Hey everyone!
(This is a condensed birth story since I don't have time to go into crazy details but here we go!)
Things got crazy the next morning from my last post. I went into labor! Guess that little sob session I had that afternoon got him all worked up because later that night I felt off and couldn't sleep. By 4am I was cramping, and at 7 I woke Eric up telling him it was time to go. By 730 his folks were here to watch the girls and we drove off and made it to the hospital by 8am to get checked in and were in our L&D room by 9am at 3.5cm.
Saturday went by quickly even though we sat there watching movies on the TV and joking around until I reached a 6 and contractions became toe-curling. This was with 3 nurses stretching me out manually to break my water. No. Bueno #1.
As for the epidural..... I had to get stuck 3 times... (ugh) by the epidural guy (I can't spell the actual name right now, and as you can tell I have limited time to post since having 3 kids = a rotating amount of attention I need to dish out at all times, haha)
Anyhow, stuck 3 times. FML.
He actually had to get a guy above him to do it for him. Remember I'm contracting ALOT too. No buneo #2.
(side note again. This is my 3rd baby, and I was going for a VBA2C.. vaginal birth after 2 c-sections so an epi was kinda important incase things went wrong. Which they did but hang tight.)
So shortly after the epi.. we were checked again. I was between a 6-7. Ugh.
It had been 4 hours since the epi. No bueno #3.
The nurse also noted around this time (6pm?) That I was beginning to bleed more than usual and had me rotating which side I laid on every hour till around 9. No bueno #4. By 10 they came in and said I had made it to a 7 but wanted to start pitocin. Well, as fast as she left she and 3 to 4 nurse came busting in my room maybe 60 seconds later saying -- C-section STAT! Something was wrong. What was wrong?! (I had told them upon arrival if anything looked bad to take us for a c-section. I wanted a VBAC badly but wasn't going to risk my baby at all.) This was by 9:45pm.
So off we went! within 10 mins they had already cut into me but were flabbergasted again. I was RUPTURING. The rare cases that women who VBAC have ruptures... like 1-2%... was me.
After they switched the epi with a spinal (some kinda fluid that sucks because you can't move at all. Epis you can move slightly but are numb like your legs are asleep)
I could feel them cutting into me. My right side, which happened with Kaelyn, didn't wanna catch up like my left. God this hurts. I can't even begin to describe the sharp blinding pain it feels like. Hot and cold. Like ice suddenly being pulled across the skin but it burning. You want to move your legs and kick away but you can't. (apparently I kicked a nurse but didn't know because I couldn't feel a damn thing)
Once it caught up it was kinda too late. I had severe shakes (I suppose from what I remember I was going into shock) I had to bite down on the towel infront of my face. Eric --- poor Eric was so quiet and still. Pale like paper. I could see in his eyes he was terrified. Something he wouldn't admit outloud, but I could see it. We had twice as many nurses in there that we did with the girls. A few alarms were buzzing. The surgery itself took forever too. I want to say it was close to 1030 at this point?
I couldn't stay focused. Surgery felt like it was taking forever. My last 2 took around 45 mins tops beginning to end. They were still trying to get to the baby.
Omg.
I kept asking the doctor at my head but he wouldn't respond. I'm shaking uncontrollably at this time. My nose itches. I feel like I can't breath even with the oxygen mask on.
I can't even use my tongue to move it.
Eric is stroking my hair with one hand while holding holding onto my left with his other free hand. I can only see his eyes. Everything else is covered up with a blue face mask and hair cap. There is a ridiculous amount of pressure and pulilng. Some sharp at times where the spinal didn't take. I start crying but not because I can help it. My eyes are drying out from all the oxygen in the mask sweeping up my face.
I heard someone say they thought they cut my bladder?! More alarms are beeping. One doc said they could see blood in the cath bag. I was going to be one of those crazy stories of a tragic delivery. Crap. Where is my baby?! What is taking SO LONG?! It's around 11-11:15 by this point.
"We are at the uterus now! Almost baby time."
I can't help but think what was in the way this whole time? More heavy pulling and tugging. I can feel them cutting into my uterus. Similar with Kaelyn. I'm not upset by the c-section. I'm scared to death for my baby though. I kept asking questions and nobody would respond to me. I was getting pissed. And I let them know I was pissed.
Finally, at 11:33pm is when I heard the first beautiful sound my son made. I have a son! My baby boy!!! He was screaming his lungs out. Good. Eric took off to go see him, snap photos, ect... from my ushering of eye ball flips on the table.
"8 POUNDS!"
I'm crying from joy this time. My smallest baby. My girls were 9.5, and 9 lbs.
" 21 inches!"
Holy crap, my girls were short 20 inches. And fat meat balls. He was my little marble. My baby bitty bubby. *swooning*
We got a quick mommy, daddy, baby shot in the OR (one we never got with the girls sadly) and several of our boy freshly cleaned up.
Soon as they were sewing me up and Eric and Jensen sat beside me, I was told I had a fever. Crap. Not more bad stuff? Infection? It took them 20-30 mins to sew me back up. Apparently I had adhesions so bad that grew into my bladder from my last delivery. They technically saved me and my son from the rupture. Think of your fingers crossing together and slowly pulling them apart so you get small gaps between like triangles? Well they are the small pieces of tissues that kept my uterus intact long enough so he didn't have a full rupture. Thank the lord!
In recovery they let my son latch immediately. Yes! Before he was even an hour old! :) I felt satisfied and at peace with this delivery. Scary as it was, and even though I never got my VBAC, I found it a success. We were both healthy and came out ALIVE. I'd like to look at my c-sections as little presents that I had help unwrapping to get to my most precious of all possessions. My beautiful little (well, not so little haha) gifts from God. Topped with lots and lots and LOTS of hair. :)
They treated me with antibiotics for the 4 days at the hospital and I ended up with NO infections.
Jensen Archer Chan was born on 4/20/2013 at 11:33pm - 8lbs even and 21 inches long with gorgeous long black hair. :)
So to cut to the chase, I was told NO MORE babies. I agree completly. Our family is complete, plus I don't wanna go through another crazy delivery such as that. Sorry it's taken me nearly 2 months to post. Nursing, cloth diapering, and adjusting to 3 kids and at home has been a whirl wind, plus all the kids sports to hash out weekly and all the numbers of doctor appointments we've been to. *breathing*
Everyone is happy, healthy, and doing well in the Chan house as of today and our boy will be 2 months old on the 20th.
