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Elliott Jude is here!

3K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  flapjack 
#1 ·
Here is the very abbreviated version, as I only have a moment to post....

After a week of contractions and eight days past my EDD (the exact same as for DD!), real labour started around 10pm December 1st. Within hours, I was off to the hospital...the ctx were only 2 minutes apart, sometimes less, and were far more intense than with DD. I was hoping for a VBAC with no interventions, but when my dr suggested an epidural to slow down the contractions (my uterus was hypercontracting -- I felt like a cow with mad cow disease, as the contractions made me completely lose control of my body), I agreed. Even the epidural didn't take away the pain though, and it was a pain unlike anything I'd experienced with DD...I felt like I was repeatedly being stabbed in the gut. By 6am, I'd spiked a fever, and it kept rising. I was a little out of it at that point, and having to focus and breathe through the contractions even with the epidural. By 9am, the baby's heartrate was starting to decelerate on contractions, which were still incredibly strong and intense. The epidural hadn't slowed them at all, and my uterus was still hypercontracting. Yet, I was only dilated to 5 cm, and had been there for eight hours. With my fever still rising, and now with gushes of blood with each contraction, we made the decision to go ahead with a c-section.

As soon as the dr opened me up, she discovered that I'd developed a "window" in about one-third of my original c-section scar, and that 1/2 of that window had started to rupture. If they hadn't done the surgery at that time, things could have turned out very differently for the baby and I.

Elliott arrived at 11:12am, weighing 8lbs 3oz. He had aspirated a considerable amount of meconium, and his right lung wasn't inflating properly. There was also a problem with the cord -- veins were reversed or something, I can't quite explain it properly -- but all is well. He was taken to the NICU for most of the afternoon, but was brought to me to nurse (which he's such a pro at!).

So, there you have it. I did all the research, prepared myself as best as I could for VBAC, but my body had different ideas. You know, it's funny, but for the last two months of my pregnancy I had this sense that something was wrong with my incision. It was really painful, for one thing, but it was just a sense I had. Still, although I'm disappointed about the VBAC in one sense, I have no regrets. There were a lot of factors at play here, and this was just the way the universe meant it to happen.

Elliott is gorgeous, and we're adapting to being a family of four. Ainsley adores him, which is a relief, although she is pretty upset about having had me away from her for four nights.

I'm so glad to finally have him on this side of the womb!
 
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