A Birth Story

The last update you all had received was on Tuesday after my 37w 5d appointment. I was ecstatic because Mr. Baby Boy had decided to turn and we were going to be able to attempt a regular delivery and hopefully forego the c-section. Tuesday night around 10:00 I had this awful pain come up behind my right breast and it radiated into my shoulder and back. I knew it wasn’t contractions, but I had no idea what it was. I tried taking Tylenol and through it up. I took a hot shower. I took Rolaids. I could not get any relief from the pain no matter what I tried and it was becoming so severe that it was making me nauseous and unable to think clearly.

At 6:15 Wednesday, September 10, 2008 I gave in and called the On-Call Doctor for advice. He recommended I meet him at Labor and Delivery (L&D) to be checked. Jon was already at work and had to come back to Rowlett and pick me up. While waiting on him, I packed the hospital bag, fed the dogs and cried I was in so much pain. Finally, he gets there to pick me up and we head to the hospital. Of course, its 7:30 on a weekday morning and traffic is bumper to bumper. We get checked in and put in an L&D Observation room and await the Doctor. Doc comes in and explains that the pain I’m having sound as if it’s related to my gallbladder or liver. He ordered some lab work be done and sends me for a level 2 sonogram. No pain meds until we figure out what the issue is…

They come in and take me upstairs to have the sonogram done. First they check on Baby Boy. He is doing great! Heart and lungs appear to be functioning. He’s still head down, but he’s not engaged (ready to come down the birth canal). The sonogram also estimates that Mr. Baby Boy weighs about 8lb 15oz (10 oz more than yesterday!) Also, it does not appear that I have any type of gall stones and my gall bladder does not appear to be inflamed. The Sonogram Doctor (Patton?) comes in to explain his thoughts on the results. He first explains that since my Gall Bladder looks fine that the only other explanation for the pain I’m having is that my liver is preparing to get very sick or fail. This is caused by the hypertension I have experienced the last month. The only “cure” at this point is to get Baby Boy delivered. The Doctor then goes into a discussion around delivering Baby Boy. He points out that 1) Baby Boy is a BIG baby, 2) Baby Boy is not engaged in the birth canal, 3) Inducing labor will probably not work, it will just put my body through 12 – 14 hours of hell to end up with a c-section anyway. 4) Baby may not fit through the birth canal. He’s talked through his recommendations with Dr. Griffith (my Ob-gyn) and they are in agreement that a c-section would be the best way to get Baby Boy here. He sends me back to L&D to await Dr. Griffith so we can make the final decision.

Back in L&D, Dr. Griffith comes in and we collectively decide that a C-Section is best and we will do it in 4 short hours at 4:00. I finally get some stadol to ease the pain in my side and shoulder and begin to drift in and out to sleep. About 3:30 the anesthesiologist comes in to start my epidural. The process goes fairly quickly and in a matter of minutes I am completely numb. They then try to lower the bed and get me back into a resting position. Unfortunately, the bed has decided it no longer wants to work at the hospital but it would rather be a see-saw at the local playground. Only the foot of the bed will move at this point and that’s where I’m sitting as numb as can be! So picture a hugely pregnant woman, numb from the waist down, sitting on the down side of the see-saw and a panicked anesthesiologist and 3 nurses trying to figure out how in the heck they are going to keep me from falling and get me back up into a bed and ready for surgery… The staff at my hospital is very innovative and cleverly figures out that a lot of people lifting and a working bed is the best way to save the day.

At 4:16pm they wheel me into the Operating Room (OR). The room is not what I had imagined. It’s very white and cold. They put up the sheets all around me so that I can’t see the incisions they are making. They turn on a country music radio station and get to work. At 4:38pm Wednesday, September 10, 2008 we welcomed Baby Boy Chandler to this world weighing 7lb 7.8oz. He was 19 ¼ inches long. (Not such a BIG baby after all!) I didn’t get to hold the baby right away, but Jon did and he brought him over to me so I could see him and the nurse snapped a couple of pictures. They all went off to the Nursery while Doc finished sewing me back up and I headed for recovery. I finally made it up to my post partum room about 6:00. They finished up Baby Boy’s admissions and brought him to the room around 8:30. Big Sister had to leave about 8:15 to go home and get ready for school on Thursday. She was NOT happy that she didn’t get to hold her brother! She will get to hold him on Friday afternoon and there is a picture of her that she made him at Sibling Class in his hospital crib, so he always has her nearby.

Sorry this was so long! Baby Boy is precious and I love him dearly.