We were always going to have 2 kids. That was decided long ago and was one of the first things we discussed back when we were only dating and only 21. The deal was, for me, two kids or two pregnancies, however that worked out. We had our boy and it was lovely and he is lovely but then one day it was time to have another one. We decided on a date in 2010. But that day came and I wasn't ready. So we pushed it back a year. And after two months of trying I was pregnant with the baby girl. And now, today, she is one year old and it has been an amazing year.
I had an unplanned c-section with Bub and I debated on a VBAC with Button. But in the end the idea of going through labor just to end up in surgery again did not appeal to me. It was possible that it could have gone right and I could have had the VBAC but I just couldn't deal with it if it had gone the other way. So really it was pretty undramatic, exactly what you want out of a birth.
I was originally scheduled to have Button on March 27th but the hospital said no because of my original due date. Based on my doctor's original calculations he put me on April 4th but later after her ultrasound he moved it up a day. But because of the original date I would have been 38 weeks and 6 days so it was no go with the hospital. So the surgery was moved back to March 28th much to my disappointment. One day really didn't matter but at the time I was in so much pain I was just done and ready to get her out. The surgery was scheduled for noon but the hospital saw that my doctor had two short surgeries in the morning and thought he might be able to get to me earlier so they had me go in at 8 a.m. instead of 10. It was a long wait because when my doctor came in he said no, it wouldn't be til 12.
We got there at 8 and did the check-in and then went to pre-op. I waited in there for 4 hours which was a long time and it was cold. I also felt stupid because I had on my gown and these socks and pressure cuffs on my legs and I was hooked up to an IV. They gave me some anti-nausea medicine and started my saline. And then we waited and waited and waited so more. The anesthesiologist came and introduced himself but mostly we watched TV and nurses brought me warm blankets. Then it was time. They took me to the OR and BT stayed behind to get his gear on.
The anesthesiologist who had come in earlier wasn't the one who was with me. I had a nurse anesthetist who was very funny. When the anesthesiologist came to check on him, the nurse joked that he was getting better at these things. Later, BT said he saw the anesthesiologist wandering around drinking a Diet Coke so really I'm not sure what his function really was. The nurse anesthetist explained the spinal block to me and told me he was going to administer it and he calmed me down when I told him I was nervous. See I always said an epidural wasn't bad because by the time I got it I was in so much pain I barely noticed it. But to have a needle in my back stone cold sober, I just didn't know. It wasn't bad really. I hate that warmth that spreads and, just like last time, I panicked for a moment when I felt my body going numb. He said that I had to lay down quickly so the medicine would spread evenly, but I was 39 weeks pregnant. There was no "quickly" so the nursing staff helped me. My blood pressure dropped as is common with epidurals and spinals. They gave me more anti-nausea medicine and the nurse anesthetist put a cold compress on my forehead because I had cold sweats. He was really great. The nursing staff complimented me on my skin's ability to heal nicely because my first c-section scar was barely noticeable. Thanks?
Finally the doctor came in and introduced me to the other doctor assisting. I felt the pressure and the tugging but that was about it. It seemed like it took forever. And then out she came screaming like she was the maddest girl. My doctor said "Look at those cheeks!" And I thought I can't! This sheet is in the way. And then he said "Look at the size of her chest!" And the nurse anesthetist then joked that I'd given birth to a toddler. She was still screaming mad and then finally finally they brought her to me. I looked at her and she had the chubbiest cheeks and was she ever angry at being pulled from her warm safe dark place into this bright and cold world. I said "Hey, hey little girl. I see you" and she stopped crying trying to hear and see me. And then I fell in love. She was practically perfect in every way.
BT took her to the nursery and they finished me up while I fell asleep. Later in post op I asked for her and one of the lactation staff brought her to me and kind of stuck her on me (at least that is what it felt like) to nurse. They said it was about 20 minutes but time was a little weird for me then. So I got to hold her and nurse her about an hour after her birth which was way better than the hours it took to get Bub back to me. Later they bought me to my room and then a few hours later brought her to us so she could meet her big brother and we could begin our life together as a family.
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