Hi everyone,
I'm stealing some computer time and thought I'd sneak in and say hello. I'm sitting by the computer, wearing little Dan in a sling. He's asleep right now (he is most of the time really). Hubby is keeping Ron company.
I'm getting better physically - less pain where the cut is. Emotionally and mentally, I'm still trying to adjust to the new situation. I think I'm going through the baby blues - crying in the evenings and generally not very energetic. Hopefully, this too will go away and I'll get back on track soon enough.
The birth itself was quite an experience... It all started last Friday morning. Woke up at 9 AM and my water broke. Came gushing out but fortunately I was in my bed and not teaching that day (two days before, the doctor had predicted the birth was very near and suggested to call off the lesson I was supposed to teach at the cat behavior course). So, we left Ron with my in-laws (who live next door) and off we went to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital I was having regular contractions, 5 minutes apart. Turned out I was 3 centimeters dialated and so I was admitted. We opted for a natural birth so I spent the next 12 hours walking around the delivery room, singing and moaning away the pain from the contractions. They were painful, but not as bad as I thought they would be. I went from being 3 centimeters dialated to 7 centimeters, at a rate of about 1 centimeter per hour. Then things slowed down. The cervix kept dialating at a slower rate and reached 9 centimeters, but the baby's head was too high and not coming down into the birth canal. After two hours of being in the same situation the doctor was getting worried. He explained that with the baby's head banging into the cervix and uterus with every contraction, it was damaging the area and making everything tender and swollen. He was especially worried as that was the same spot where the uterus had been cut during the previous c-section and he was afraid the scarred tissue may not hold for long. In a last effort to avoid another C-section, he recommended we do an epidural. He said that sometimes having an epidural relaxes the muscles arouns the cervix and allows the baby to slip into the birth canal. An hour of resting on my back with an epidural did not do the trick, so there was no choice but to go into the operation room
Turned out that little Dan had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck with very little to spare, so that the cord chained him to the uterus and wouldn't let him slip down...
The operation wasn't very nice - I hated it the last time around and it didn't get much nicer. I hate being wide awake while my belly is being opened - makes me sick. Still, it was over soon enough and little Dan was out at last. I had him in my arms literally minutes after going out of the OR. I was spared the usual shakes and trembles that often follow an epidural as it wears off. I was able to breastfeed Dan right away and spend the night with him. Hubby stayed with me the whole 4 days we had to stay in the hospital and Dan was with us in our room the whole time. I came back home on Wednesday and it took me 3-4 days for the pain to subside enough for me to be able to sit by the computer.
I have to go now - Ron's back and it's way past his bed time.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and your congratulations. Thanks Mary Anne for posting the pics and for sending me the URL to the thread!
I'm stealing some computer time and thought I'd sneak in and say hello. I'm sitting by the computer, wearing little Dan in a sling. He's asleep right now (he is most of the time really). Hubby is keeping Ron company.
I'm getting better physically - less pain where the cut is. Emotionally and mentally, I'm still trying to adjust to the new situation. I think I'm going through the baby blues - crying in the evenings and generally not very energetic. Hopefully, this too will go away and I'll get back on track soon enough.
The birth itself was quite an experience... It all started last Friday morning. Woke up at 9 AM and my water broke. Came gushing out but fortunately I was in my bed and not teaching that day (two days before, the doctor had predicted the birth was very near and suggested to call off the lesson I was supposed to teach at the cat behavior course). So, we left Ron with my in-laws (who live next door) and off we went to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital I was having regular contractions, 5 minutes apart. Turned out I was 3 centimeters dialated and so I was admitted. We opted for a natural birth so I spent the next 12 hours walking around the delivery room, singing and moaning away the pain from the contractions. They were painful, but not as bad as I thought they would be. I went from being 3 centimeters dialated to 7 centimeters, at a rate of about 1 centimeter per hour. Then things slowed down. The cervix kept dialating at a slower rate and reached 9 centimeters, but the baby's head was too high and not coming down into the birth canal. After two hours of being in the same situation the doctor was getting worried. He explained that with the baby's head banging into the cervix and uterus with every contraction, it was damaging the area and making everything tender and swollen. He was especially worried as that was the same spot where the uterus had been cut during the previous c-section and he was afraid the scarred tissue may not hold for long. In a last effort to avoid another C-section, he recommended we do an epidural. He said that sometimes having an epidural relaxes the muscles arouns the cervix and allows the baby to slip into the birth canal. An hour of resting on my back with an epidural did not do the trick, so there was no choice but to go into the operation room
Turned out that little Dan had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck with very little to spare, so that the cord chained him to the uterus and wouldn't let him slip down...
The operation wasn't very nice - I hated it the last time around and it didn't get much nicer. I hate being wide awake while my belly is being opened - makes me sick. Still, it was over soon enough and little Dan was out at last. I had him in my arms literally minutes after going out of the OR. I was spared the usual shakes and trembles that often follow an epidural as it wears off. I was able to breastfeed Dan right away and spend the night with him. Hubby stayed with me the whole 4 days we had to stay in the hospital and Dan was with us in our room the whole time. I came back home on Wednesday and it took me 3-4 days for the pain to subside enough for me to be able to sit by the computer.
I have to go now - Ron's back and it's way past his bed time.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and your congratulations. Thanks Mary Anne for posting the pics and for sending me the URL to the thread!
