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Birth Stories

William John T

Heather M & Kevin T are proud to announce the birth of their son William John, born Wednesday, February 6th at 12:49 pm.

I had been put on bed rest on January 23rd, and we scheduled the c-section. We arrived at the hospital as instructed at 8:45, for an 11:00 surgery. I hadn't eaten since before midnight, and what I had enjoyed for dinner I had thrown up just before going to bed, so I was hungry, and therefore cranky. Our doula met us at the L&D doors and helped us get set up in our room, the nurse came in and took all the pertinent info and got me and the my belly set up on the monitors, and put in the IV. Shortly after my doc came in and told me that there was going to be a delay in my c-section because another woman had gone into labor and her baby was breech so they needed to get her baby out first. OK, I just chilled.... I had been having Braxton-Hicks like mad the last two weeks so it didn't phase me when I started having more while laying on the hospital bed. About 11:30 I looked around the room at my nurse, doula and husband and rather calmly declared that my water had broken - or I peed myself. They all looked surprised. I knew I had lost SOME bladder control, and I knew the IV was pumping in lots of fluids so it occurred to me that maybe I DID pee myself. Then I kept "leaking", so the nurse did a litmus test, and she told me that my water did not break and to go to the bathroom. So I waddled over, peed, stood up and KEPT leaking. There was a puddle on the bathroom floor. I opened the bathroom door and reinforced my earlier statement of "my water broke!" At that point they finally believed me.

The nurse went and told my doc, but she was still in surgery, so we'd have to wait. When we looked back at the monitor recordings we realized that the Braxton-Hicks contractions I had been having were real contractions. First coming at 6 minutes, then 4, then 3 then 2 - and lasting for a full minute. My doula said she was impressed at how I had handled them seeing that they were on top of each other and fairly intense. I guess all that deep relaxation paid off!!! Finally one came along that knocked the breath out of me and I sat on the bed, rocking back and forth. Apparently I snapped (literally) at my husband and pointed towards my back, my doula laughed and said "I guess she wants you." He rubbed my back until the contraction passed. Finally my doc came in laughing that my water had broken, "What, you couldn't wait?!" The anesthesiologist came in and told me how he would administer the spinal - thankfully that would be in the OR and not in front of my husband - who HATES needles.

At 12:22 I was wheeled into the OR, rolled onto my side and cleaned off. A very sweet nurse helped keep me in the fetal position and held my hand. I felt 5 little pricks, then one really, REALLY big one. I flinched, and pulled away from the needle so they had to re-stick me - OW! I gradually felt warm tingly sensation down my legs, then nothing. After that the nurses just moved me wherever they wanted me to go. I felt very exposed, almost violated. I was numb from the chest down, naked, under insanely bright lights and had about 10 doctors and nurses staring at me. They inserted the catheter, sterilized my belly, draped me and escorted my husband and doula in. Less than 3 minutes later, after I felt some weird pushing below my chest - since I couldn't push the baby out the surgical assistant pushed him out of my rib cage and the doctor pulled him out of the incision. We immediately heard him cry. The doctor held him up so we could see him, and then they put him on the warmer, cleaned him off, wrapped him up and then gave him to my husband.

He was the most perfect thing I've ever seen. It was another 4 hours before we got him back from the nursery, but then I held on tight.

Breastfeeding is going well, and he got some extra time in the hospital under the bili-lights because he was jaundiced, but all is well now. For as painful as my pregnancy was, the recovery, even from the c-section, is great. I can finally walk and move around without pain. Wil is doing well and gaining weight and sleeping for 3 hours at a time!

Can't wait to get back to yoga!

Thanks,
Heather (Tuesday night 6:15 class)

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