When I got to the hospital I thought I'd get a sonogram, a doctor to help me decide whether the baby was too big to VBAC or not, and AN EPIDURAL. But I got a nurse and a resident, who told me that I wasn't dilating, so I couldn't get an epidural unless I was in active labor (which means dilating). That didn't make a lot of sense to me, since actually it was a lie. The resident also said I couldn't get a c-section unless I was in active labor which is definitely not true because I had a scheduled c-section for Thursday which is done when you're not in labor at all.
In Labor Triage, between 4-minute contractions with no epidural!
Kevin is excited to spend the night in a broken rocking chair
Another resident gave me a sonogram and told me the baby was 7 pounds plus. I laughed because that was almost definitely not true. I told her my firstborn was 9 pounds and 12 ounces so the estimate was surprising to say the least. She called in the doctor on call to check and she estimated 9 pounds. I nodded and said that sounded more accurate. When it finally dawned on them that my contractions were getting closer together and they weren't going to be able to send me home even if I weren't in "active labor" I was finally put in a Labor & Delivery room.
In Labor & Delivery, when my contractions were 2 minutes apart, I finally got an epidural! I was pleased that Kevin could be in the room for that part because with a scheduled c-section my hospital doesn't let your partner in for the epidural, and with James, my epidural took a horrible 75-minutes. This time it was fast and not terribly unpleasant. After that I lost track of my contractions for a while. They told me that since I still wasn't dilating my doctor would come in for my c-section between 6-8 a.m.
But suddenly 4 nurses ran into my room in a panic, put me on oxygen and explained that I'd had 3 contractions in a row and the baby was in distress. The baby was fine now, but they'd call my doctor and have the c-section as soon as possible.
In Labor & Delivery where contractions went from 2 mins to 0 minutes apart--
After they prepared me for the c-section
Suited up for the emergency c-section!
Relieved to have the baby come out!
Second c-sections take longer than the first (now they tell me!) and I was definitely concerned about whether or not things were going well on the other side of the curtain so (TMI alert- you can skip the rest of this paragraph if you get queasy) I looked. I saw my reflection in the overhead lights and I watched my own c-section. The mirrors in the lights were sectioned so I couldn't see things as one picture but I could see my baby's head or the doctors or what not depending on where I looked. I'm glad I saw my child born.
LOVE!
We did it! She's here!
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