Sorry I have been MIA. I was having a baby!
If you are looking to link up with Idea Box, you still can via my co-hosts.
Meet Autumn. It’s hard to believe she is here.
Here we are the day after I had her. I think she looks an awful lot like Annabelle when she was born. I also think she looks like me when I was a newborn. |
Here is her birth story.
During week 38 I noticed my underwear was getting a little wet (tmi… Sorry, trying to #keepitreal) After looking on google I figured I was just having extra discharge, complete normal later in pregnancy. I asked at my OB appointment (when I was 38 weeks 5 days pregnant), and she told me the same. Totally normal.
Cue Thursday (38 weeks 6 days). I woke up around 3am and needed to change my underwear. So I did that, stuck on a pad and went back to sleep. The rest of the day I did my thing. Vacuumed, did the dishes, just tried to tidy up the house. I also finally packed Annabelle’s overnight bag. I looked up water breaking on google, and most sites said if you think your water broke you need to go to the doctor, So when the hubby got home I told him I thought my water could have broken and gave triage a call, who told me to come in.
So, I went upstairs took a shower, shaved and dried my hair. Just in case I got admitted, I wanted to be as fresh as possible. We called my parents who came over ans we were off. First stop, McDonalds drive through for some dinner. We got to,the hospital parked, and walked to the desk where I told them I thought my water had broke. So up to triage I went were they monitored me. No major contractions, baby’s heartbeat was good. Then they checked to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid. They had to go check under the microscope, and I totally thought I would be sent home. I mean I wasn’t having any contractions, so surely my water was fine. Imagine my surprise when they said, “yep, it looks like your water broke, you are being admitted”. I called my parents to let them know they could bring Annabelle to their house (it was 8:45 pm at the time).
Just waiting in our room, seeing if contractions start up. And yes, I was reading while I was waiting. It was a good book. 🙂 |
Lots of people came to talk to me about the vbac I wanted to have. We decided that we would wait to see if contractions got stronger, if they didn’t by the AM, then pitocin would be started. So we watched tv (football to be precise. One of the people who came in to talk told me “you know there are lots of movies you can watch”. I was like, nope, I want to watch football. :).
So I tried to sleep, but being anxious, I didn’t get much sleep. My contractions didn’t get stronger so Friday morning pitocin was started. As the upped the amount not much happened. I decided to walk around in hopes of things picking up. I was wearing one of the gowns I made, and everyone commented how nice it was (and every time Matt called me a dork). By 5:30pm I was up to the highest dose of pitocin, but still nothing. I had the choice of waiting more, or going for the c-section. I said I wanted to be checked before making my decision (I hadn’t been checked yet since my water did break, they didn’t want to risk introducing possible infection). When they told me I wasn’t dilated at all, I decided to go with c-section. It was not an easy decision to make. I was terrified that I would go through labor and end up with a c-section anyways (like what happened with Annabelle). Plus I had no idea of knowing if the contractions would pick up, or how long they would let me labor since I was unsure of when my water broke. It could have been Tuesday or Wednesday, which would put me way over 24 hours, which is when most places want to deliver after your water broke. To be honest I am surprised they even let me try to labor as long as they did.
Unfortunately, due to my NF I couldn’t have an epidural (I have tumors on my spine) so I had to put under general anesthesia. I had an epidural last time, but after this anesthesiologist explained his worries about doing it (hit a tumor and causing nerve damage or paralysis), I’m not sure why it was offered before. I was really nervous about being put under (since there was a possibility of the anesthesia affecting Autumn for a short amount of time), but luckily it went smoothly and Matt was able to Autumn pretty soon after she was born. Then as soon as I was coming out if it, I was able to hold and start nursing Autumn.
Annabelle meets Autumn for for first time. |
Overall the labor wasn’t bad since I was never in pain from contractions. I was pretty disappointed I ended up with another c-section as I was really hoping for a vbac. There is such a stigma related to c-sections, I always feel the need to justify why I had one. Recovery from a c-section sucks big time. I hate not being able to pick up Annabelle (or anything heavier than baby). I also hate that I really can’t do anything around the house and have to rely on others. I am so lucky to have my family and my in-laws so close by who are willing to help. Part of me feels I was robbed the opportunity to have a “normal” labor. I was never able so see and hold the baby right after they were born which still makes me a little sad. I never got to hear their first cries. At the end of the day though I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters.
I may not be posting as often as we get into a grove of a family of four, but I will try my best. 🙂