Hear What They See

Thursday, February 01, 2007

At Long Last

Gretchen Kaiulani Winifred Botton was born February 1st, 2007 at 7:11 p.m. via C-section weighing in at 9.7 lbs., 22 inches long.

Labor began Tuesday and continued through Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday morning I started to bleed heavily after about 12 hours of active labor, and was admitted to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. to see if there were any complications. I was dilated to 3 cm. (when you're dilated to 10 cm [about the circumference of a tea saucer] you're ready to push). I was hooked up to monitors and lay in the hospital bed, with Dave beside me, doing my Lamaze breathing. My intent was to do the delivery naturally. Doc came at around 9:00 and did an exam and I was dilated to a little over 5 cm. By 1:30 contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, and I was dilated to about 6 cms. By then I had given into the idea of an epidural because I was exhausted and having a difficult time staying on top of the contractions after 2 days of labor. Dave kept me on pace with the breathing, beside me the entire time. The doc finally arrived and did an exam and said the baby had not dropped at all. I got very discouraged at that point and said to please just give me the epidural so I could get some rest. Doc came back at about 6:00 and did another exam and said I hadn't dilated any more and the baby hadn't dropped any more.

[SIDENOTE: I finally understood that morning how the whole birthing process works. Not only does your cervix (think of tghe cervix as the door the baby comes out) have to be dilated to 10 cm in order for the baby to make it through, the baby also needs to "drop" in what they call "stations" in relation to your pelvis (think of the pelvis as the hallway the baby has to traverse before going out the door of the cervix). So, your cervix can be fully dilated to 10 cm, but if the baby hasn't dropped down far enough into your pelvis, you can push for hours, but the baby might not ever be able to make it out through the pelvis. In my case, that's exactly what happened. END SIDENOTE]

The doc recommended a C-section because he believed the baby was big and my pelvis is small, and that she was not going to make it through my pelvis regardless of how dilated I got. I had considered a C-section my worst-case-birthing-scenario, but I had also resigned myself to it the week before after my last OB visit (see 1/26/07 post). So I agreed without hesitation. Dave & I had already discussed it. I was ready. And the nurses got Dave ready to go into surgery with me. He looked like a doctor, Doctor Dave.

So they gave me a super-duper epidural, which means I was numb from the heart down to my toes, but still conscious. I couldn't feel anything, but I could hear just fine. I kept trying to listen for the sound of a scalpel cutting into my belly, but I couldn't hear it. Morbid interests. Dave was in there with me with the camera. The medical staff put up a sterile field, basically a big sheet which kept Dave and I from seeing anything too gory, like them making the actual incision into my abdomen. But Dave did stand up when they said they were getting ready to take the baby out and snapped some pictures. It's amazing to look back and realize that's my body, opened up, with another little body coming out of it.

I wasn't allowed to hold Gretchen when Dave brought her to see me. I couldn't have even if I'd wanted to. The meds they give you for the epidural are pretty hefty, and I was experiencing major tremors over my entire body and couldn't hold still. I shook and shook for hours after the surgery was over. I couldn't believe we had a baby. It is totally surreal to go through all those months of pregnancy, all the discomfort, all the waiting, and suddenly, almost without warning, it seems, you have a new life for which you are absolutely, irrevocably responsible. And nothing could have prepared us for it. There's nothing that makes it hit home until the moment that baby is in your midst and you're staring in its eyes, looking at the perfect skin, the fingers and toes, the ducky-down hair, the folds and creases. You can't believe this life came from you.

Dave and Gretchen and I were holed up in the hospital for 5 days after delivery. My blood pressure spiked the day after delivery and my doc didn't want to release me until it was under control. My water retention was insane. The doc and I couldn't believe I made it through the whole pregnancy with no blood pressure problems, and then as soon as I deliver, it spiked (at one point to 172/95, although that readin may have been false). But even with the worry of blood pressure, our 5 days in the Sonoma Valley Hospital were amazing. Every single nurse on staff in the Labor & Delivery unit are spectacular. They taught Dave & I so much about babies and being parents and caring for your baby and yourself. I don't know how new moms & dads who only spend a day or two in the hospital understand their baby. The nurses helped us every step of the way. I don't have enough good things to say about our experience.

| Mrs. Botton was at it again @ 7:11 PM