Read DH's account here Michael Asa was born 12/21/05 at 11:12 pm by emergency c-section.
I was scheduled for a c-section on wednesday, 12/21, because of breech presentation. On Tuesday night, DH's family went to the zoo for a Christmas event. I started having the same labor pains I have had since Thanksgiving. I didn't think anything of it; I was losing blood tinged mucus, but i had been doing that for a week. We walked around alot, and I had to pause every few minutes to breathe through contractions. They weren't too bad, but they didn't go away, and on the drive home I timed them at 30 seconds long and 2-3 minutes apart.
At home, I couldn't sleep, so I sat on the toilet ( GREAT place to labor!) and also took a couple of showers to help with the contractions. At about 3:30am, I decided the contractions were getting really intense, so I woke up DH and had him time them: 45 seconds long, 1 1/2 minutes apart. I decided to call the hospital.
I told the receptionist my stats. She said she would like to see the contractions last longer and be stronger ( I told her the contrax were waking me up). Then she asked who my Dr. was. I told her, and said I was scheduled for a c-section at 12:30 that afternoon due to breech baby. She said, "Oh, that's different. Come right in."
I arrived at the hospital at 4:30 am. We were admitted pretty quickly. The nurse confirmed my labor, and prepped me for surgery. I was shaved, put pn IV, and given a catheter. Then, she ordered an ultrasound to confirm presentation. That is where we got a surprise: Michael had FINALLY decided to turn head down! The Dr. on call confirmed the presentation. The catheter was taken out, and Iwas allowed to drink water only, and they let me labor naturally.
My doula, Helen, arrived at the hospital at about 6:am for the "moved up" c-section, only to find that we had decided to labor naturally. I am SO glad she was there! My contractions were pretty intense from the beginning and she was able to calm me down through most of them. I managed to breathe through the majority of contractions, and dozed off in between.
Labor was pretty uneventful for the most part. I labored all day and through the night. We used the shower in the room twice for laboring. That was SOO nice! Helen called it the "midwife's epidural." I aimed hot water straight on my back for 10-20 minutes. That cut down the contractions from uncontrollable to tolerable.
At some point the Dr. came in and broke my water. I was 7-8 cm and Helen says the time was 10:00 pm, and DH thinks it was 6:00pm. I really don't remember, but thought it was closer to 11. When she broke my water, the doctor noticed meconium in the fluid. She didn't want to do a c-section, probably because (as a nurse told us later) performing c-section increases the chance of baby aspirating amniotic fluid. She did do an amniotic flush (I think) to clean out the water and replace it with clean fluid. The doctor also inserted an internal fetal monitor and put me on oxygen, and laid me on my side. I was no longer allowed to move freely, but restricted to my bed.
Being on my side during labor was excruciating. My contrax were terrible, and I vomited several times. Since I had nothing to eat, I puked just water and bile. I hate throwing up, but DH said that during my puking sessions, I had HUGE contrax. I think that may just have been my stomach throwing off the sensors.
I was allowed to take the oxygen mask off and lie on my back sometime later. Shortly after I did that, the baby's heartrate plummeted. The room filled with doctors and nurses, who checked my baby's heartrate, re-catheterized me, re-shaved me (even though I was shaved THAT morning!), and put the O2 mask back on. I was moved onto a gurney and rushed out of the room. Dh was told to put on scrubs in case they let him into the OR with me. I told him I loved him as they took me to the OR.
I do not remember the trip to the OR. It was very fast and I was terrified, because I was about to be put under general anesthesia. I prayed that God would keep me and Michael safe, and give DH and I a healthy baby.
I remember the OR vividly. There were big lights like in those fifties hospital dramas. Noone took my glasses, so I could see nurses running around, out of breath, asking for this and that. I spread my arms out on either side of the gurney, as a nurse held the oxygen mask over my face. She put her finger on my throat, and the anesthesiologist gave me the medicine to put me to sleep. Someone removed my glasses and the last thing I remember was seeing through the oxygen mask the room swirling away in a blur.
I woke up 30 minutes to an hour later. I didn't have my glasses and I couldn't remember where I was or what had happened. I think I panicked and tried to take off my O2 mask. The nurse told me I was fine and made me keep my mask on. I kept asking how my baby was, and if he was okay. I don't know if anyone answered me; I was too panicked and groggy to remember.
Finally, Helen came into the room. She told me my baby was fine and he was beautiful and doing great. This relaxed me so much that I stopped panicking and was able to breathe normally. I asked for my glasses. They always seem to help me gather my surroundings. Helen was asked to leave the room after a short time. I was so glad that she was able to come in and tell me about Michael, because she was someone I knew and trusted. She really calmed me down.
My recollection of time is horrible at this point, but at some point, I was allowed to see my baby boy. A NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nurse brought him in to be breastfed because his glucose was borderline. I nursed my brand-new baby, and he latched on like a champ!!! It hurt me to lie on my side, and I was afraid he would fall through the rails of the gurney, but I remember looking at him and just falling in love. Later I realized that I didn't know what color hair, or eyes he had, because he had a cap on, and his eyes were shut. Dh was no help, because when I asked him what time Michael was born, he didn't know. I had the presence of mind to have him look at the card on the bassinet, though.
Michael Asa was born 11/21/05 at 11:12 pm. He was 7 lbs 11 oz, and 19 1/2 in. long. He was taken by c-section because he had compressed his cord, and caused his heartrate to plummet.
I was not allowed to see Michael anymore until 3:30 Thursday afternoon. I was wheeled to the NICU, where I was allowed to breastfeed Michael. It was difficult, because my milk had not come in, and he was so hungry. They put him on IV fluids to sustain him.
On Friday, the doctor called DH and I in to see him. he strongly recommended Michael be put on formula, since he had lost 8 oz in one day, and my milk hadn't come in. I was devasted, but knew that my milk would be coming in soon. I did not want my baby to ever taste formula, or be bottlefed. We refused, to the Dr.'s dismay. The next morning, my milk started to come in, and I was able to exclusively breastfeed Michael.
Today (Christmas) Michael is doing wonderfully. He has been moved from the NICU to the overflow nursery. His IV fluids have been bumped from 13mL/h to 2.5 mL/h. He is on day 4 of a 7 day IV antibiotic. He will be coming home on Wednesday.
It has been really hard to keep up pumping and feeding Michael. Walking down the hall to the NICU has been very painful because of the c-section. After my release from the hospital on Saturday, my mom let DH and me stay at her apt., 5 minute drive from the hospital. We go to the hospital every 3 hours in the day and 4 hours at night to feed Michael. I now have enough BM pumped to give Michael his 4 :am feeding so DH and I can sleep from 2:am to 8:am.
We have learned alot this week. I let the nurse staff feed Michael EBM from a bottle, since the only option our hospital provides is Nasogastric tube. Dh didn't want another tube in our baby's body, and I agreed. So far, he has had no nipple confusion. I also am letting them give him a pacifier, which we will be throwing away as soon as we leave the hospital. It wears Michael out to scream until he is fed, and the nurse staff can't AP him like we will. The time in the hospital has been a traumatic one, but on Wednesday our family will go back to normal-- well, even better: we will have a brand-new member to our small family; one we love already.
DH will be writing his own account; to be added to this thread. Watch for the update.
I was scheduled for a c-section on wednesday, 12/21, because of breech presentation. On Tuesday night, DH's family went to the zoo for a Christmas event. I started having the same labor pains I have had since Thanksgiving. I didn't think anything of it; I was losing blood tinged mucus, but i had been doing that for a week. We walked around alot, and I had to pause every few minutes to breathe through contractions. They weren't too bad, but they didn't go away, and on the drive home I timed them at 30 seconds long and 2-3 minutes apart.
At home, I couldn't sleep, so I sat on the toilet ( GREAT place to labor!) and also took a couple of showers to help with the contractions. At about 3:30am, I decided the contractions were getting really intense, so I woke up DH and had him time them: 45 seconds long, 1 1/2 minutes apart. I decided to call the hospital.
I told the receptionist my stats. She said she would like to see the contractions last longer and be stronger ( I told her the contrax were waking me up). Then she asked who my Dr. was. I told her, and said I was scheduled for a c-section at 12:30 that afternoon due to breech baby. She said, "Oh, that's different. Come right in."
I arrived at the hospital at 4:30 am. We were admitted pretty quickly. The nurse confirmed my labor, and prepped me for surgery. I was shaved, put pn IV, and given a catheter. Then, she ordered an ultrasound to confirm presentation. That is where we got a surprise: Michael had FINALLY decided to turn head down! The Dr. on call confirmed the presentation. The catheter was taken out, and Iwas allowed to drink water only, and they let me labor naturally.
My doula, Helen, arrived at the hospital at about 6:am for the "moved up" c-section, only to find that we had decided to labor naturally. I am SO glad she was there! My contractions were pretty intense from the beginning and she was able to calm me down through most of them. I managed to breathe through the majority of contractions, and dozed off in between.
Labor was pretty uneventful for the most part. I labored all day and through the night. We used the shower in the room twice for laboring. That was SOO nice! Helen called it the "midwife's epidural." I aimed hot water straight on my back for 10-20 minutes. That cut down the contractions from uncontrollable to tolerable.
At some point the Dr. came in and broke my water. I was 7-8 cm and Helen says the time was 10:00 pm, and DH thinks it was 6:00pm. I really don't remember, but thought it was closer to 11. When she broke my water, the doctor noticed meconium in the fluid. She didn't want to do a c-section, probably because (as a nurse told us later) performing c-section increases the chance of baby aspirating amniotic fluid. She did do an amniotic flush (I think) to clean out the water and replace it with clean fluid. The doctor also inserted an internal fetal monitor and put me on oxygen, and laid me on my side. I was no longer allowed to move freely, but restricted to my bed.
Being on my side during labor was excruciating. My contrax were terrible, and I vomited several times. Since I had nothing to eat, I puked just water and bile. I hate throwing up, but DH said that during my puking sessions, I had HUGE contrax. I think that may just have been my stomach throwing off the sensors.
I was allowed to take the oxygen mask off and lie on my back sometime later. Shortly after I did that, the baby's heartrate plummeted. The room filled with doctors and nurses, who checked my baby's heartrate, re-catheterized me, re-shaved me (even though I was shaved THAT morning!), and put the O2 mask back on. I was moved onto a gurney and rushed out of the room. Dh was told to put on scrubs in case they let him into the OR with me. I told him I loved him as they took me to the OR.
I do not remember the trip to the OR. It was very fast and I was terrified, because I was about to be put under general anesthesia. I prayed that God would keep me and Michael safe, and give DH and I a healthy baby.
I remember the OR vividly. There were big lights like in those fifties hospital dramas. Noone took my glasses, so I could see nurses running around, out of breath, asking for this and that. I spread my arms out on either side of the gurney, as a nurse held the oxygen mask over my face. She put her finger on my throat, and the anesthesiologist gave me the medicine to put me to sleep. Someone removed my glasses and the last thing I remember was seeing through the oxygen mask the room swirling away in a blur.
I woke up 30 minutes to an hour later. I didn't have my glasses and I couldn't remember where I was or what had happened. I think I panicked and tried to take off my O2 mask. The nurse told me I was fine and made me keep my mask on. I kept asking how my baby was, and if he was okay. I don't know if anyone answered me; I was too panicked and groggy to remember.
Finally, Helen came into the room. She told me my baby was fine and he was beautiful and doing great. This relaxed me so much that I stopped panicking and was able to breathe normally. I asked for my glasses. They always seem to help me gather my surroundings. Helen was asked to leave the room after a short time. I was so glad that she was able to come in and tell me about Michael, because she was someone I knew and trusted. She really calmed me down.
My recollection of time is horrible at this point, but at some point, I was allowed to see my baby boy. A NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nurse brought him in to be breastfed because his glucose was borderline. I nursed my brand-new baby, and he latched on like a champ!!! It hurt me to lie on my side, and I was afraid he would fall through the rails of the gurney, but I remember looking at him and just falling in love. Later I realized that I didn't know what color hair, or eyes he had, because he had a cap on, and his eyes were shut. Dh was no help, because when I asked him what time Michael was born, he didn't know. I had the presence of mind to have him look at the card on the bassinet, though.
Michael Asa was born 11/21/05 at 11:12 pm. He was 7 lbs 11 oz, and 19 1/2 in. long. He was taken by c-section because he had compressed his cord, and caused his heartrate to plummet.
I was not allowed to see Michael anymore until 3:30 Thursday afternoon. I was wheeled to the NICU, where I was allowed to breastfeed Michael. It was difficult, because my milk had not come in, and he was so hungry. They put him on IV fluids to sustain him.
On Friday, the doctor called DH and I in to see him. he strongly recommended Michael be put on formula, since he had lost 8 oz in one day, and my milk hadn't come in. I was devasted, but knew that my milk would be coming in soon. I did not want my baby to ever taste formula, or be bottlefed. We refused, to the Dr.'s dismay. The next morning, my milk started to come in, and I was able to exclusively breastfeed Michael.
Today (Christmas) Michael is doing wonderfully. He has been moved from the NICU to the overflow nursery. His IV fluids have been bumped from 13mL/h to 2.5 mL/h. He is on day 4 of a 7 day IV antibiotic. He will be coming home on Wednesday.
It has been really hard to keep up pumping and feeding Michael. Walking down the hall to the NICU has been very painful because of the c-section. After my release from the hospital on Saturday, my mom let DH and me stay at her apt., 5 minute drive from the hospital. We go to the hospital every 3 hours in the day and 4 hours at night to feed Michael. I now have enough BM pumped to give Michael his 4 :am feeding so DH and I can sleep from 2:am to 8:am.
We have learned alot this week. I let the nurse staff feed Michael EBM from a bottle, since the only option our hospital provides is Nasogastric tube. Dh didn't want another tube in our baby's body, and I agreed. So far, he has had no nipple confusion. I also am letting them give him a pacifier, which we will be throwing away as soon as we leave the hospital. It wears Michael out to scream until he is fed, and the nurse staff can't AP him like we will. The time in the hospital has been a traumatic one, but on Wednesday our family will go back to normal-- well, even better: we will have a brand-new member to our small family; one we love already.
DH will be writing his own account; to be added to this thread. Watch for the update
.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! 
Just a couple more days until you can all be home together. Enjoy your new little boy!
