C-Section Awareness Month: My Scheduled C-Section Story (Mr. D);
By now you have heard that April is C-Section Awareness month. This is Mr. D’s story; Miss Z was posted earlier. With my first born, I never planned to have a c-section. With my second child the doctor was all for the VBAC, saying that just because we had a hard time the first time, didn’t mean that we couldn’t do it this time
With Mr. D things were a little more complicated from the beginning. Between 4-5 months pregnant, I was diagnosed with Placenta Previa and put on semi bed rest and light lifting. At just over 7 months pregnant I came down with a really bad abscessed tooth and I ended up in the hospital.
While I was in the ER for my tooth I learned from the ER nurse who was on the phone with my doctor’s office that I had just lost my ObGyn- she had randomly quit. The doctor’s office was taken under the wing of the head of obstetrics at the hospital and the doctors that worked for him would be rotating throughout. By the time I went back in for my next appt I was told they would be bringing in another permanent doctor but she had to get all her licensing to work out of the hospital. They weren’t sure if she would be able to be there as my doctor. But due to my circumstances I would be seen by the head of OB for the at least the foreseeable future.
For the rest of my 3rd trimester I was in a constant state of worry about who would be my doctor and if they would let me try a vbac or force the issue of a scheduled c-section. The head of OB asked me to schedule the C-section with the hospital for 2 weeks prior to my due date of 1/25. (Obviously that didn’t work out) Plus I was still on semi bed rest, having frequent ultrasounds, and dealing with a 2 year old who was increasingly becoming more frustrated with her new brother even though he wasn’t here yet.
At the beginning of my 9th month I received a phone call from the new doc herself asking me if I could come in but she wanted a current ultrasound first. Monday morning I went for my ultrasound. Tuesday morning I saw my new doctor. She checked me over and then told me her opinion was to go ahead with the c-section as planned except for the following week. Apparently my little guy was breech and at this stage of the pregnancy, she didn’t see him turning around. Also she had went back and looked at the notes from the time my daughter was born and said with her being “caught” on my hips it was possible that it would happen again and we would just be in an another emergency situation again. So at 9 months pregnant, scheduled to have major surgery in about a week, I put my life and the life of my unborn son in the hands of a doctor I had met once.
The rest of the time leading up to surgery day was uneventful. Matt was working afternoon/nights so I spent as much time with Miss Z as possible. The day before surgery, I finished packing my daughter off to grandma’s house and re-packed bags for myself and the baby.
The morning of my c-section was calm. We got to the hospital at 5am. My mom came about 7am, which is when we were actually scheduled for surgery. Everything was so different this time. It wasn’t rushed; there was laughing and joking going on. I was taken into my room so I could change and leave my stuff there. They came and got me about 6 am and we went to the OR by wheelchair instead of bed. Matt went off to the dad changing room and I went in to the OR to see a man about a needle 🙂
I got my Epidural and was once again laid out spread eagle. At about 5 minutes to 7 the Doc asked if I could feel something, which I couldn’t so she was like “let’s get this party started” I remember someone saying time of first incision which I still remember as 7am but I might have been delirious due to what happened next. What felt like 10 minutes later, Matt was finally brought in, I know it was longer than that but it felt quick to me. By 8am he was there because I remember looking at the clock thinking this was taking too long. Then the crap hit the fan.
I don’t remember everything but I do remember the doctor asking for help, a lot of pushing, pulling her yelling for extra hands, paging the ER and telling them to get someone else in there NOW. Remember her asking for rib spreaders, suction, lots of suction, and a lot of other tools. I was lying there looking at this curtain of blue or matt’s eyes which were filling with panic. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone was sitting on my lungs and I couldn’t take a breath. I remember being woke up by the anesthesiologist and matt several times but I was just so tired and they kept yanking my body back and forth. It felt like someone was shoving my ribs open. Matt will tell you that he thought I stopped breathing or that he was going to lose me.
Suddenly there was a cheer and someone said “he’s here! Time of birth 9am” I was too tired to do more than smile. I just wanted to see him and to hear him cry. Matt had made a point to ask the doctor to let me see him first. After he was wrapped in a blanket the nurse brought him over to me and laid him on my chest for a moment, I was able to kiss him on the forehead as the tears started to fall. Matt told me later that the anesthesiologist pushed the plunger on his drugs as soon as he saw the tears. I remember telling him I didn’t want the same drugs as last time cause they sucked. Whatever they used this time was awesome.
I woke up 2 hours later in the recovery room with matt sitting beside me. He asked me how I was feeling and if I was ready to see our son again. This time was so different. The doctor actually came in the recovery room to check on me and helped take me to my room where my mom was waiting. I was wheeled into the spot for the bed and plugged in, there was no moving me from bed to bed and they adjusted the bed up so I was slightly raised up but still comfy. Plus I was blissfully numb and ready to meet my little guy again.
Due to the amount of time I was open for and the amount of blood loss I suffered, they gave me iron supplements and kept checking me for clotting. They also really stressed the breathing exercises and kept me on oxygen on and off for a while. Apparently after the Dr cut me open, Mr. D decided he wasn’t ready and rolled over and tucked him self in my rib cage head first and basically held on for dear life. He was so high in there that he was pressing on my diaphragm and causing my lungs to not expand. The Dr.’s had to stand on a step stool and push him down from the top then used rib spreaders to open me up more so my Dr could reach inside and pull him out. they were seconds away from yanking Matt out of the room and calling for a vertical c-section when they finally got a hold of him.
Needless to say it was quite an ordeal all the way around. My mom was in the waiting room the whole time wondering what was taking so long. When Matt finally was able to come out and tell her that both momma and baby were good, they started calling/texting everyone.
My mother in law and father in law had Miss Z and brought her up there in the early evening so we could all visit. As much as I personally was happy to see her, I almost wish they had not brought her up because she was so upset that she couldn’t stay with mommy. But she was excited to meet her new brother.
This time around I knew what to expect for recovery and after 2 and 1/2 days in the hospital I was ready for home and ready to spend time with both of my babies.
This was them the first day home…
This was them for their first photo shoot…
and finally this is them this year…
Leave a Reply