Little Blessing
|
Nov 11, 2009
She's here!! And she's a month old!
So here it is... Anna's birth story! This is long but I know some people like details. For those who don’t, scroll to the bottom for the short version.
On October 7 I worked, came home, had dinner and went grocery shopping with Chad with no clue that anything was different, planned to go to work the next day, and even the following week! We did look at yoga balls and decided to buy one (for $4!) to aide in labor, as we had heard (and I tried one at work, which helped with general pregnancy aches).
At about 4 am the morning of October 8 I woke up with strong contractions. I did not wake up Chad, deciding to wait and time them on my own and let him rest while he could. Several times contractions woke me up and got me out of bed. Several times I had to leave our bedroom to deal with intense contractions that were sometimes less than 10 minutes apart. That yoga ball ended up being a huge blessing! It really did help take some of the edge off. When Chad woke up in the morning I let him know that although nothing was certain he may want to think about staying home from work. In the end we decided that because my contractions had slowed again to about 20 minutes apart he would go to work (with his phone by his side). It ended up being a good thing he did because the contractions continued like that through all of Friday and Saturday.
At about 4 am the morning of October 8 I woke up with strong contractions. I did not wake up Chad, deciding to wait and time them on my own and let him rest while he could. Several times contractions woke me up and got me out of bed. Several times I had to leave our bedroom to deal with intense contractions that were sometimes less than 10 minutes apart. That yoga ball ended up being a huge blessing! It really did help take some of the edge off. When Chad woke up in the morning I let him know that although nothing was certain he may want to think about staying home from work. In the end we decided that because my contractions had slowed again to about 20 minutes apart he would go to work (with his phone by his side). It ended up being a good thing he did because the contractions continued like that through all of Friday and Saturday.
After 2 full days of intense contractions that kept coming (though not staying consistent or close enough together), on Sunday Chad went to church and after church we decided to call the doctor again (I had called Friday and was told to wait till they were 5 minutes apart) and see what we could do. He said that it was hard to tell but I could come in for a labor check.
Chad and I arrived at the hospital just before 3 and got checked in. They checked me and said I was 3 cm then had me walk the hallway. As I walked the contractions started coming 5 minutes apart and when I got back to the room they stayed close together! When the resident checked me again he told me that if I had progressed they would admit me. I was 4 cm so I was admitted at 7pm.
When we got to the labor and delivery room my contractions continued to intensify more and come closer together. Dr. Hunter (my ob/gyn happened to be the doctor on call that day) finally came to see me. He just popped in and said he would be back around 8 to check me and they would think about breaking my water to get things moving. Chad decided to run to get a sandwich for dinner real quick, figuring we’d be there for awhile. While he was gone Dr. Hunter came and checked me. I had progressed to 4 and a half cm but he said that the baby’s head was “floating” which means that he could not feel it in the birth canal, she had not descended. He said if this was my fifth child he would not think anything of it but he said first babies almost always drop into the birth canal in the last 2 weeks before delivery and she hadn’t most likely because there was no room. He also said that he would not break my water because with the baby’s head so high up the cord could come down first and cut off the baby’s blood and oxygen supply and cause and emergency c section. He said that this most likely meant that we would need to do a c-section but that he would come back to check in another hour.
This was shocking news to me! I called Chad, told him the baby was fine but that I would talk to him when he got back (he was in the parking garage) and it looked like we would be having the baby that night. At about 9:30 Dr. Hunter came back and I was at 6 cm but the baby’s head still had not descended. He sort of gave us a choice that was not really a choice. We could try labor but most likely we would end up having a c section anyway and if my water broke we would still run the risk of a cord prolapse. We decided on a c section at 9:45pm. I asked when he thought we might be going (thinking we were looking at an hour or hour and a half) and he said “Well, I don’t have much control over that but I think 10:00 or 10:15” Again, I was taken by surprise! They immediately started getting us ready to go. Because there was the chance we could be going I had already had the necessary blood work and the anesthesiologist had already come and talked to me about a spinal, when Dr. Hunter left a nurse came in with scrubs for Chad and he started dressing. Chad’s parents came in with just enough time to say hi (as my parents had earlier) and then leave right before I was wheeled out the door at 10:00.
At 10:35, Anna Bethany Dupuis made her entrance, screaming her lungs off. She was shown to me quickly then examined by the neo natal team (which is routine for c section babies) and then wrapped up and given to Chad (who was sitting by my head) for a few minutes before they took her (and Chad) off to the nursery for more extensive examination. The next few hours were a blur. I was incredibly shaky and emotional and Chad was torn, going back and forth between me and Anna. At some point they brought Anna to me to nurse before going to my post partum room. We finally got to the room at 2 am and Anna went to the post partum nursery. We stayed in the hospital until Friday (another shock, I had no idea it was that long, but I was glad for the time).
Recovery was tough. I think I knew that but I had not idea how. Getting up was really hard the first time the following afternoon and took a long time. It was also really hard to even walk to the bathroom for a few days. Walking for more than a few feet was really hard and took really slow steps for about a week. Even after that walking was not easy for about another week after that, it took probably 2 and a half weeks to really be feeling better as far as the abdominal pain. The incision actually didn’t hurt, it was all the trauma to my lower abdomen. After about a week I did end up with an infection (I don’t completely understand why but it was internal and basically burst), so since then (October 19) every day, except days I go to the doctor a nurse comes to the house and changes the packing and dressing. This has prolonged my recovery time and lengthened my limitations but the end is in sight. It is looking much better and the nurses tell me it will most likely be healed in the next two weeks.
Anna is doing great! She is growing and gaining weight and is so much more alert and is focusing on us and on objects. She is an inredible blessing to both of us!
Shortened birth story:
Friday 4:00am - Contractions begin with intensity but no real consistency
Sunday 3:00pm – Arrive at hospital for labor check at 3 cm dialated
5:00pm – Contractions get closer and more consistent while walking hospital hallway
6:30pm –Dialated to 4 cm
7:00pm – Admitted to labor and delivery room
8:00pm – Dr. Hunter checked, 4.5 cm, head “floating, c-section probable
9:45pm – 6 cm dialated, head still floating, decision to have c- section
10:00pm – Leave for operating room
10:35pm – Anna Bethany Dupuis arrives
comments (0) | post a comment