{"id":208,"date":"2012-08-02T21:50:09","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T21:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waitwhatno.com\/?p=208"},"modified":"2015-09-21T18:15:43","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T01:15:43","slug":"birth-story-part-3-the-arrival-of-flopsy-space-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waitwhatno.com\/?p=208","title":{"rendered":"Birth Story Part 3: The Arrival"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the OR, I got my third epidural. Well, sort of. The first two failed but I didn\u2019t have to get it placed a\u00a0third time, thankfully. It felt like a bandaid covering half my back had been ripped off when I had the first removed. I was happy to not go through that again. For the third try, they moved the catheter around to see if repositioning it would make the distribution more even and then hooked me up to a stronger drug. Relying on that after\u00a0two failed attempts was terrifying. I imagined them cutting, and feeling it all. I expressed my concerns to the anesthesiologists (there were two for some reason) and they did multiple tests to show me how little I could feel and assured me all would be fine.<\/p>\n

At 2am Monday morning, surgery started. The baby\u2019s head was stuck in the birth canal. They had to make the incision longer and lower than they normally would. One doctor reached into the birth canal and pushed the baby\u2019s head up while another doctor pulled the baby out through my uterus.<\/p>\n

Shortly before they pulled the baby out, my third epidural failed\u00a0and I\u00a0regained\u00a0feeling. I could feel them pushing and pulling the baby out and then moving and checking my organs – not the pushing, pulling, and pressure they told me I would feel. I felt a full range of sensations and pain but I was hallucinating and dissociated and couldn’t fully express what was happening. As soon as the cord was cut, I was given fentanyl and morphine but before they kicked in, I felt\u00a0every stitch as they started sewing me up.<\/p>\n

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By the time the baby was out, I was uncontrollably shaking\u00a0and disoriented. The Daddy\u00a0and I had\u00a0agreed that if we had to do a c-section, he’d go with the baby and do skin-to-skin while I was sewn up. I needed him though, so he stayed and the baby was taken away. I still feel guilty about the time she was away from both of her parents so early in her life. I feel fortunate that he was able to carry her over to me first. It wasn’t the moment we anticipated but\u00a0we had\u00a0our first moment as a family. The Daddy\u00a0told me all about her as I looked on – her full head of hair and big, alert blue eyes darting around the room. I\u2019m glad that he did – I was too disoriented to focus on those things myself. I wasn’t even aware that she’d been born. Without him there taking me through the experience, I would have completely missed seeing my newborn baby in front of me.<\/p>\n

Our daughter was born at 2:28am on July 2nd. After all of the worry she caused during labor, she came out looking like nothing had ever happened. The doctors don\u2019t know why she was having so much trouble. They suspect it might have been a cord issue – she had some red marks that made it look like she’d been wrapped in her cord kind of like a seat belt. The doctor thinks her cord may have been pulling back on her and tightening on every push. Since my water broke, there was no cushion and she may have pressed on it when I changed positions.<\/p>\n

Now that I know her inside and outside of the womb, I think it\u2019s simply a matter of her being a sensitive little person. She got hiccups when I drank cold water. She hated\u00a0ultrasounds and dopplers and would spend exams squirming away, making it difficult to get her heart rate or get pictures needed for screening. She squirmed and kicked at loud noises. Now that she\u2019s out, she always wants to be held and cuddled and is constantly alert to light and noise. She has busy little eyes and busy little hands, exploring the world around her. She\u2019s my sensitive little girl, inside and out, and that made labor difficult for her. Ultimately the physical part of birth was about her, not me, and she taught me that in a very dramatic way.<\/p>\n

Long story short: I had a baby, she is great, and now we’re home. Now on to the recovery.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the OR, I got my third epidural. Well, sort of. The first two failed but I didn\u2019t have to get it placed a\u00a0third time, thankfully. It felt like a bandaid covering half my back had been ripped off when I had the first removed. I was happy to not go through that again. For …<\/p>\n

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