Wednesday, June 1, 2011

He's here!!

Just read my last post which was written on the Friday before William was born...and I thought I had a whole weekend left before he'd be here. Little did I know.

Thinking we had a whole weekend, Billy and I had plans to clean the whole apartment from top to bottom, go food shopping, etc to prepare for William's arrival so we were all set when he was here. The doctor had told me to stay on bed rest all weekend so really it was Billy who was going to do all of these things. We had to go to the hospital that morning for me to get more bloodwork done. We had arrived home around noon or 1 I think (had a late start that morning) and he had started the cleaning process and was about halfway through when we got a call from Dr. Generelli at about 3 pm telling me I was going to go to the hospital that night at 7. She told me to call at 6 to make sure they were still able to take me a 7. They would begin the induction that night. I was very nervous after this phone call. It was finally happening! What I had been wanting to happen the past 4 weeks was finally here and now I didnt want it to be happening so soon. I tried to rest and relax because I knew (but really didnt know at all) what I'd be in for the next day or so and figured I'd need my rest. But who can rest when they know they will be going to the hospital within hours???

In what seemed like only a few short minutes, the 3 hours had passed and it was 6 oclock. I called Labor & Delivery and they told me to come at 7:30. I was very anxious so we went to my mom's and waited there until 7 when we (Billy, my mom and sister) left for the hospital. We arrived at nearly 7:30 on the dot and I walked into L&D. I had pre-registered online a few weeks before so they had all my information waiting and ushered me into a room right away. The doctor came in shortly after and gave me Cervidil which is supposed to ripen the uterus. That was all the inducing they would do for that night.

At about 3 am I got up to (what I thought) go to the bathroom, but could barely make it out of bed before I felt that infamous gush. I called the nurse (Michelle) and told her I think my water broke. She came in right away and confirmed it had. Maybe a result of the Cervidil, maybe on its own, they said there was no real way to tell what caused it. After that I had some light cramping the rest of the night but nothing too severe.

At 7 am, Dr. Generelli came back in and started me on Pitocin, which brings on labor. Also had a new nurse for this shift, Judy. The contractions started coming slowly for awhile and nothing too horrible. The doctor told me after I was at 3 cms I could have the epidural if I wanted to do so. So from 7 am on, they got progressively worse and worse, and closer and closer together...I was really had no time in between from one contraction to the next, they were like a minute apart. One would end and the next would begin within seconds. A few hours later the doctor came in to check on my progession but I still wasnt very much dilated. Maybe 1 cm or 1 1/2 cms, I dont remember exactly. At some point she gave the OK for me to have the epidural despite not being at 3 cms (Thank God because I never did get to 3 cms!!). I knew I wanted it, but I kept trying to wait it out. When you dont know how bad contractions are going to get, how do you know how soon to ask for the ep? I was trying to get through as many as I could on my own. About noon I finally couldnt take it, literally tears in my eyes through each contraction, and asked for the epidural. They administered it by 12:30 and then complete numbness. I didnt feel a thing. I only knew I was having contractions based on the monitoring that showed when I was having them.

For the next 4+ hours I was pain free and happy as anything. The doctor kept coming in to check my progression, but still, not much was happening. It was finally about 5 pm when she decided to call it and opt for the C-section (at which point, after 10 hours of labor, not counting anything from the night before, I was only about 2 1/2 cms dilated).

In a way I was relieved that it would finally be happening, but I was also disappointed that my mom wouldnt be able to be there with me. If I had natural birth, you are allowed 2 people in the L&D room, but in the OR only Billy was allowed. He put on scrubs and they got me ready for surgery. It was 5:20 when they wheeled me into the OR. Since it was a Sunday night, they had a limited staff, and just as I was ready for surgery, another mother with a distressed baby need a C section so they tended to her while I waited in the OR. I dont know what time they started the surgery exactly after that point. All I know is I felt a lot of pressure and poking and then he was born at 6:04, 9lbs, 4oz and 20.5 inches. They showed him to me and Billy got to hold him. I remember crying and saying how beautiful he was. I knew he'd be cute (what mother doesnt think their baby is cute?) but I really wasnt expecting him to be as perfect and as beautiful as he was and is. More than I could ever imagine a baby to be. To actually see him in reality and not just sonograms or how I pictured him in my mind to be...it was just amazing.


The anesthesiologist took a picture of the 3 of us before they took the baby to the nursery to do, whatever it is they do to newborns, and Billy went with him. At this point I remember I was having trouble breathing and I was shivering. I think the doctor said I was loosing blood because they were having trouble closing me up. I also felt intense pressure on my chest, like a grown adult was standing on my chest. The anesthesiologist asked if I wanted something and I said yes...whatever it was knocked me out completely and the next thing I knew I was in the post-op room. Nurse Judy was leaving and Nurse Michelle was as it was almost 7 pm again. Billy came back and showed me pictures of our baby.

It wasnt until about 8 or 830 that I was brought to a room in the maternity ward. Visiting hours were over but I had a lot of family waiting from 5 pm so begrudgingly the security guard let them in my room to see me and let them see William through the nursery glass. Besides our parents, Aunt Meg was there, my aunts Patricia, Barbara and Denise, Uncle Jay, Marge, cousins Nicole, Kelly and Kaitlyn and my Nanny. A little bit ater they brought me to my room, they finally brought William to me to hold for the very first time. Most of our guests had to leave at this point, except for our parents. I dont remember this at all, but I am told the first thing I said to my son was "So you are the one who made me gain 60 lbs!" ...real nice. I blame the morphine.

That whole night and most of the next few days in the hospital was very cloudy for me. I was so happy to finally come home on Wednesday morning.
Needless to say Billy never did get to finish cleaning the apartment, so when we finally did come home, we came home to a tornado. But thank God for my mom who slept over that Thursday and spent all day Friday cleaning the apartment from top to bottom. She's a good egg.

Now it has been 17 days that William has been a part of our lives and I cant imagine him not being here. I love him so much and want him to stay a baby forever, but I know he won't...he has already changed so much in the less than 3 weeks he's been here...not even 3 weeks and time is already flying....

2 comments:

  1. Yay I'm so glad I finally got to read the whole story. Glad you are enjoying him. :)

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  2. So happy he is here!!! I need to get over there and meet him!! The first part of your induction sounded just like mine, the Cervadil made my water break when I got up for the bathroom too, 9 hours after they started it.

    It's amazing how much you love them right away and imagine you couldn't possibly love them any more than that, but then every single day you do! And month to month they are like a completely different baby - it's incredible to watch!

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