Even simply stating that sounds like it would be a breeze, but I was going into Wyatt's Birth with trauma from Genevieve's birth.
No matter how many times I told myself this time would be different, a little voice would show up and say, "Yea, but do you remember how your epidural stopped working and you were in extreme pain for 6 hours, screaming and crying before the Dr decided it was time for a C-section?? Oh, and then do you remember how recovery was so much different and difficult?"
The couple weeks leading up to the C-section I was having quite a bit of pelvic pain. I thought for sure I was going to go into labor before our scheduled date, and that scared me.
Luckily, Wyatt followed in his siblings footsteps and stayed comfy and cozy in my tummy until it was eviction day.
Our C-section was scheduled for Sept. 11th at 7am, and we had to be at the hospital at 5am. After arriving the nurses had me shower with a special soap that would aid in preventing any infections from surgery.
Once that was done, it was time for the IV. I hate getting the IV because it never goes in a comfortable place- This time it was placed in my left hand.
The anesthesiologist came in to go over plans for the C-section and protocol questions. I informed him of my previously failed epidural, and he could sense how traumatic that was. He said instead of an epidural he would do a spinal block. That way I could be numb for the duration of the surgery without having anything in my back, and risk the epidural not working. He was very knowledgeable, and brought a lot of peace. I agreed to the spinal block, and we only had about half an hour to wait before we would be taken into the OR.
The nurses gave me an extremely sour liquid to drink half an hour before the surgery to prevent nausea and vomiting. It tasted awful, absolutely awful! I do not like sour things and this was a shot of straight bitterness. I downed it quickly, then waited the remaining 30 minutes.
Cameron was suited up in hospital attire and walked with me and the nurses to the OR. He also knew how nervous I was and did very well at soothing me and bringing me comfort.
I sat on the operating table as the anesthesiologist began prepping for the spinal block. It was incredibly difficult to remain relaxed when this was the very source of my trauma. A very kind nurse gently reminded me to relax my shoulders throughout the process. I forced myself to stop trembling and closed my eyes.
The anesthesiologist then asked if I had ever had a diagnosis of scoliosis. The answer: Never.
He said my back had a slight curve to it which might have been a factor with my epidural last time. He said with pregnancies, sometimes the spine can shift and it may or may not shift back afterwards.
With that in mind, he worked slowly and cautiously to make sure the spinal block was perfect.
He injected the numbing serum, but it wasn't enough. He injected another dose and asked if I was one who needed lots of numbing medication for fillings. I was never told I needed more numbing serum before, so I was surprised I needed so much now.
Just as he was about to put in the spinal block, a nurse came in and told us that my Dr was on her way in when another mom came in with her water broke and ready to push. My Dr then had to rush to her room to deliver her baby. The anesthesiologist said the spinal block would only last 45 minutes to an hour, and we weren't sure how long my Dr would be with that other mom. He suggested we go ahead and do the spinal block, but also do an epidural so he could make sure I was numb for the length of the surgery. Cameron and I agreed. The spinal block was fairly easy to do, I was in constant communication with the anesthesiologist about any pain. Then came the epidural. It felt like it took a while to finally get the epidural right, but that's how precise the anesthesiologist was. He was not about to move on or let it be until he knew it was in the right place by my verification that I could not feel any pain from it.
Once it was in, it was a big trust game.
I was laid down on the operating table as the epidural and spinal block quickly went to work. I began to feel light headed and nauseated. I told Cameron I had to throw up, and a second later, I did. I threw up all of the bitter liquid I had consumed 45 minutes prior. It was awful.
The anesthesiologist said my blood pressure went down, and he acted quickly to get it under control, once he did, I was fine again.
We ended up waiting a full hour for my Dr to come in. By the time she entered the room, the blue partition was up in front of my face and she went to work right away. Cameron was curious about watching the whole procedure and my Dr was very willing to let him watch. Cameron stood next to me, holding my hand and watch as they slowly cut down to Wyatt.
My Dr discovered that my uterus was attached to scar tissue from Genevieve C-section-that was the cause of all my pelvic pain for the last couple weeks. Also, another reason I was grateful we were having Wyatt now instead of a week from now. Scar tissue attaching to the uterus can be dangerous.
She then burned away previous scar tissue. I was so anxious for them to get to Wyatt. They pulled him out and Cameron asked what color hair he had. My Dr plainly said, "Oh, it's red."
I was floored! I fully expected him to have brown hair, but no, it's red, just like Waylon's. I was shocked we ended up having two redheads.
The nurses folded down a section of the partition and left a clear plastic window for me to see Wyatt. They were able to bring him close enough for me to kiss against the window. Afterward, he was passed through a window in the back of the room to the NICU for cleaning, vitals check and to check his breathing cause he was still a bit purple. The nurses announced that he weighed 10 lbs 5 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long.
They got his color to come back, but they noticed that he was struggling to breathe a bit. He was breathing but not oxygenating. With his body working so hard to breathe, his blood sugar levels also dropped.
Wyatt was then admitted to the NICU. I was sewn back together and wheeled back to my room, waiting to hear what was happening to our baby boy.
Nurses would come in and update me, Cameron was sending me text updates, but I just wanted my baby boy. The nurses proceeded to push on my uterus to encourage blood clots out. The thing is, they did it for a while and multiple times that day. My uterus was extremely sore.
Later that day, once the anesthesia wore off enough that I could stand, a nurse helped me to a wheel chair and took me to see Wyatt. My sweet, fresh, new baby boy was hooked up to oxygen, he had a tube going through his nose to his stomach to suck out extra air from the oxygen he was receiving. It's common for c-section babies to have some extra fluid in their lungs because they weren't pushed out of the vagina, which naturally helps push out that extra fluid.
The nurses wanted to get him an IV of fluid to help with regulating his blood sugar. They made a few attempts to get in an IV with no luck. Finally they inserted it into his umbilical cord and tried to get it to his diaphragm area. But it kept trying to go to his liver. They left it just outside of his liver for the time being.
I instantly cried seeing Wyatt hooked up to all those wires and tubes. I reached up to rub his sweet head and the nurse told me not to do more than that cause they didn't want to over stimulate him. I was struggling big time.
I was wheeled back to my room and laid in bed, pumped what colostrum I could and tried to get some rest. Later that night they told us they were willing to let me do skin-to-skin with him. The nurse told me I was only allowed to hold him, and not feed him. With the level of oxygen he was receiving, they didn't want the extra air in his stomach and the colostrum to cause him to vomit. But I told her if he is wanting to nurse, I'm not ignoring it and will feed him. She then turned down his oxygen to a level that would allow him to nurse. Within a minute, Wyatt was showing signs of hunger and wanting to eat. I was able to feed him and I was so happy for this bonding moment for Wyatt and I.
The next day I visited Wyatt as often as I could. I was in the NICU every 3 hours to nurse him.
With me feeding him, he was no longer needing as much fluid as my colostrum was helping his blood sugar levels and they lowered the amount of fluids he was getting.
Later that day, they finally removed the oxygen as he was able to maintain healthy oxygen levels on his own.
Because the IV in his umbilical cord was going towards his liver, they decided to go ahead and remove it, then put a new one in. The new one ended up in his head, which hurt to see.
He still had a tube going through his nose to his stomach, but while feeding him, he reached up and pulled it pretty far out. The nurse came over and pulled it out entirely and said it was fine since he wasn't on oxygen anymore.
Late into the night Sunday, we finally had him off of fluids. He was getting great blood sugar levels with nursing and no longer needed to fluids.
He was doing well enough Monday morning that the nurses began working on his discharge checklist. The only major hold up was a 90 minute car seat challenge. We would have to buckle Wyatt into the car seat and he would have to go 90 minutes without his oxygen going below 85 for more than 30 seconds. He had just eaten and was very relaxed, so 20 minutes in and he was so relaxed, he failed. The Dr agreed to let us try one more time later than evening. This time we made sure he was more alert and hungry. Cameron gave Wyatt a blessing and many many tearful prayers were said on his behalf.
At 7pm, he passed the test and Wyatt's discharge papers were off to the printer. I went back to my room so that I too could be discharged.
For the first time, Wyatt was no longer hooked up to wires and tubes. He was finally able to leave the NICU. We were thrilled to be leaving the hospital with our healthy baby boy.
Since leaving, Wyatt has been great. His breathing is perfect and he nurses like a champ. Waylon, Walker and Genevieve love having Wyatt at home. They love to see him and are fascinated by him.
I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that we have 4 kids now, but I love our sweet family and grateful we are all healthy and well enough to be home together.
