected to wires and tubes my doctor came in drinking a carton of chocolate milk. After 12 hours of fasting I was very jealous of that chocolate milk. lol. He went over the procedure and the risks again, and I was wheeled off to surgery.
In the operating room they got me all ready for my spinal block. I told the anesthesiologist that I have mild scoliosis so he felt around my back for a good 5 minutes, figured out where everything was positioned, and informed the whole room that he was a rock star and would get my spinal in without a problem because he was that good. He was definitely that good! =D Once I was finally laid back on the table and my bottom half was properly exposed and saran wrapped and hoisted and whatever else they were doing to it, Adam was allowed in. He took a seat by my head, got the camera ready and the surgery started.
There was a mirror above my head, and I could see what they were doing reflected on the glass from the lights, so I watched the whole thing. SO SURREAL to see them cutting into me and prying me open. Not only was Nikaia a breech baby in utero, she was delivered breech by c-section, too! I laid there and watched as they delivered one leg, then the other leg, then one arm… then they had to twist her around a little to get her other arm down and away from her face because it was wedged up near her head. Finally when they got her whole body except her head out they had to take a minute to unwrap her from the cord. It was around her neck twice, wrapped around her abdomen, and around one of her legs. She was really hanging on for dear life in there!
Once they got her whole body out and unwrapped from the cord it was time to deliver her head. That presented a little bit of a problem since the poor girl inherited my huge noggin. They had to maneuver a little to finally get the head to come out (the way Adam tells it they pulled out a giant silver crow bar the size of his arm) and almost had to increase the size of my incision, but she was finally born at 8:32am! Random fact: The song Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars was playing on the radio when she was born. <3 I found that completely appropriate and it made me cry. =P
Since she is a c-section baby she still had some mucus and fluid in her lungs that normally gets squeezed out in the birth canal during vaginal birth, so she lost a few points on her APGAR for delayed cry, but when she did start crying woah… My FIL heard her from down the hall and around the corner (through a closed swinging door). She has a set of lungs on her that’s for sure! She weighed in at 8 lbs 0.9 oz, and was 19.7 in long. Her head circumference was 14.2!! Big head just like her mommy!
She struggled a little the first day, and ended up spending the night in the nursery because of the mucus build-up, but coughed it all up like a champ and was back with me the next afternoon. She couldn’t be more perfect, or more beautiful. We are very, very blessed to have her! She has been such a dream, especially because she also inherited a love of sleep from me! I really hope that sticks around!
I am recovering really well. My incision is freakin’ gorgeous and I think my doctor should have been a plastic surgeon (although I am glad he is an OB =P), most of the bleeding stopped within a few days and it is very light off and on now, my milk came in three days after she was born, and I was up walking as soon as they would let me and haven’t had to take anything other than motrin! I never really knew I had a high pain tolerance since I haven’t ever been in any kind of serious pain, but apparently I do! My nurses in the hospital thought I was some kind of super woman. =D
So that’s our story!! Thanks for reading!!
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Not even born yet and already a drama queen…
I’m at the end of my pregnancy, and like any first time mother with no childbirth experience, I had it all planned out. I was going to have a vaginal delivery. I may go a week over due, but I’d go into labor on my own. I would try to labor at home for a while before I headed to the hospital. I would get there and it may take a while to finally give birth but eventually I would have a beautiful baby girl the old fashioned way. No extra drugs (except maybe some pain meds, I’m not anti-pain meds although I did want to avoid a full on epidural), no poking and prodding and rushing me along, just giving birth like my body knew how to do naturally.
And, like a lot of first time mothers, my plans were all thrown out as soon as something didn’t go how I imagined it.
Today is three days from my scheduled c-section. The one thing I was the most scared of happening as far as preparing for my wonderful natural labor happened… My baby decided that head down was for suckers and planted her big old noggin right between my ribs. Not only did she decide that she wanted to watch my heart beat and my lungs operate, but she also decided that tickling them with her foot was a stellar idea. So, she’s not only footling breech (feet down) but she also has one of those feet up above her head.
Imagine for a moment not only trying to push a baby out feet first, which although it is possible is still not ideal… Imagine trying to push that baby out FOOT first with the other one straight up next to the head. Suddenly the danger of her getting most of the way out and then getting her head and leg stuck up in the birth canal got very real and made my doctor (and myself) VERY nervous. Once the reality of the situation set in, my amazing husband had the forethought to ask the doctor if having a c-section would automatically pigeonhole me into subsequent c-sections should I ever get pregnant again. When my doctor assured me that it would be entirely up to me as long as I didn’t end up with another breech baby or some other complication, I decided a c-section was our best option. So, we decided to give her a week to flip and scheduled a c-section in case she doesn’t.
I am three days from that date now. I’m also no closer to a head down baby despite hours of trying a variety of methods to get her to to turn. As hard as I thought coming to terms with a c-section would be after my well thought out birth plan went flying out the window, I’m okay with it now. Seeing the position she is in moved my desires for a natural birth far, far behind getting her into the world as safely as possible. The thought of her getting stuck halfway out is a million times more scary to me than the thought of getting a c-section.
She’s already proving to be a pretty unique little girl (no wonder considering who her parents are =P) with this acrobatic gymnast move she is performing in utero. Last night I felt her hanging out on the right side of my belly, which she NEVER does, and I felt her head actually POINTED down, which also NEVER happens. I got a bit excited thinking MAYBE she was going to surprise us and flip over right before my appointment in a few days to check her position again before the c-section. No more than two hours later she was right back where she started, taking in the cardio pulmonary show. What a tease!
So, now I keep trying to flip her and I prepare for a c-section. Basically a variation of my worst nightmare as far as possible birth scenarios go (although an emergency one would definitely be worse). At this point I’m so glad that I chose the doctor I did. I feel confident in not only his ability to perform a c-section on me, but in his respect for my wishes as far as what I want for the birth of my daughter. I made it very clear to him from the beginning that I was not one of those people who thought c-sections were no big deal. It’s a last case scenario only if there is no other option deal to me. He assured me that he felt the same way and has proven that with every appointment and conversation we have had. Watching other family members who have him as their OB as well has driven that home even more. If I ever get pregnant again I’ll definitely be returning to him, especially since I’ll have a history of c-section now unless this little girl turns in the next 3 days!
Still, I am scared. I just have to have some faith that everything will be okay.
Countdown to Nikaia: 3 days until her birthday. <3 We will find out in two days if she’s insisting on coming into the world Alien style by ripping through my belly and emerging in some baby ballerina pose, or if she’s going to move head down and make us wait for her arrival after all that anticipation. Drama queen.
I should have been a pampered princess, but the universe overshot and sent me to this hell hole instead. Now it is my job to seek out the funny, ridiculous, interesting, and note worthy and gather it all to return to the big lazy earth queen and earn myself another shot. Hopefully next time she will aim better.
