Okay, ladies. Kendall is sleeping and I hope to have a minute or two to write this.
As you know, I had a scheduled c-section due to my lil bean was breech. I did not have any contractions or losing of the mucus plug before-hand, so I cannot say I experienced any labor. We woke up at 4:30am on Monday the 14th and made sure we had everything we needed in our bags. I placed about 4 pillows in a garbage bag, made sure we had the camera, brushed my teeth, and off we went. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30am to check in. Kendall was moving in my stomach and pushing her feet against me. It was so wierd to think that in just a few hours I would be seeing those feet. We checked in through the ER and a L&D nurse came down to take
us up.
Dh had left all the stuff in the car b/c we weren't sure
if the room I was getting prepped in would be the same room afterwards. The hospital was very quiet, it didn't seem like anyone else was there. We were shown into a birthing suite and found out that would be our room afterwards as well.
I got changed into the gown and they hooked me up to an IV and the non-stress test to check on the baby's heartbeat. A nurse came in with clippers to shave me and then the dr came in to go over what was going to happen. I also had to take an antacid and sallow some sour-tasting stuff for naseaous. (sp?) My
Dh was a little nervous for me, but he did really well not showing it. My parents came in to say hello before the surgery, which was scheduled for 7:30am. The antheiologist came in to introduce himself and ask me a few questions. We were ready to go.
At around 7:00am, they wheeled me across the hall and then I had to walk to the operating table. It was FREEZING in that room. Thankfully they have all these warmed blankets that they drape over you. The rest of it went pretty quickly. When they gave me the spinal, the numbing shot hurt worse to me then the needle for the spinal. About 1 minute after I got the spinal, I started shaking uncontrollably, which I had heard that sometimes happens. It seemed like it took about 7 minutes or so for it to fully take affect, as I kept cracking/wiggling my toes. The dr prepped the incision site and the catheter was placed in. Then my
Dh came n and sat by my head. I never knew when they started cutting and wasn't sure what was going on, but then I heard the suction-thing and figured they must have started. The 2 doctor's doing the surgery were chit-chatting the whole time about Sea World and some convention they all went to the weekend before. It was kinda funny. The anethiologist sat behind me the whole time; he was really nice. My arms were stapped to table, out by my side, but
Dh was able to hold onto my left hand for a little bit. He said my teeth were chattering the whole time; I couldn't stop the shaking.
The dr had mentioned that they were going to say, "Okay dad, we are bringing her out" so that
Dh would know to look, but they forgot! They did tell me I would feel some pressure and the anethesiologist told my
Dh they were pushing on my stomach to help the baby come out.
Dh rose from his stool and next thing I know I hear her crying! It was amazing! I was in shock and was like, "Oh, she's here! That's it?" My
Dh said she was beautiful and took a couple pictures. Then he went around to watch them weigh her and cut the cord. She was crying the whole time and I couldn't see anything, which kinda sucked. Then
Dh came back around and they handed her to him all swaddled and he showed her to me. She was gorgeous and so tiny! I think my first words were "She has your nose!" He brought her in close and I gave her a kiss, and then they both went to the nursery. I though I would be more emotional, but all I could think about was getting off that table.
She was 6 lbs, 10oz and 19.7 inches long, born at 7:51am. Surgery had started at 7:42am.
The sewing-up part seemed to take forever. Even though I was completely numb and couldn't move a muscle, my lower back was starting to hurt from laying flat on my back for so long. I wanted to crack it so bad. I think I was just getting ansty; the worst part about the c-section was not being able to move. I was just lying there and I could barely lift my head and arms were strapped. The anetheisologist even started massaging my shoulders b/c I was complaining so much and trying to crack my neck. Then they were done and they placed me back on my bed and wheeled me back to my room. I think my dad came in first, then the nurse came in. It's all kind of a blur after that. I know they had said only one person could be in the room during my recovery hour, but when they brought my
Dh back with the baby, my mom and his mom also came and they didn't tell anyone to leave.
We had lots of vistors that first day. We stayed in the hospital for 3 and half days. We could have gone home after 2 and half, but Kendall had lost 12% of her birth weight, so they wanted
us to stay another night. Plus they said they wouldn't take the staples out until the 4th day, so we would have to have gone back.
Dh was great in the hospital. He changed all the diapers the first 2 days since I could barely sit up. We did end up having to change rooms b/c someone needed the actual birthing suite, so on Tuesday night we moved to one of the smaller recovery rooms. We had a really nice nurse over there though, so it wasn't too bad.
My own recovery hasn't been bad at all. I was able to get out of the bed and use the restroom on my own while still in the hospital. I have some discomfort some days, especially when turning a certain way or
if I don't get out of bed slowly, but in general it's not too bad. I have taken a few Advil here and there, but I never went and filled my Perkaset (sp?) prescription. It still hurts when I sneeze or cough. I think I had a reaction to the steri-strips and the tape they used in hospital b/c it's red and itchy.
Kendall is now 2 weeks and 3 days old. She now weighs 6 lbs 15 oz, so almost 7 lbs and is 20.5 inches long. Breastfeeding is going pretty good; we had some trouble in the hospital and the first days when we got home. I am using a nipple sheild most of the time, but sometimes she will do without it. But, she gained weight and has plenty of pee/poopy diapers, so she must be getting what she needs. We've gotten the okay from the peditrician to try and let her sleep for longer stretches at night instead of feeding her every 3 hours, so hopefully we are on our way to some sort of schedule. Right now I spend most of my days in my pajamas on the couch, watching TLC, feeding her, changing her, and trying to sleep.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my story. Sorry it was so long! I hope everyone else is doing great and will have their own stories to share soon! I'm off to catch a cat-nap before the next feeding. Bye ladies!
My birth story 
Linear Mode
