Bobbisworld: Brette's Birth Story

Posted Thursday, May 22, 2008 12:00 PM

"During the c-section, I really didn't feel anything, not even pressure...but I was sore all over for awhile."

 
Brette's special delivery 

Our baby girl Brette arrived on Cinco de Mayo by a planned c-section! When we found out at our 37 week appointment that our baby was breech, I wasn't a candidate for a version because of her estimated larger size and somewhat low amniotic fluid, so we planned a c-section for four days before my due date. I hoped she'd turn, and we did an ultrasound five days before and the day of the c-section, but to no avail. I also tried the various positions to get to her turn.

The hospital 

I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. after not much sleep the night before. They set me up to be monitored and I was having some contractions. Baby's heart rate was good. They tried three times in three different places to put in my IV -- it hurt like Hell. Then, they put in the catheter which was awful. I couldn't believe how much it hurt; I cried out. I found out later that even though they told me they can't do the catheter in the OR after the spinal, this isn't really true and I should have stuck to my guns and requested this. We then sat around for about an hour as the OB came to walk us through the c-section procedure. I was really uncomfortable at this time with the catheter and was already asking when it would be coming out.

Prepping for surgery 

They wheeled me in for my spinal at about 9 a.m. That was a piece of cake, with just a little pinch and some pressure, and then I started going numb. They laid me down and got me all covered with antiseptic and set up the paper curtain so I couldn't see anything happening. The weird thing was that they had the table at a tilt so I was at a strange angle which felt weird. Then they brought in DH to sit by my head in his scrubs. He was great; he kept showing me pictures of our dog and other things on our camera to keep my mind off the surgery. The anesthesiologist then tested my spinal by putting a cold wipe up where I could feel it by my breast, and then down further where I wasn't supposed to have feeling. I was warm, heavy, and numb from my ribs down. I didn't have any problems feeling like I couldn't get a breath or anything, which they had warned me might happen.

The delivery 

During the c-section I really didn't feel anything, not even pressure. During the procedure my blood pressure was really low -- I could see the machine and at one point it was 60-something over 30-something. I asked if this was normal and they said it was within normal range, but low!

It only took about 10-15 minutes to get Brette out. She came out butt-first and she screamed for another 10 minutes! They struggled a bit to get her out because she was a little big. DH went with her to get weighed and cleaned off. She weighed 8 lbs. and 3 oz. and was 19.75 inches. It took another 45 minutes or so to sew me and clean me up. The whole thing wasn't uncomfortable, just weird; and I was really groggy. I kept closing my eyes but then forcing myself to stay awake. They then wheeled me into recovery for the next few hours. In recovery, I threw up twice and ended up needing anti-nausea meds in my IV. They said this was from my low blood pressure coming back up to normal range so quickly after the spinal. I was also started on Percoset and Motrin -- both of which I threw up. I ended up being sick, groggy, and in pain for most of the day. I held Brette a few times and tried nursing her in recovery and later in the day, but I really didn't want any other visitors. Much of the first day is a blur. Finally, they put Zofran in my IV at about 7 p.m. as I kept throwing up, and my nausea finally went away enough for me to eat two pieces of toast and keep down my pain pain meds.

A slow recovery 

The first night in the hospital we only slept about four hours, but Brette seemed to be nursing well so I was okay with that. The next morning, they took out the catheter and my IV and got me out of bed to walk around on my own a little. I showered and was up and down all day! I even ate three full meals.

Going to the bathroom was interesting, and they measured all my urine and the amount of fluids I took in for the first few days. I still had some bleeding after a week postpartum, but it was like a light-to-medium period. The hardest thing about recovery was that I was sore all over for awhile, and my incision area hurt if I went too long without taking the meds. Brette is doing really well now. She's really cute and not very fussy, and she had a beautiful head -- because it wasn't all squished! (That's what the nurses kept saying, anyway. Who knows if that's true). If anyone has c-section questions, feel free to ask me!

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Have a great birth story of your own? Email it to kstanford@theknot.com!