Cruz's Birth Story

Posted Thursday, January 19, 2012 4:25 PM

 

 

"After we signed the paperwork, I was wheeled to the OR. I started to cry because I was so scared. This is finally happening, I thought."

 

 

 

Not your typical anniversary

 On the night before our first wedding anniversary, my husband, Rudy, and I went out to dinner. I was almost 39 weeks pregnant, and although I was a little tired, I felt fine. When we got to the restaurant, however, I started having lower-back pain and mini spasms. I ignored it, but the spasms continued when we returned home. I lied on the couch and called my doctor. "Unless your water breaks, it isn't time yet," she said. Around 12:30 a.m., Rudy suggested I go to bed. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep," I said, lifting myself off the couch. As soon as I stood up, BAM! My water broke! Rudy quickly got me a change of clothes, and we left for the hospital at 1 a.m. I was excited and nervous at the same time; I'd assumed that my baby wouldn't be born on my exact due date, but I wasn't expecting him to be born on our anniversary!

 The waiting game

At 2 a.m., my contractions became a little stronger, but they weren't as terrible as I'd imagined. The anesthesiologists gave me my epidural, and everything went numb below my ribs. The nurses continued to check on me throughout the morning, but I wasn't progressing enough. At noon, they gave me Pitocin to help things along, but still, at 3:30 p.m., I had only dilated 5 centimeters.

 "It doesn't look like he's going anywhere soon"

"Your baby is comfortable," my doctor told me. "It doesn't look like he's going anywhere soon." She told me that since my water had been broken for more than 17 hours, I'd need antibiotics to prevent infection. My other option was to have a c-section, which I decided on. After we signed the paperwork, I was wheeled to the OR. I started to cry because I was so scared. This is finally happening, I thought. In the OR, I was given morphine and prepared for the surgery. The morphine made me loopy, and I began to feel a lot of heavy pressure. They were performing the surgery.

 Hello, baby Cruz!

Before I knew it, I heard my baby cry. It was the best sound in the world! Cruz was born at 4:58 p.m. and was 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. I looked at Rudy, and he had tears in his eyes. The nurses cleaned Cruz and brought him to me. I was tired and my arms were weak from the anesthesia, so a nurse held my son to me so I could breastfeed him. He was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen! I was so happy and amazed that I was a mom. When I looked at Cruz, all I could think was, How can you love someone so much after such a short amount of time?

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