Baby pinot's birth story

[pinotgrig]

Better late than never, right?

I had been having lots of cervical pain and pressure in the weeks leading up to my due date / RCS date of 7/12. I'd had what I thought was starting to become regular contractions the evening of 7/6, but they fizzled out and I wasn't feeling optimistic that I would go into labor on my own before my RCS date. When I was checked the Friday prior, I was 2cm dilated.

On Thursday 7/7, I woke up around 5am since I heard H getting ready for work. I was trying to decide whether to get up and pee or go back to sleep when I felt a small gush. I laid there frozen another minute while I debated if I had peed on myself or if my water had broken. H was still in the shower so I got up and peed and had another small gush.

When H got out of the shower, I told him I thought my water had broken. He giggled a bit and then froze and asked what to do. He had worked until almost 10 the night before and left his laptop at work, so I told him to head into work, grab his computer, and finish up whatever was essential. In the meantime, I called the nurse line to let them know, called my parents, and finished packing my bag. I also took a shower and got ready. While he was gone, I starting have regular contractions that were about 3 minutes apart but only 10-20 seconds long.

H was back around 7:30 or 8 and we woke G up together and took him to daycare. All the teachers were so excited when we told them where we were headed. We went to the hospital and got checked in (after I stopped for a Gatorade - I was so thirsty and knew I couldn't eat since a CS was likely). They also hooked me up to the monitors. It took awhile for my OB to get to us, but I wasn't in a rush and H and I just hung out and talked. When the OB checked me, I was 3-4cm and 60%+ effaced and in active labor. She said we would be having a baby today! I started crying, lol. She said since I'd had about a 1/3 of a Gatorade, that it might be up to 6 hours until they did the RCS. So I calmed down.

The anesthesiologist came in 30 or minutes later and said no need to wait since it was such a small amount ofiquid and they could have me back in 20 minutes. I started crying again, lol. The nurse started an IV and they did some prep in triage and H suited up. They offered to let me walk to the OR, which I did. H had to wait outside while they did the spinal and got me and the room prepped. It took forever - like 25 minutes. I had to sit on the edge of the table and really round my back out so they could do the spinal. The position was uncomfortable and he took forever to place it but it wasn't too painful. I laid down and the anesthesiologists said they would leave my arms free if I promised not to reach over the drape. I'm not sure how I could have done that, but I said ok.

Once the spinal kicked in, the doc told me to let them know if I felt nauseous. She said if I did, my BP would drop and she would know and give me meds to help, but that I would feel it before her equipment caught the BP change. I felt like I couldn't breathe all of a sudden and started to panic, but she told me my oxygenation levels were perfect and that it was just the meds paralyzing the muscles in between my ribs (which was not super comforting). She promised my brain would adjust in less than 2 minutes and put a peanut pillow under one side to help with blood flow. I felt immediately better. H was finally allowed in and they started. It was a lot slower than my CS with G and we chatted with the anesthesiologists while the OB and her team worked on me. I was so nervous the whole time, and was just praying he would cry more quickly than G did when he was born.

Adding rest and pics in a reply so PB doesn't eat this.

[pinotgrig]

Backing up for a second, as soon as I lay down, I asked the OB what her guess on weight was. She felt my belly and said no more than 7.5 lbs. I laughed and told her he was at least 8.

I had opted for the drape with the window, and right before they pulled him out, they lifted the flap. It was so cool! At 12:09pm DS2 was born weighing 8lbs 9oz, 21" long, and with a head full of hair.

While I was being glued back together, I asked the OB if a VBAC would have been successful and she said no way.

Eta - He came out wailing! He cried and cried and cried the whole time he was being cleaned off, weighed, and checked out by the docs. He finally settled when they let me hold him. It was a little awkward since I was flat on my back, but was a great distraction while they closed me back up.

Eta2 - I feel like his birth was really redemptive for me. I spent so much time after ds1's birth feeling like my body had failed me and understanding why a vaginal birth wasn't in the cards for me was so helpful. I loved the window and being able to see him being born. It was so amazing.

Eta3 (last one, I promise!) - Recovery has been so much better this time. Days 2 and 3 were the worst but I stayed on top of the pain meds, walked each day, and took a shower on day 3. At 2.5 weeks out, I'm able to lift G (30 lbs) and the infant carrier with no issues, though I'm mindful to not twist or make sudden movements with that much weight. I was in the hospital for 4 days and was able to handle the pain with only Advil once home. And I only bled for like a week! I've had a few random spotting episodes and small clots, but compared to my recovery with G it's been light years better.

Eta4 (sorry!!) - when I was checked in triage, the OB said it felt like my bag of water was intact. Which means I must have peed on myself. But I maintain that the consistency, location in my underwear, and the cloudy toilet water after I peed means it really was my water.

[pinotgrig]

Pdq name or pics

My first view of him - you can see the window in the drape. -

[pinotgrig]

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[pinotgrig]

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[pinotgrig]

In recovery room

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[Raggedeannie]

Aw so sweet! Sounds like everything went smoothly. Congrats!

[Yankees21]

Aww, I love the pictures so much. Congratulations again!

[osulori]

Awww buddy congratulations!

[Susie]

Those photos are wonderful! I am jealous of how serene and together you look in the last one Glad it turned out so well. It sounds like RCS was a really good decision.

[D2M]

Oh my goodness!! I love these pics and I love your detailed story. I got so excited for you. Congrats, Pinot!!! What a beautiful little boy.

[linz]

LOVE the pics! I always wondered what a CS with the window looked like. So glad you had a good experience. 

[sju1982]

I shouldn't read these things while I'm at work....trying not to cry, LOL.

Sounds like a great experience. Beautiful pictures! Congrats on your newest addition.

[starburst]

So adorable! Glad things went well!

[Deleted]

Love it! Thank you for sharing!

[biogirl21]

Congrats! Those pics are great!

[y4m]

Baby Pinot is my birthday twin
Congratulations!!

[kdubs923]

Such a cutie!

Thanks for sharing! I didn't have a window in my drape either time. How great you were able to watch as he was born! If we go for a 3rd, I want to ask about it!

[pinotgrig]

Jul 26, 2016 10:35:04 GMT -5 y4m said:

Baby Pinot is my birthday twin
Congratulations!!

7/7 is a good day! It was our 9 year wedding anniversary, too!

[mekia]

Beautiful pictures! Congratulations!

[Deleted]

These are the coolest pictures! And I believe you that it was your water, they told me I peed on myself too and I know I didn't

[vtdiamond]

Great birth story, congrats. I'm so glad you had a great experience and got to do skin to skin in the OR.

[kristenbell]

What awesome pictures!! Also, you look amazing for having just given birth.

[mannah]

That window drape is the coolest thing! What a great birth experience. Congratulations. Oh and you're gorgeous

[tiptoetulips]

Wow that window is amazing I teared up looking at the pictures! Congrats!!

[lostarz]

Thanks for sharing! The window is so cool!

[starburst604]

Thanks for sharing! These are such beautiful pictures - what a beautiful newborn (just like his mom!). I had a clear drape for my CS too, the first thing I saw were 2 little feet.  

I'm with you on the pee vs. water break. I gushed for 3 days before my labor started and kept going into L&D to be told it wasn't amniotic fluid. One night I shared my VERY scientific information on why I knew it wasn't pee - I'd had asparagus with my lunch and my pee was very smelly. The fluid that came out was not. The doctor on call was like "hmmmmm. I really can't argue with that. But it's still not your water". LOL. So something kept leaking out, who knows what it was!

[MadamePresident]

Congrats!

[djc315]

I'm not crying over here or anything...

Thanks for sharing, and all the ETAs are making me feel better about my impending RCS!

[jennistarr1]

hearing your birth story made me feel better too!!