If I am blessed enough to have a second child I will make a rule for myself in order to prepare for his or her birth: do not take a temp job two weeks prior to delivery. After all just because a C-Section is scheduled for a specific day doesn't mean the baby will be patient and wait. This is what happened. With the option to earn a few extra bucks before taking an unofficial maternity leave, I took a seven-day temporary job in Ballard thinking that my baby was cozy enough in the womb and would stay there whilst I worked. This job entailed me answering phones at a small insurance office while the proprietor went on vacation. I would be alone in the office, and I was instructed to bring books/projects to work on. This job was looking even better, as I still have wedding thank you notes to write and get out before the baby is born. (They may never get finished...)
I spent the day with the owner on Thursday March 28th, and the following day I bid him bon voyage and settled into a week of work. An hour or so later, I started to prepare myself for my weekly doctor's appointment. I ate lunch, and naturally visited the bathroom before leaving. As I stood up after using the toilet I felt a gush of liquid. I paused, and thought, "Did I not finish?" When one pees while laughing and sneezing, one would understand why that was my first thought. I sat back down, and it happened again. This time I realized I did not have a bladder control problem, I was leaking fluid.
Panic. I was not supposed to go into labor. I was not supposed to go into labor while taking a week-long temp job where I would be by myself. So it was hard for me to accept it was actually happening. I did, however call my husband and told him to be on stand-by. "What do you mean?" he asked. I explained that I was leaking fluid, and I was going to my doctor's appointment, and they will confirm if I was actually going to have the baby that day. He asked a female coworker if it was possible for a pregnant woman to leak fluid and not have her baby, and she told him to get to the hospital. Panic. My poor husband went into panic mode.
I continued to leak on my way to the car, and while I sat in I-5 traffic. Each burst confirmed the inevitable--the baby was coming today, and hopefully not as I sat in traffic. I wasn't having contractions at this point, but Seattle traffic is bad enough to cause a nervous girl to worry. My husband called my clinic to let them know that I was running a bit late, and that my water broke. So when I finally arrived, wet and nervous, they had a wheelchair ready to wheel me to the hospital.
Once in my room, I stood there shaking and holding my legs together tightly, I fumbled while trying to undress and get on the bed. In a matter of time I was going to have a baby.
My very nervous husband arrived shortly after I did, and for the next hours, we answered phone calls, talked to the nurse, and exchanged thoughts of bewilderment.
Soon 7:00pm came and went and we were still waiting to get our baby out. Outside of our secluded room, the delivery wing of the hospital was in quite the commotion. Our hospital is the go-to hospital for emergency births, and March 29th was chock full of emergency c-sections. Even at seven, I was not really in labor. Perhaps I was getting a contraction now and again, but they were nothing that would cause me to lose the smile on my face. Our 7:00 window turned into the 7:30, then 8:00...so on and so forth. We nervously wondered when we would get our turn, and joked that we would probably be able to watch Grimm that night after all. We decided against it, since we were sure we would be too nervous pay attention or we would for sure get wheeled into surgery half way through.
By 9:30, the hospital administrators came in our room to apologize for the delay, and told us that they would break hospital policy to get us into the OR. Because this hospital is the emergency birthing center, they have to leave one operating room ready for any emergency c-sections that could come through the door. But because they felt sorry for me, they decided to put me into the extra room so I could finally have my baby. They even called up another anesthesiologist to give me my spinal.
At 10:00pm I was finally wheeled into the OR, which is a good thing since I was really starting to have contractions. Though, they were weak enough that I still smiled through them. Once in the operating room, real nervousness sunk in as the birth, the baby, and the reality of a new life began to sink in. Add to that the reality of anesthesia going into my spine... I was blessed to have a fantastic Labor & Delivery nurse who had three c-sections and was able to give me a detailed picture of what I would be feeling throughout the process. (I was also lucky to have her as one of my postpartum nurses afterward. She was awesome!!!) The spinal hurt a little, but it was the brief period of time while the medication raced through my body that scared me the most. I had strange neck pains while the rest of my body felt dead. (My husband didn't like me using that analogy, but that's how it felt.) Before I knew it, the first cut was made and I was soon feeling the tugs of the crew getting my baby out.
I was informed that I needed a bigger incision to get my baby out. First of all she was breech, secondly the doctor was concerned about her nose, and lastly I apparently have really strong abdominal muscles. This is the point in the operation that my husband claims that I got really chatty as I described my pre-pregnancy workout routine to anyone who would listen. (Yay for Ellen Barrett videos!)
Soon we heard the words, "That's a big baby," and I knew that she was out. My husband was invited to take a peek at her (and my insides), as the large neonatal crew got to work cleaning, and checking out my baby. It was not too long after that she made her first cries that we knew she was alright. One doctor came over to let us know that she could breathe on her own, and the mass on her nose was not obstructing her airways. Tears of joy and relief overcame me and my husband. Soon the neonatal crew called for my husband to get our baby so I could see her. So tiny and so sweet I was sad I didn't have use of my arms to hold her. The neonatal team then gathered her and my husband and off they went to the NICU where I would see her later. The remaining doctors and nurses sewed me up quickly, and before the clock struck 11:00pm I was back in my room to recuperate from surgery.
The anesthesia and nerves caused me to shake uncontrollably as I waited the hour until I could see my baby. In that time my cousin fed me ice chips while I tried to get my toes to wiggle. I was glad to chat with her; it took my mind off of the wait. It was weird knowing that I was now officially a mom, but that my doctor was so far away and I hadn't even had a chance to have a good look at her. Emotion filled my voice as I nervously chatted.
Finally it was time to see her! My huge bed was wheeled up to the NICU, and he nurse placed a squirmy infant in my arms. She soon calmed down and settled into my arms. She knew me! She actually knew who I was! The post-labor hormones were settled in place and I became a blubbering baby. (To be totally honest, those pesky hormones have not gone away. I cry all the time about everything. Seriously.)
We took our first family photos and then it was time for us all to rest. It was so hard to say goodnight to her. But we were so relieved that she could breathe on her own, and the upcoming days would shed light on her health. This post has been long enough, and I will soon give a full update on our sweet daughter. It may take a while to get everything written. Typing while I pump in the middle of the night is not super easy; I usually end up falling asleep.
