To follow the whole story, begin here:
Tuesday, November 19
Wednesday, November 20
I think that it was about 4am when the decision was made to start the pitocin, regardless of my slow cervix. Part of me was happy that we'd be making more progress soon, and part of me was just. so. tired. They started the drip in my left arm, and I did start to feel a few small contractions. They did repeat labs to check on my enzyme level and all that jazz.
It was when those results came back that things moved into quick motion. As it turns out, my platelets had tanked overnight. Dropping from something like 140 to 78. And it's not that 78 is a dangerous number, though it's low, but the concern was for how quickly my preeclampsia had progressed. Dr. Locke commented that even with the pitocin, it'd be at least another 12 hours before we delivered, and he didn't want to risk my platelets continuing to drop.
So we were back in "get this baby out as soon as possible" territory. Which meant that the only safe thing to do was send me in for a c-section. This is the possibility that had terrified me the most whenever I thought about delivery of our little hedgehog. I am not one who deals well with the thought of being awake as they cut you open and pull out the baby. Ick. But I was up against a wall.
Honestly...part of me was a tiny bet relieved, even though I was scared and upset. Having a c-section meant seeing this little baby in another hour, and not having to labor for 12 more hours when I was already feeling so tired, and so groggy, and so sick.
We did the prep work with the anesthesiologist, who told us that since my platelets were so low, they couldn't do any sort of spinal anesthesia; the c-section would have to happen under general anesthesia. Again, not the sort of extreme intervention that I wanted, but also a little bit of a relief that I would simply be able to sleep through a process that I wasn't terribly excited about in the first place.
They said it wasn't an emergency, but they definitely moved things along quickly. I have only a couple minutes to lament with Matt about how everything had gone down before it was time to go. I remember being wheeled down the hallway, and Dr. Locke handing me a small cup of clear liquid, saying "Gulp this down, don't sip it, it's gross" (it was a super-antacid, and it was bitter and vaguely grape-flavored). I remember keeping my eyes shut the whole way, except when the hoard of nurses and doctors and assistants introduced themselves to me. Matt peeled off from the procession to put on scrubs - he is frustrated that they took me in before he had a chance to say goodbye to me...I'm not sure I would have noticed the difference.
In the OR, I decided that I was going to be non-anxious. I can't describe it. I just flat-out decided that I could worry, or I could just go with the flow. And so as they put an oxygen mask on me, and strapped down my arms and legs, and talked to me (everybody was so nice!!), I just settled in, thinking that I would fall asleep and wake up with a baby.
And that's exactly what happened.
Interlude: Matt's side of the story!
When I was awake enough, they told me that little hedgehog was a boy, and I'm pretty sure I remarked that we had suspected as such.
They asked me if we had picked out a name, and I told them "Samuel Tyler."
The funny thing about this is that Matt and I hadn't shared our name choices with anybody beforehand, because we wanted to reserve the right to change our minds when we met our little guy. And so here I was, in recovery, having not seen this little dude yet, and already spouting off our name.
(As it turns out, there was no way we were going to name him anything but Samuel Tyler. It suits him quite well!!)
When they brought me back to my room, I was still really groggy, partly from the anesthesia and partly from the magnesium, which I needed to be on for a full 24 hours after his birth. Matt is the one who put Samuel in my arms for the first time, I do remember that pretty quickly, they had me do skin-on-skin/try to nurse him. He latched on like a CHAMP! I remember taking that as a good omen.
The rest of Thursday is a blur for me. My family stuck around in the afternoon, and took turns holding Samuel. I came out of the anesthesia fog, but still was really really out of it because of the magnesium. But as the day went on, my blood pressure started to normalize, and with the help of some compression socks and fancy massaging booties, my legs and feet started to feel better. I was thirsty as all get out (no eating or drinking because of the magnesium), but saving graces were the tiny sips of water I could have to take my pain medications, and I even got to brush my teeth in the evening, which was about the best thing ever. With those small thing, I didn't even begrudge Matt his meatloaf lunch and fish sandwich dinner, nor my family's going out for Mexican food that night. I don't remember much else from Thursday afternoon and evening, but I came to the end of the day feeling like we were all in a good place. I was getting healthier, and we had a healthy, BEAUTIFUL baby boy.
Tuesday, November 19
Wednesday, November 20
I think that it was about 4am when the decision was made to start the pitocin, regardless of my slow cervix. Part of me was happy that we'd be making more progress soon, and part of me was just. so. tired. They started the drip in my left arm, and I did start to feel a few small contractions. They did repeat labs to check on my enzyme level and all that jazz.
It was when those results came back that things moved into quick motion. As it turns out, my platelets had tanked overnight. Dropping from something like 140 to 78. And it's not that 78 is a dangerous number, though it's low, but the concern was for how quickly my preeclampsia had progressed. Dr. Locke commented that even with the pitocin, it'd be at least another 12 hours before we delivered, and he didn't want to risk my platelets continuing to drop.
So we were back in "get this baby out as soon as possible" territory. Which meant that the only safe thing to do was send me in for a c-section. This is the possibility that had terrified me the most whenever I thought about delivery of our little hedgehog. I am not one who deals well with the thought of being awake as they cut you open and pull out the baby. Ick. But I was up against a wall.
Honestly...part of me was a tiny bet relieved, even though I was scared and upset. Having a c-section meant seeing this little baby in another hour, and not having to labor for 12 more hours when I was already feeling so tired, and so groggy, and so sick.
We did the prep work with the anesthesiologist, who told us that since my platelets were so low, they couldn't do any sort of spinal anesthesia; the c-section would have to happen under general anesthesia. Again, not the sort of extreme intervention that I wanted, but also a little bit of a relief that I would simply be able to sleep through a process that I wasn't terribly excited about in the first place.
They said it wasn't an emergency, but they definitely moved things along quickly. I have only a couple minutes to lament with Matt about how everything had gone down before it was time to go. I remember being wheeled down the hallway, and Dr. Locke handing me a small cup of clear liquid, saying "Gulp this down, don't sip it, it's gross" (it was a super-antacid, and it was bitter and vaguely grape-flavored). I remember keeping my eyes shut the whole way, except when the hoard of nurses and doctors and assistants introduced themselves to me. Matt peeled off from the procession to put on scrubs - he is frustrated that they took me in before he had a chance to say goodbye to me...I'm not sure I would have noticed the difference.
In the OR, I decided that I was going to be non-anxious. I can't describe it. I just flat-out decided that I could worry, or I could just go with the flow. And so as they put an oxygen mask on me, and strapped down my arms and legs, and talked to me (everybody was so nice!!), I just settled in, thinking that I would fall asleep and wake up with a baby.
And that's exactly what happened.
Interlude: Matt's side of the story!
While Melissa was wheeled back for surgery, I (Matt) got pulled aside to put on scrubs. By the time I got suited up and made it down to the OR, they were already in the process of anesthetizing Melissa. A nurse was stationed outside the OR with me, and she told me that the procedure would last about 20 minutes. We walked around from the front window to a door near the back of the OR, and after 2 minutes of watching, I heard a baby screaming. With shock I realized that the sound had to be coming from MY baby! The nurse quickly walked me into the back of the OR where I met Samuel at the baby warmer. It was incredible to see him, already looking like a perfect little baby (with so much blonde hair!). As the nurses were checking his vitals, I reached out and let him grab onto my finger with his tiny little hand. Samuel passed his initial vitals check (1-minute APGAR: 9), so it was time to head back to the OB ward. As we left, I looked back towards the operating table, where I could see the doctors still working on Melissa.I remembered hearing voices shortly after they gave me the anesthesia, and my brain first thought "wow, this is working slower than I'd expect," until I realized that the voices were not OR voices, they were the voices of nurses talking to me in recovery. As these things go, I have no idea how long I was in recovery, and even though I think I tried to open my eyes, I really have no idea.
When we got back to the OB nursery, I had to stand outside and watch through a window because there was a second baby in the nursery. I took a quick break to jog over to the family lounge to grab Melissa's family and tell them the good news: it's a boy! They asked me his name, but even though I was 99% sure we had settled on Samuel Tyler, I told them that I had to wait until Melissa was awake. We all stood around and watched the nurses and Dr. Locke do a second round of vitals (5-minute APGAR: 9), highlighted by Samuel peeing on two of the nurses during his weigh-in. I was then finally able to hold Samuel for a few minutes, and after screaming during his vitals, he was peaceful in my arms. The nurses were preparing to take Samuel for his first bath when we go the best news of the morning: Melissa was awake and on her way back to her OB recovery room. I sat in a rocking chair with Samuel and waited to introduce him to Melissa.
When I was awake enough, they told me that little hedgehog was a boy, and I'm pretty sure I remarked that we had suspected as such.
They asked me if we had picked out a name, and I told them "Samuel Tyler."
The funny thing about this is that Matt and I hadn't shared our name choices with anybody beforehand, because we wanted to reserve the right to change our minds when we met our little guy. And so here I was, in recovery, having not seen this little dude yet, and already spouting off our name.
(As it turns out, there was no way we were going to name him anything but Samuel Tyler. It suits him quite well!!)
When they brought me back to my room, I was still really groggy, partly from the anesthesia and partly from the magnesium, which I needed to be on for a full 24 hours after his birth. Matt is the one who put Samuel in my arms for the first time, I do remember that pretty quickly, they had me do skin-on-skin/try to nurse him. He latched on like a CHAMP! I remember taking that as a good omen.
The rest of Thursday is a blur for me. My family stuck around in the afternoon, and took turns holding Samuel. I came out of the anesthesia fog, but still was really really out of it because of the magnesium. But as the day went on, my blood pressure started to normalize, and with the help of some compression socks and fancy massaging booties, my legs and feet started to feel better. I was thirsty as all get out (no eating or drinking because of the magnesium), but saving graces were the tiny sips of water I could have to take my pain medications, and I even got to brush my teeth in the evening, which was about the best thing ever. With those small thing, I didn't even begrudge Matt his meatloaf lunch and fish sandwich dinner, nor my family's going out for Mexican food that night. I don't remember much else from Thursday afternoon and evening, but I came to the end of the day feeling like we were all in a good place. I was getting healthier, and we had a healthy, BEAUTIFUL baby boy.
Birth stories are my favorite - especially the birth of my favorite nephew. :-) I love Matt's interlude! It has been a beautiful thing to watch you two wait for and welcome and love Samuel. You are such a precious family!
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