Labor of Love

Apparently in England they spell labor with a u. They call diapers - nappies, and they call a stroller - a push chair or pram. That's your English lesson for the day. :)

So my C-sect was scheduled for August 10, but I actually went into labor on August 9. I didn't even realize I was in labor. I noticed some spotting at 7:30am when I took my morning shower. I called the doctor around 11:00 to see if this was something I needed to have checked because I was still spotting but it was pink not red, or if it was ok to ignore. She was at the hospital and said I should come down and get checked just in case. I call car service, hop in the car and am at the hospital by around 12:15pm. I get hooked up to a heart monitor around 1:00pm. And low and behold, the doc comes in and tells me, "You're not going anywhere. You're having a baby today. You're in labor. You better call your husband." That was around 2:00pm. They said it looked like I was scheduled to get the c-sect around 4pm unless labor escalated. I was 2 cm dilated at the time. The "contractions" I felt were very much like period cramps. I was expecting something a little more intense so maybe that's why I didn't realize I was in labor. They brought me to the OR at 4pm exactly. I got a spinal injection to numb me from the waist down. I was really scared because I didn't know what to expect. Fiance wasn't allowed in while they prep you for surgery. So I was alone and very nervous. You basically hug a pillow, curve your back out and the anesthesiologist injects 2 things into your spine. And quite quickly your legs become numb. It's weird because you have all your faculties and you can sort of feel things happening to your body pressure wise, but you feel nothing at all. I was scared I would feel something, but I didn't. So after the spinal injections, they lay you out on the table, flip the hospital gown up so that you're barenaked from the ribs down. They put up a blue sheet so that you can't see what they are doing. They stick some sort of sheet on your belly so you're no longer exposed to entire room, with an opening where they will make the incision. And then once they set up, they call in the dad, so J was able to join me on the other side of the sheet. The anesthesiologist asked if I could feel any pain. I tried to focus, and she said you're not supposed to think about it. If you don't feel it, then you are ok. So no I felt no pain even though I tried my darndest to do so because I didn't want to feel anything when I heard something that sounded like a saw. And after a while, you just wonder what they're doing on the other side of the sheet. Eventually I felt pressure as they pushed on the top of my stomach. I had to guess this was when they started pushing the baby out. And then I heard a cry. It brought tears to my eyes. Time: 4: 26pm. Welcome to the world, baby Nico! I couldn't believe it. They brought J over to cut the umbilical cord. The attending physician cleaned off the baby, and J was able to hold him while I was lying there getting sewn up. It was pretty awesome to see MY son (as Joey from Blossom would say: whoa!) for the first time. Unbelievable actually. The thought of it still brings tears to my eyes. He was beautiful (mommy bias?). 18" / 7lbs 9oz. How adorable. J left with the baby to the nursery so they can do whatever it is they do. And I was left in the OR so they could finish sewing me up. The procedure was done an hour later, so by 5:30pm I was out of there and moved to recovery where my parents, sister and Mark were waiting. Actually no one was there when they brought me back in because they were all at the nursery. But eventually they went back into the room and it took them awhile before they brought the baby in because he had to sit under a heat lamp. It was torturous waiting and wondering when I could finally for the first time hold the baby in my arms. But the wait was totally worth it!! It was amazing to finally be up close and personal with the little one.