This is a long one and may be a bit TMI for some of you, so read at your own risk!!
As I've said before, I was convinced that the baby would come late. As early as 38 weeks I was getting pretty tired of carrying around a gigantic belly, and every day things just got a little more difficult.
My clothes didn't fit, my back constantly hurt, and I couldn't sleep. Then there was also the anxiety of just not knowing when she would arrive.
At every doctor appointment, I got hooked up to a machine for about 20 minutes and listen to the baby's heartbeat. Then they would check my cervix to see if I was dilated. Every time I was told that things were thinning out, but I wasn't dilated at all.
On the bright side, her heartbeat was perfect and she appeared to be head down (this is important to note). Dr. McDonald and Dr. Hardesty got in there about three different times, and reported that she was head down. One time, Dr. McDonald even said she felt baby's head through my cervix.
My appointment with Dr. Reuben was scheduled for week 40, so she never had a chance to weigh in on the location of baby's head.
Anyway, the point is I was getting a bit tired, and was certainly ready for baby to emerge.
On Sunday, May 11, I woke to find a bit of spotting. I had read that this wasn't a huge deal, and the instructions I received from the doctor weeks ago stressed that I should not call the hospital just for the "bloody show." But the problem was I didn't know for SURE it was the bloody show or what it was at all! And since it was Sunday, I couldn't really call my doctor's office and speak to a nurse. It was either call the hospital and page the doctor on call or just wait. I was also feeling a tad bit of cramps, but nothing major and certainly nothing that could be timed.
I decided to just go ahead and call.
Dr. McDonald was on call and she wasn't too concerned about the spotting, or the cramps, but wanted me to keep an eye on things. We went about our Sunday and had a lovely mother's day lunch with my parents. There was a tad more spotting through the day, but nothing major.
That night, things got a little more difficult. In hindsight, I suppose I was starting to have contractions. My stomach started feeling really weird and crampy, but again nothing could be timed and I still had no problem talking or walking. I also started to get a crazy headache, and sleeping was just not happening. It didn't feel like an emergency, but it didn't feel great.
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| Jeff's scrubs selfie |
I would say I got about two hours of sleep that night, and decided to work from home. Jeff wanted me to work from home before the night even began, but I just felt sort of guilty. The fact that I couldn't sleep solidified the notion that staying home was a good idea. AND, we had a guy coming to take a look at our air conditioner. My dad had agreed to meet him because I had planned on going to work, but since I was staying home I didn't have to burden him with that task. So it all sort of worked out. And again, in hindsight, I'm so glad I decided to stay home.
I had a little more spotting on Monday, and my headache wouldn't go away. There were still some cramps, but still nothing that could be timed or monitored and they really didn't hurt that badly. I called my doctor's office anyway, and they asked if I wanted to come in. Of course I wanted to come in! Even if I didn't think the baby was on the way, I wanted to be sure.
My appointment was scheduled for 1:45.
I was able to get some work done in the morning, but was happy to have a light load. The AC guy was scheduled for 11, but I was getting nervous he wouldn't arrive in time for me to make it to the doctor. I asked my dad to be available just in case I needed him to come by and take over.
The AC guy arrived at 11:30, and I showed him how to get on the roof. There was a ton of junk on the stairs from our upstairs neighbor and I had to maneuver around it as I hopped up the stairs to make sure the roof was unlocked. The AC guy was not a fan of me doing this, but I didn't see the problem. He went to the roof, I went to the bathroom. And oopsies, my water broke.
That's right, my water broke. It happened while I was going to the bathroom, but I had to stand up!
I ran into my other bathroom (I had been in the master), and was surprised to discover that the water kept on flowing. In the movies, there is a huge gush of water and that's that. Not so much for me. Instead, it was a steady dribble that ran down my leg without an end in sight.
I called Jeff immediately, and he didn't answer. So I texted him something like "MY WATER BROKE." Then I called my dad to tell him my water broke and ask him to come deal with the AC guy. Next up I called the hospital.
Honestly, it may not have happened quite in that order. I was a bit panicked. Dr. Rueben was on call (I had a feeling it was her. Though in the end she was great, she was the doctor I saw the very least during my visits) and the nurse put me on hold to ask what I should do. As I was on hold. I texted Jeff to come home and get me. The nurse got back on the line and told me to come to the hospital immediately. I asked if I could wait a little bit for my husband to come get me, and she told me to just get there as fast as I could.
After I straightened out that I needed to get to the hospital, and figured out that both parents were on the way and would drive us to the hospital in my car, I felt slightly more calm. At some point, the AC guy emerged from the roof to tell me that we needed more freon. I apologetically told him that my water broke.
Of course he was a bit flustered and had no idea what to do. I told him my husband was on the way as were my parents, so if he wanted to just continue fixing the AC he could go right ahead. I did all this in the bathroom, because I was still dripping, while he stood about 10 feet away in my doorway. The bathroom door was open, I just wanted to remain on tile instead of wood. He was very nice and asked if there was anything he could do. I told him I was fine everyone was on the way. So he went upstairs and continued fixing the AC.
I stood in the bathroom and waited. Jeff texted me updates on his whereabouts.
The AC guy actually finished up when Jeff was a few blocks away, which meant I had to engage him in a little small talk from the bathroom as he waited. I assured him my husband was close and would be able to grab the checkbook and he could be on his way. For some reason I continued to apologize profusely as if I had any control over what was going on. I did tell him that at least he had a good story. He promised me he would never tell anyone, but I let him know he should tell people because it was sort of hilarious.
Jeff arrived, paid the AC guy and set things in motion. At that moment I finally allowed myself to freak out slightly as Jeff grabbed our bag and told me to change so we could get going. We grabbed a ton of cruddy towels for me to sit on to make sure that the leaking problem didn't get in the car. My parents arrived soon after, which meant my mom could drive us to the hospital and we could avoid paying $30 a day or whatever to park.
On the way to the hospital, I started to feel actual contractions. I didn't feel any "tightening" but the was certainly pain that came in waves. It mainly started in my back and then I had strong cramps for a short period. I also realized I hadn't eaten much today, and was lucky enough (sort of) to find a granola bar in my purse. I downed it quickly and held on tight as the contractions came about every 10 minutes or so, if that.
When we arrived at the hospital, Jeff and I went into triage, and I apologized again for dripping on the floor. Keep in mind this was about 45 minutes to an hour after the original breakage, and I was still dripping. Of course the nurse saw this all the time and it was no biggie.
We were taken to a room where nurses came in and poked around and tested the water for meconium (baby poop), which was present. This isn't the best thing because it can get in the baby's lungs, and meant we should probably get going with this whole labor thing soon. But, before we began, an ultrasound technician was sent in to make sure that baby was head down. I was pretty confident this wasn't an issue, since the docs had confirmed it so many times.
She turned on the machine and after about 30 seconds said: "She's butt down, you're having a c-section." Um, OK. Just like that. It seemed very finite and sudden, but there was nothing I could really do. She then asked me the last time I ate. Remember that granola bar in the car? Well that meant I had to wait 6 hours before we could do anything.
My contractions were getting stronger, and I was just getting super uncomfortable. For some reason I didn't get offered anything for the contractions, but I can't really remember. Due to the meconium, and perhaps the fact that my doctor had something to do that night, there was talk of getting me into surgery sooner.
I was wheeled into another random room which I assume was the OR prep area. On the way, I noticed a girl coming through some double doors and I swear I thought "why is there a teenager back here?" Then I realized it was Doctor Rueben. She smiled and joked that the baby was already giving me a hard time by doing a flip. As I mentioned in previous posts, I haven't seen Dr. Rueben that many times (two, maybe three) so that's part of why I didn't recognize her at first. That and the fact that she is most likely younger than I am.
In the OR prep room, I met a lovely nurse named Soni (pronounced Sunny) who was very nice despite her Michigan State lanyard that held her ID tag. I can't really remember anyone else's name besides hers. There was an anesthesiologist nurse who also looked about 12, who told me that we wouldn't be waiting the 6 hours, but since I had eaten there was a risk of me choking. But since I wouldn't be sleeping (that's right, wide awake during a surgery to cut open my stomach), it should be OK. They explained that Jeff would stay behind while I got a huge needle stuck into my back that would numb everything from the neck down. And, I had to sit still for about 5 minutes even if I'm having a contraction. Lots of information in a very short time.
I'll spare the details of the actual surgery, because I don't really know what went on behind the big sheet and it's scary to think about it. Before we started, Dr. Rueben leaned over and told me that I was only a centimeter dilated. That meant that if I hadn't needed to head to surgery, then I was probably going to get some petocin and would be pushing for a very long time. On the bright side, I never had to push at all, and if I had tried there was a good chance I would've needed a c-section anyway.
After the surgery, I learned that right when we started Aviva's heart rate dropped dramatically and they had to pull her out as quickly as possible. I have no idea how long this procedure normally takes, but I was informed that it happened extra fast. Thankfully she came out perfectly healthy and that's all that really matters. As soon as they pulled her out - and when they did I recall someone telling me it was going to feel like an elephant had been sitting on my chest or something like that - they whisked her away to make sure that her lungs were clean. I saw her from behind as she was escorted away and caught a glimpse of a full head of hair.
Dr. Rueben told me that now that now she was going to take her time "sewing me back together." As they wiggled me around and poked and prodded me, they brought Aviva over so I could see her. And, Jeff got to hold her for a while and so we looked at her while they finished up the surgery.
After it was all over, Jeff and I got to see our little baby girl for the first time, and all that other stuff just didn't matter. Attached you'll see a couple of pictures from right when she came into this world.
