Catherine Elsie (we call her Cece) was born a week ago today at 8lbs 11oz via scheduled c-section because she was transverse. She had been in that position basically the whole pregnancy, despite my best efforts to turn her. I did all the spinning babies stuff, handstands in a pool, a Webster chiropractor, and even an ECV. Nothing worked.
The C-section was really quite easy. The spinal went in very easily and I was numb quickly and completely while I chit chatted with the team. Once I was set my husband joined me and they cut--he could see what was happening in the light fixture above and gave me a play by play (I was surprised he could handle it but it really helped me!).
The big question was whether they could get away with just the horizontal cut because she was back-down and we all decided to try that first and then do a vertical cut in addition (making a T) if they couldn't navigate her out that way. It was cool to hear them making their plan about how to navigate her out part-by-part. In the end it worked and we just did the horizontal cut, which means I could theoretically be a VBAC candidate in the future.
I had a terrible allergic reaction to the fentanyl in the spinal, and then another to the steristrips they used to close my incision. But otherwise recovery has been pretty easy. We got to go home after 48 hours and she's a pretty easy baby (with a huge margin for first time parent error).
The lactation consultant at the hospital was kind of useless, but my pediatrician has one who is amazing and she made all the difference. Now she's eating well and (I hope) gaining weight.
Watching her with my husband is pretty much the best thing ever. She adores him.
I am enjoying Baileys in my coffee to celebrate one week of not being pregnant.
Ahh! Congrats. She is gorgeous and squishy with a beautiful name. Enjoy these first few weeks as a family of three! They are some of the hardest yet most amazing.
Congratulations! She's beautiful and I love her name. Our birth stories are really similar. My DD was a scheduled c section due to positioning and I also reacted to the steristrips. The itching from that was the worst part of my recovery. I had to remove them early and clean the area around the incision really well to make sure there was no trace of the chemical left. After that it was smooth sailing! Hope you continue to recover well.