Jeff & I were on pins and needles awaiting Cooper’s arrival. We had no experience with this waiting thing, as we’d been induced at 38 weeks with Jackson. As Cooper’s due date got closer & closer, we both got more & more restless. Monday, April 14 I dealt with a major temper tantrum from Jackson, in which I had to physically pick him up – kicking and screaming – and drag him to the car. That evening I started having mild cramps, but I’d been having those for weeks. I went to bed and was awaken at 11:30 with a contraction. I was able to fall back asleep, but then was awoken every hour after that. Finally at 2:30 am (April 15) I got up and went to start timing them. They were so all over the place – 10 minutes apart, 8 minutes apart, 12 minutes apart, etc. I showered and they didn’t let up. Around 5:00 am I called my doctor to get her advice. Since I was attempting a VBAC she felt more comfortable if I came in to get monitored. We called my mom to come over and be there for Jackson, and then we were off! I got into a room and got settled about 6:30 am. A nurse was hooking up the monitor and immediately another nurse ran into the room asking if we needed help. Both nurses looked very concerned and then mentioned to us that the baby’s heartrate had dropped a lot, twice. They went to call my doctor and I mentally prepared myself for another c-section. After a bit my nurse came back with a shot to stop the labor. Dr. Flanagan wanted my body to take a break and get some fluids, and see how the baby responded after that. I was given strict orders though that if the heart rate dipped again, they’d take the baby right then. We relaxed for awhile and I got 2 bags of IV fluids. My mom and sister came to visit after taking Jackson to school. Jeff ate a yucky, greasy breakfast right in front of me! Time seemed to move quickly and my labor picked back up and the baby’s heartrate stayed good. One funny tidbit from that day – we had decided to donate the baby’s cord blood. To do that, you have to fill out a questionnaire with the craziest things on it, like “Is there a chance that the baby’s father is also the uncle”? One of the questions asked about travel out of the country, and Jeff wrote down that we were in Bermuda in July 2007. The woman came back to go over our answers, and got to that part and was counting back in her head. She said “So, 9 months ago” We both smiled and she figured it out! Around 2:30 I got my epidural, which was pure hell. It was worse than any labor pain. The anesthesiologist had to try 4 times to get a good insertion, and all the while I had a full bladder and the nurse was pushing the heart monitor onto my belly. It was miserable. The epidural was horrible all day, I felt so much pain. They gave me a bolster, where I’d push a button to add more medication but by the end even that didn’t work. I dialted slowly, but without any help and the nurses let me just go to sleep that night and hope the baby would drop lower. We sent our family home and tried to rest ourselves. I was in so much pain – every 30 minutes the nurse would come and change my position.
Day 2
Around 6 am I was ready to push and started trying. By that point my epidural was pointless and I was screaming. Dr. Tahtawi came in to watch me push and was gentle but honest when she told me that she didn’t think he was coming that way. She said she’d be glad to help with vacuum or forceps, but that he wasn’t even dropping below my pelvic bone. Around 7am I had such intense pain, especially under my previous c-section incision that I just gave up. They prepped me for surgery while Jeff went to call some family. He met me in there for the start of the surgery. This one was more uncomfortable and longer than my first one. He was born at 7:42 am, and weighed 6.12 and was 19 inches long. When Dr. Tahtawi pulled him out, she said “It’s a boy”! I waited and waited for his cry, but didn’t get one. I kept asking “what’s wrong, why isn’t he crying”, and no one would answer. Jeff stayed by my head, but from his angle could see everything, including the nurses resuscitating him with a bag of oxygen. After about 45 seconds he cried, and was joined by both Jeff & I. The anesthesiologist asked us his name and Jeff looked at me and said “We can call him Cooper”. They took Cooper to the nursery and Jeff went with them while I went to recovery. Our parents and my sister were in the waiting room, so Jeff went to tell them. Dr. Gelber came to see me around 10 am and explained that Cooper was having some apnea, which was normal for babies and that they were watching him for a few hours. We continued to get updates from the nurse practitioner neonatologist, and felt pretty comfortable that he’d join us in the room soon. During my c-section I received 2 doses of Fentanyl, and the doctors seemed to think that may have triggered his apnea. I was able to get in a wheelchair and go down to see him twice, and Jeff took my family and his down there. It wasn’t a sight I was ready for – seeing him with all the wires and monitors beeping. He was absolutely beautiful, though. I started pumping some milk right away, since I didn’t want him to have anything else. We went to our room for the night, and the doctors reassured us that he would most likely be able to join us first thing in the morning. We figured we’d better rest up while we could.
No comments:
Post a Comment