On Wednesday 10th June 2009 Simon and I headed over to the hospital so I could be admitted in preparation for a scheduled Cesarean Section on 11th June 2009. We arrived at 2pm and met with an OB and a Midwife who did bloods and such. I was then taken to a private room (yayayaya!!) and settled in.
About 6 that night a doctor arrived to put an IV point into my arm so I could be started on glucose and insulin first thing in the morning. She missed the first time and you should see the bruise on the inside of my left arm! She finally got it into my right hand and I was beginning to be ‘wired for sound’.
The next morning Simon came back a little after 8am. I was washed and in my surgery gown and had the first IV in my hand. Andrew, the anesthesiologist popped by to talk to me about how a spinal is done and then we waited.
About 9am I was walked down to theatre, IV pole coming along, on the assumption I would be the first CS of the day. Once we got down there we were told I’d have to wait as they had had an emergency CS brought down from Delivery Suite. Not a problem!
About 10am they took me back to have my spinal put in. As they were prepping me a Midwife came in and said they had another emergency, by that since I was already being prepped, it could wait until I was done!!
Part of the prep was another IV line put into my left arm. That one was missed the first time in my left wrist, so there’s another bruise! That one went into the back of my left hand and I was double ‘wired for sound.’ Saline in the left, glucose and insulin in the right.
They sat me up and a nurse stood in front of me and told me to lean into her. They washed my back (brrrrrrrrrrrrr) and then gave me a small shot of some sort of numbing agent. Then it was time. Nurse told me to totally relax (yeah, sure!) and Andrew stuck a needle into my spine. Hell yes, it hurt! But as soon as he was done? Total tingles in my legs.
They lay me back down and the questions started. ‘Can you wiggle your toes?’ Yup. ‘Can you bend your leg?’ Yup. ‘How about now?’ Not if my life depended on it! Then they ran ice up my side to my breast. And I was numb from feet to just below my breast bone and Simon was brought in. He sat next to my head. And they began. It was about 10:30a.
At 10:35ish Andrew said, ‘There’s his head!’ And Collette, the Midwife came over to help take him.
‘Is it Adam or Zoe?’ I asked.
Collette said ‘Its Adam!! And he just peed all over you!! Nothing wrong with his waterworks!! Time of birth: 10:36am!!”
Simon went with Collette to watch as he was cleaned and weighed. Next announcement from Collette: ‘8lbs 10oz!!’
My response? YIKES!
He was then brought to me, but I couldn’t take him due to be so wired, so Simon sat back down and held our son for the first 30 minutes of his life as I looked on and did my best to at least pat him.
They finished stitching me up and took me to recovery and then Adam Jacob was put into my arms for the first time.
We tried to get him to feed but he just wouldn’t open his mouth, so he was laid into his first incubator. We were then take back up to my room.
When they took his blood sugar a bit later it was 1.6 so they took him to try to get him to eat. He just wouldn’t so a peadiatrician was called in. And they told me he’d after to go to SCBU. I cried. There I was stuck in bed, not able to move from the waist down and they were taking my baby away. They then decided to try an incubator in my room. So at least I could look at him!
A few hours later it was decided to bring him to SCBU after all. His breathing was too fast and his blood sugar was unstable.
I did get to see him that night, in a wheel chair, holding my catheter bag! I didn’t get to hold him again until yesterday, 15th June 2009.
As of this morning, his O2 is at 22%, which is just 1% above normal air. He is getting better and stronger every day. And hopefully he will be home soon.
CONGRATULATIONS! He is soooo cute, and a chunk besides ;).
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Congrats again!
Sent this link to Simon, but figured you’ve both had more important things to read through. Its just as relevant when bringing Adam home from the hospital as it is while he’s there.
http://www.kangaroomothercare.com/
The gist is that babies 100% of the time do much better w/breathing and other assorted vitals when they have skin to skin contact with Mum. This runs counter to a lot of medical culture of isolating the infant so that measurements and monitoring can happen.
I’m so glad his O2 is better and stronger. Please let me know if you need help running down info on feeding him – be it about pumping or getting back to getting it straight from the tap – it CAN happen. I hope that since you’ve been expressing yourself (ha! – best term ever!) they’ve been giving everything you’re outputting to Adam. Within the next 12 weeks your supply will be regulating, so even if you guys had a slow start, you can be pros in no time. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but do feel free to let me know if I’m going overboard too. I know you’ve got plenty of friends and family to talk to in addition to your medical team. Its just when its new moms that I know, I just get really overprotective! 🙂
He is so gorgeous, and I can’t wait to hear about his homecoming, and new and funny things he does every day, and of course see new pictures! *hugs*x a million to you all.
YAY! Welcome Adam, and congrats mom and dad!
Congratulations! 🙂