goodgollie: Hudson's Birth Story
Posted
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 3:02 PM
"I was more than ready for a c-section, as was Jim -- we just wanted the little guy out!"
The Beginning
Sunday evening at 9 p.m., I began having some tightening around my belly button. I also was having a little bit of leakage, but not so much that I felt like it was my bag of water. Besides, I was only 36 weeks along and my IUGR baby had some growing to do before our scheduled induction the following week. We went to bed around 11pm. At 2:15 a.m. my water broke! I couldn't believe it and neither could Jim until he made physical contact with my side of the bed. We called the doctor who sent us straight to the hospital.
The Hospital
We bypassed triage this time and went straight to labor and delivery. I was definitely holding it together and not nervous at all since I knew this was going to be it! They hooked up the monitors to watch the baby's heartbeat and watch my contractions. I'd only had a few contractions thus far and they were far from horrible. The nurse checked my cervix and felt that I was 2 cm dilated, leading me to believe I had a ways to go. However, Hudson had other ideas. He wanted out. He'd be taking a great heartbeat, and then suddenly it would drop and disappear altogether, leaving the nurses scrambling to get me in a different position and adjusting the monitors. Then after a tense minute his heartbeat would pick back up and he'd be fine. Hudson thought it would be fun to do this to us a few more times, until the doctor arrived and announced that there was no way the baby would make it through a long labor.
Going for the C-Section
I was more than ready for a c-section, as was Jim -- we just wanted the little guy out! So before I knew it they were wheeling me down to surgery, leaving Jim to 'scrub up' but also telling me in the meantime that there was a possibility I'd be going under general anesthesia for the c-section. As soon as they got me to surgery, they hooked the monitors back up and Hudson's heartbeat was loud and clear. I quickly got something similar to an epidural; they laid me down, strapped me in and put up the curtain. Jim is walking in at this point and says that just as he came through the surgery doors they were making the first incision. I didn't feel much except for some tugging and couldn't believe I was about to meet my baby boy. Jim was great, holding my hand and offering encouragement.
He's Here!
Before I knew it, at 4:47 a.m. we hear the most beautiful sound in the whole world...Hudson's first cry. It was a strong and lusty one, that's for sure. Jim got to see him and hold him while they stitched me up, but the neonatal nurses were assessing him and wanted to get him to the neonatal intermediate unit for monitoring. He weighed in at only 3 lbs. 10 oz. and 16.5 inches long, but as you can see is healthy-looking for such a tiny guy. He scored a 9/9 on his Apgar's, too!
Safe and Sound
Hudson ended up staying a total of 12 days in the intermediate neonatal until he was eating well, was able to maintain his body temperature and weighed 4 pounds. Now he's home and absolutely thriving!
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