Austin's Arrival (as per my MySpace blog)
Alright, for those that were unaware, I had to be induced because I started to have elevated blood pressure, excess weight gain, protein present in my urine, all the signs and symptoms of toxemia, or preeclampsia. So for my safety, and Austin's, they wanted to go ahead and deliver the baby, since he was full term.
POST:
Alright, so.. nothing went as planned, except that the newest love of my husband's and my life was brought into this world..
I went out to dinner at Applebee's with my husband and mom. Knew that I wouldn't be able to eat decent food for quite a while. Yeah, I was supposed to get breakfast the next morning, but it wouldn't be all that great, and I knew that.
I went to the hospital as planned. Got all checked in, and all that fun mess. Went through all the weird personal questions, got thrown into bed, hooked up to the monitors and all that jazz. Since I was being admitted for PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension), I wasn't allowed to get up, unless I had to use the bathroom. Otherwise, I was bed ridden the whole time, unless my blood pressure stayed at a decent low enough level. Then I would allowed to sit in a chair for a little while, or take a quick shower. No problems, I could be lazy for a while. I brought the book Eragon with me, since I planned on reading it a while, since it's coming out to theatres as a movie in December.
Well, they prepped me and did my IV, which was crazy because the last time I had an IV that big, they numbed my hand first. Not this time. This time, I got to feel the whole big thing. And by big, we're talking about a 14 gauge needle going into your hand and vein. For those of you with piercings, (or not, but know of them) that's roughly the size of the average tongue ring. So it wasn't fun. Of course, they put it right at the crease of my wrist, so I couldn't really move my hand much. If I did, it wouldn't run right, or it would hurt. So I was pretty much made left handed for a while. I tried to start reading, but I couldn't so.. I put the book down. Well, at around 10, it was time to put in the Cervidil. So, I was examined to see just where my cervix was in the whole process and then had this tampon like thing stuck in me. That hurt. But it passed. I sat there, trying to get relaxed some so I could go to sleep. They offered me an Ambien to go to sleep, but I turned it down because I don't like feeling loopy. So.. I just had to try to go to sleep on my own. About 2 hours after the cervidil was put in, I started to have moderate cramps. No big deal, right? Well, at the time, it was, because I had to lay there for 2 hours, I couldn't get up, not even to pee. That sucked. But, after the 2 hours was up, I got up and went pee. Well, every time I got up, I had to be rechecked and the 'tampon' had to be put back right up against my cervix. Alright, no biggie. Bullshit. The nurse I had, named Tennil, was alright, she was a little bitchy, but she was alright... but she was also FAR from gentle. When she came back to check me, I damn near cried with how much it hurt. She pushed, and prodded and omg, it hurt so bad. Well, after that, I just laid there, didn't drink too much, because I didn't want to go through that again. The cramps got worse, and actually turned into regular contractions. So by 2am, I was in so much pain, I couldn't take it anymore. Well, Tennil told me that she knew I turned down the Ambien because I didn't want to be loopy, but the medicine she was going to give me for pain would do just that, but it would also make me sleep. And the only way it would work would be to let it make me sleep. I agreed, because it hurt so bad. Well, she had to check me first to make sure I wasn't going to end up delivering soon, because the medicine would be bad for the baby. When she checked me, it sent me into so much pain, I cried. So, I got the Stadol. Now, Stadol... is a loopy drug. It's like morphine, but it's... more effective in making your body go numb. In about 3 minutes, I was completely out. I could hear what was going on around me, at some points, but the rest of the time I was out cold. I was in a strange dream state where some of the weirdest things crossed my mind. It was oh so strange. Anyway, after about 2 hours, it apparently started to wear off, because I started reacting to the contractions again. I was crying, talking, complaining, but I was still pretty out of it. I kept saying the nurse would be mad at me, because it was my fault that the medicine didn't work, because I fought it, but I didn't. Anyway, she had to check me again, but she couldn't give me anything because it would put me and the baby at risk. So, I sat up a little in the bed when I was a little more coherent, and could handle it better. I had ALL back labor, btw. So the stress off my back helped. 6am rolls around, and the Cervidil gets removed. Yay!
So then I ask if I can take a shower. Tennil had to ask Denise if it was feasible, since I was PIH, and I wasn't supposed to get up. However, Denise said it was fine because my BP was running decently. So I got in the shower, NOT to get cleaned up mind you, but for the hot water to calm my muscles. And it worked. So after I get out of the shower, I get back into the bed, and get hooked back up the monitors. At 7, the Pitocin gets thrown in on the IV. Well, I start wondering where my breakfast is, so I ask. Well, before they even think about giving me breakfast, they decide I need to be checked. April comes in, and I swear she gouged my cervix. But, she said I was about 1.5 cm dialated, and because of that, I couldn't have breakfast. She said by lunch time, I would be having my water broke, and possibly by dinner, have a baby. So breakfast started the nasty clear fluids diet. Mind you, every 10-15 minutes, they kept coming in and upping the Pitocin drip.
About 10 rolls around, I have a new nurse.. Vickie. She was awesome. But anyway, I started having severe contractions and pain again, so by 10:30, I had another dose of Stadol. I still hadn't dialated much more than 2 cm, so it was safe. I passed out for about an hour. I woke up again, because the contractions were getting bad again. So I sat up real high. It relieved it some, and by the time 'lunch' came, I was alright.. still in quite a bit of pain, but alright. April came back and checked me and decided that I still hadn't dialated, but they'd break my water anyway just to help it. They upped the pitocin again, so that they could jump start things and get it all started. Well, I started having severe pain again, contractions got worse. They gave me another dose of Stadol, this time, it didn't knock me out and it didn't make the contractions bearable. It didn't do anything.
The next thing I knew, someone came in and stopped the pitocin, and said that his heart rate would drop when I'd have contractions. I was so intensely dealing with the pain that I didn't bother caring about anything else, I knew something was up, but I didn't know what. Mom and my aunt Susan, as well as Jeremy's mom Gail went out into the hall. They didn't come back for a while, and I was too busy dealing with the pain to care. It hurt entirely too much. Jeremy's aunt Lane came in with her son and someone else. I was in too much pain to even try to talk to them, and that made it all worse. Lane finally decided to go and she stopped and said, 'Well, I thought I'd come in and see you before they took you back.' Which of course, sent up a red flag. But once again, I was in a LOT of pain.
The nurse came in to check on me, and by this time, I was in tears all over again. Crying, at some points trying not to scream, and Vickie kept telling me I needed to calm down because all I was doing was raising my blood pressure. Once again, I didn't know what she was talking about, I was crying because it hurt. My mom comes in and since THEY all knew what was going on, she thought I was worried about Austin, and that's when they told me what exactly was going on. They thought Austin was laying on his cord, and that's why his heart rate kept dropping. So they were going to check to see how dialated I was, and then pump fluid around him so that he'd stop putting pressure on the cord. They also wanted to see if it was time to do an epidural, so that I wouldn't be in pain anymore. However, when April showed up and they tilted me back to check me, April said, "Cord" and they immediately tilted me backwards, with my legs up in the air and my head toward the ground. She kept checking just to make sure that she was right, and a contraction came, which hurt even more, at that point, I was screaming. Everything happened all at once. April called Dr. Fernandez in to double check to make sure she was right, and he agreed, and they tried to calmly tell me about everything and what would happen, and that it would all be alright. At first, I didn't get it, but when they said, "We can't deliver vaginally, because it would be way too risky, we have to do Ceserean" I freaked. They started prepping me, gave me a shot of Brethine to stop the contractions, and some other nasty tasting liquid stuff... and what purpose that served, I'm not really sure, but it was nasty. They prepped me for the surgery, which, the worse part of that was the catheder. That was violatingly uncomfortable. The whole time, I'm crying, trying not to think of the worst possible cases. (Quick back track. The cord being right there was bad for two reasons: during contractions, oxygen was getting cut off to Austin because his head was pushing it against a still very non-dialated cervix, and two, it could have potentially gone around his neck with too much stress.) I wasn't worried about Austin, something was telling me he'd be alright. I knew he'd be fine. I was worried otherwise. I was dealing with high blood pressure the whole time, and I wasn't taking the labor very well. So I was worried about me. Especially when the thought occurred to me that they wouldn't be doing the c-section by epidural, which is much more preferred, they had to put me asleep. There's only two ways to give an epi: on your side, or sitting up, and neither was feasible due to the risk. And they don't like doing c-sections with complete knock out because it takes longer to recover, and could lead to other problems. Mom kept saying they'd be right there waiting for me, they'd be on the other side, when I woke up they'd be waiting. Jeremy said the same thing, he tried to comfort me, kept saying he loved me, and that he'd be waiting. I could see the fear in his eyes, so his comforting words didn't help much. Just made me cry more. They took me off and into the OR, where they finished everything. I passed out, and that was it.
When I woke up, I was in some HORRIBLE pain. They hadn't gotten the meds to give me, and didn't for about half an hour. So I had to deal with the pain. But I heard Austin crying, and that helped relax me some. I was hurting, and couldn't do anything else, so I was crying about the pain, and at the same time, kept talking about how precious he was. They finally got the morphine and gave me quite a bit of it to finally ease the pain, before giving me the button to give myself the morphine every 10 minutes. Once they let Jeremy, Mom, Gail, Susan and Matt in the room, and after I got situated, they let me hold him.. and that was the greatest thing in the world. I didn't forget the pain I'd gone through, but it sure didn't matter anymore. Just like it doesn't now. We went through all the pictures and everyone holding him, and all that. I was still on a fluids diet all through the next day, besides dinner, so that really wasn't fun, but it was alright. Recovery after a c-section is seriously no joke, it's not fun, but it's alright. It hurts when you get up and have to go to the bathroom after they take the catheder out. Trust me. Walking at first is very difficult. But it gets easier. So far, I'm not having any PPD, I'm just exhausted and still in pain. I couldn't be happier right now. My son is finally here. And he's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
Now, he's perfectly fine. I however, ended up anemic. My heart rate didn't go below 120 until yesterday morning. And even then, it was still high. The hot and cold flashes are sometimes very annoying. I'm on iron pills for the next two months to keep that under control and get everything back to normal. My temperature ran high for a while, and the swelling has yet to go down. In fact, it's a little worse than it was right now, but it's to be expected now. Other than those few little things, I'm fine. The soreness is tolerable, I have pain meds. Right now, he's the one thing that matters most, the pain means nothing. Also, for those of you that are wondering, yes I am going to breastfeed, but right now, I also have to give him supplements because of the fact that my milk hasn't come in fully yet, AND they had me on clear liquids for so long. Now that I'm eating real food again, that should change.
Anyway, this is the longest blog I've ever written, and will probably be the longest I will ever write. However, that's how it all went down. The details after his birth aren't important, but that's what all happened. :)
Austin Xavier Timmy Smith - born October 18th, 2006 at 4:02 pm. Weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 3/4 inches long, chest measured 13 1/2 , head was 14 1/4. Rated at 37 weeks, he was technically 3 weeks early, but still full term, with no complications.
For those of you interested in knowing what some of those medications do... here you go:
Cervidil: This medication is used to help prepare your cervix (the lower opening of the womb) for labor and delivery. It is used in women who are having a normal pregnancy and who are at or near their delivery due date. Dinoprostone is a natural substance that your body makes in preparation for labor. It relaxes and softens your cervix (cervical ripening) to allow the baby to pass through the birth canal during delivery.
Stadol: This medication is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is also used with other types of medication before and during surgery or other procedures. Butorphanol is a narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. It acts on certain centers in the brain to give you pain relief.
Pitocin: This medication is recommended to be used only in pregnancies that have a medical reason for inducing labor (e.g., eclampsia). It is not recommended for elective (voluntary) procedures or to make the birthing process more convenient.
POST:
Alright, so.. nothing went as planned, except that the newest love of my husband's and my life was brought into this world..
I went out to dinner at Applebee's with my husband and mom. Knew that I wouldn't be able to eat decent food for quite a while. Yeah, I was supposed to get breakfast the next morning, but it wouldn't be all that great, and I knew that.
I went to the hospital as planned. Got all checked in, and all that fun mess. Went through all the weird personal questions, got thrown into bed, hooked up to the monitors and all that jazz. Since I was being admitted for PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension), I wasn't allowed to get up, unless I had to use the bathroom. Otherwise, I was bed ridden the whole time, unless my blood pressure stayed at a decent low enough level. Then I would allowed to sit in a chair for a little while, or take a quick shower. No problems, I could be lazy for a while. I brought the book Eragon with me, since I planned on reading it a while, since it's coming out to theatres as a movie in December.
Well, they prepped me and did my IV, which was crazy because the last time I had an IV that big, they numbed my hand first. Not this time. This time, I got to feel the whole big thing. And by big, we're talking about a 14 gauge needle going into your hand and vein. For those of you with piercings, (or not, but know of them) that's roughly the size of the average tongue ring. So it wasn't fun. Of course, they put it right at the crease of my wrist, so I couldn't really move my hand much. If I did, it wouldn't run right, or it would hurt. So I was pretty much made left handed for a while. I tried to start reading, but I couldn't so.. I put the book down. Well, at around 10, it was time to put in the Cervidil. So, I was examined to see just where my cervix was in the whole process and then had this tampon like thing stuck in me. That hurt. But it passed. I sat there, trying to get relaxed some so I could go to sleep. They offered me an Ambien to go to sleep, but I turned it down because I don't like feeling loopy. So.. I just had to try to go to sleep on my own. About 2 hours after the cervidil was put in, I started to have moderate cramps. No big deal, right? Well, at the time, it was, because I had to lay there for 2 hours, I couldn't get up, not even to pee. That sucked. But, after the 2 hours was up, I got up and went pee. Well, every time I got up, I had to be rechecked and the 'tampon' had to be put back right up against my cervix. Alright, no biggie. Bullshit. The nurse I had, named Tennil, was alright, she was a little bitchy, but she was alright... but she was also FAR from gentle. When she came back to check me, I damn near cried with how much it hurt. She pushed, and prodded and omg, it hurt so bad. Well, after that, I just laid there, didn't drink too much, because I didn't want to go through that again. The cramps got worse, and actually turned into regular contractions. So by 2am, I was in so much pain, I couldn't take it anymore. Well, Tennil told me that she knew I turned down the Ambien because I didn't want to be loopy, but the medicine she was going to give me for pain would do just that, but it would also make me sleep. And the only way it would work would be to let it make me sleep. I agreed, because it hurt so bad. Well, she had to check me first to make sure I wasn't going to end up delivering soon, because the medicine would be bad for the baby. When she checked me, it sent me into so much pain, I cried. So, I got the Stadol. Now, Stadol... is a loopy drug. It's like morphine, but it's... more effective in making your body go numb. In about 3 minutes, I was completely out. I could hear what was going on around me, at some points, but the rest of the time I was out cold. I was in a strange dream state where some of the weirdest things crossed my mind. It was oh so strange. Anyway, after about 2 hours, it apparently started to wear off, because I started reacting to the contractions again. I was crying, talking, complaining, but I was still pretty out of it. I kept saying the nurse would be mad at me, because it was my fault that the medicine didn't work, because I fought it, but I didn't. Anyway, she had to check me again, but she couldn't give me anything because it would put me and the baby at risk. So, I sat up a little in the bed when I was a little more coherent, and could handle it better. I had ALL back labor, btw. So the stress off my back helped. 6am rolls around, and the Cervidil gets removed. Yay!
So then I ask if I can take a shower. Tennil had to ask Denise if it was feasible, since I was PIH, and I wasn't supposed to get up. However, Denise said it was fine because my BP was running decently. So I got in the shower, NOT to get cleaned up mind you, but for the hot water to calm my muscles. And it worked. So after I get out of the shower, I get back into the bed, and get hooked back up the monitors. At 7, the Pitocin gets thrown in on the IV. Well, I start wondering where my breakfast is, so I ask. Well, before they even think about giving me breakfast, they decide I need to be checked. April comes in, and I swear she gouged my cervix. But, she said I was about 1.5 cm dialated, and because of that, I couldn't have breakfast. She said by lunch time, I would be having my water broke, and possibly by dinner, have a baby. So breakfast started the nasty clear fluids diet. Mind you, every 10-15 minutes, they kept coming in and upping the Pitocin drip.
About 10 rolls around, I have a new nurse.. Vickie. She was awesome. But anyway, I started having severe contractions and pain again, so by 10:30, I had another dose of Stadol. I still hadn't dialated much more than 2 cm, so it was safe. I passed out for about an hour. I woke up again, because the contractions were getting bad again. So I sat up real high. It relieved it some, and by the time 'lunch' came, I was alright.. still in quite a bit of pain, but alright. April came back and checked me and decided that I still hadn't dialated, but they'd break my water anyway just to help it. They upped the pitocin again, so that they could jump start things and get it all started. Well, I started having severe pain again, contractions got worse. They gave me another dose of Stadol, this time, it didn't knock me out and it didn't make the contractions bearable. It didn't do anything.
The next thing I knew, someone came in and stopped the pitocin, and said that his heart rate would drop when I'd have contractions. I was so intensely dealing with the pain that I didn't bother caring about anything else, I knew something was up, but I didn't know what. Mom and my aunt Susan, as well as Jeremy's mom Gail went out into the hall. They didn't come back for a while, and I was too busy dealing with the pain to care. It hurt entirely too much. Jeremy's aunt Lane came in with her son and someone else. I was in too much pain to even try to talk to them, and that made it all worse. Lane finally decided to go and she stopped and said, 'Well, I thought I'd come in and see you before they took you back.' Which of course, sent up a red flag. But once again, I was in a LOT of pain.
The nurse came in to check on me, and by this time, I was in tears all over again. Crying, at some points trying not to scream, and Vickie kept telling me I needed to calm down because all I was doing was raising my blood pressure. Once again, I didn't know what she was talking about, I was crying because it hurt. My mom comes in and since THEY all knew what was going on, she thought I was worried about Austin, and that's when they told me what exactly was going on. They thought Austin was laying on his cord, and that's why his heart rate kept dropping. So they were going to check to see how dialated I was, and then pump fluid around him so that he'd stop putting pressure on the cord. They also wanted to see if it was time to do an epidural, so that I wouldn't be in pain anymore. However, when April showed up and they tilted me back to check me, April said, "Cord" and they immediately tilted me backwards, with my legs up in the air and my head toward the ground. She kept checking just to make sure that she was right, and a contraction came, which hurt even more, at that point, I was screaming. Everything happened all at once. April called Dr. Fernandez in to double check to make sure she was right, and he agreed, and they tried to calmly tell me about everything and what would happen, and that it would all be alright. At first, I didn't get it, but when they said, "We can't deliver vaginally, because it would be way too risky, we have to do Ceserean" I freaked. They started prepping me, gave me a shot of Brethine to stop the contractions, and some other nasty tasting liquid stuff... and what purpose that served, I'm not really sure, but it was nasty. They prepped me for the surgery, which, the worse part of that was the catheder. That was violatingly uncomfortable. The whole time, I'm crying, trying not to think of the worst possible cases. (Quick back track. The cord being right there was bad for two reasons: during contractions, oxygen was getting cut off to Austin because his head was pushing it against a still very non-dialated cervix, and two, it could have potentially gone around his neck with too much stress.) I wasn't worried about Austin, something was telling me he'd be alright. I knew he'd be fine. I was worried otherwise. I was dealing with high blood pressure the whole time, and I wasn't taking the labor very well. So I was worried about me. Especially when the thought occurred to me that they wouldn't be doing the c-section by epidural, which is much more preferred, they had to put me asleep. There's only two ways to give an epi: on your side, or sitting up, and neither was feasible due to the risk. And they don't like doing c-sections with complete knock out because it takes longer to recover, and could lead to other problems. Mom kept saying they'd be right there waiting for me, they'd be on the other side, when I woke up they'd be waiting. Jeremy said the same thing, he tried to comfort me, kept saying he loved me, and that he'd be waiting. I could see the fear in his eyes, so his comforting words didn't help much. Just made me cry more. They took me off and into the OR, where they finished everything. I passed out, and that was it.
When I woke up, I was in some HORRIBLE pain. They hadn't gotten the meds to give me, and didn't for about half an hour. So I had to deal with the pain. But I heard Austin crying, and that helped relax me some. I was hurting, and couldn't do anything else, so I was crying about the pain, and at the same time, kept talking about how precious he was. They finally got the morphine and gave me quite a bit of it to finally ease the pain, before giving me the button to give myself the morphine every 10 minutes. Once they let Jeremy, Mom, Gail, Susan and Matt in the room, and after I got situated, they let me hold him.. and that was the greatest thing in the world. I didn't forget the pain I'd gone through, but it sure didn't matter anymore. Just like it doesn't now. We went through all the pictures and everyone holding him, and all that. I was still on a fluids diet all through the next day, besides dinner, so that really wasn't fun, but it was alright. Recovery after a c-section is seriously no joke, it's not fun, but it's alright. It hurts when you get up and have to go to the bathroom after they take the catheder out. Trust me. Walking at first is very difficult. But it gets easier. So far, I'm not having any PPD, I'm just exhausted and still in pain. I couldn't be happier right now. My son is finally here. And he's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
Now, he's perfectly fine. I however, ended up anemic. My heart rate didn't go below 120 until yesterday morning. And even then, it was still high. The hot and cold flashes are sometimes very annoying. I'm on iron pills for the next two months to keep that under control and get everything back to normal. My temperature ran high for a while, and the swelling has yet to go down. In fact, it's a little worse than it was right now, but it's to be expected now. Other than those few little things, I'm fine. The soreness is tolerable, I have pain meds. Right now, he's the one thing that matters most, the pain means nothing. Also, for those of you that are wondering, yes I am going to breastfeed, but right now, I also have to give him supplements because of the fact that my milk hasn't come in fully yet, AND they had me on clear liquids for so long. Now that I'm eating real food again, that should change.
Anyway, this is the longest blog I've ever written, and will probably be the longest I will ever write. However, that's how it all went down. The details after his birth aren't important, but that's what all happened. :)
Austin Xavier Timmy Smith - born October 18th, 2006 at 4:02 pm. Weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 3/4 inches long, chest measured 13 1/2 , head was 14 1/4. Rated at 37 weeks, he was technically 3 weeks early, but still full term, with no complications.
For those of you interested in knowing what some of those medications do... here you go:
Cervidil: This medication is used to help prepare your cervix (the lower opening of the womb) for labor and delivery. It is used in women who are having a normal pregnancy and who are at or near their delivery due date. Dinoprostone is a natural substance that your body makes in preparation for labor. It relaxes and softens your cervix (cervical ripening) to allow the baby to pass through the birth canal during delivery.
Stadol: This medication is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is also used with other types of medication before and during surgery or other procedures. Butorphanol is a narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. It acts on certain centers in the brain to give you pain relief.
Pitocin: This medication is recommended to be used only in pregnancies that have a medical reason for inducing labor (e.g., eclampsia). It is not recommended for elective (voluntary) procedures or to make the birthing process more convenient.