David's Birth Story

Warning! The following post contains a birth story so if you are the type that is easily bored or nauseated by such things you will want to stop reading now.

Before David was born I assumed that shortly afterward I would get online and post about the birth so that we could have a record of it and that anyone interested could read the details. Considering though that the first week of his life I spent writhing in pain because of a nasty spinal headache and the many, many weeks following filled with sleep deprivation I somehow never managed to get around to it. So I decided that instead I would feature this post around David's first birthday. Once again I'm behind schedule but I figure I better do it anyway before the details get fuzzy and I forget them.

Last year on December 9th it was a ridiculously freezing morning when I woke Derek up probably 2 full hours earlier than necessary so that we could get ready for my 7 am scheduled induction. Considering that we'd packed everything into the car the night before though and were planning on grabbing breakfast on the way it only took us a few minutes to get ready so we were free to spend the rest of the time nervously pacing around and getting in each other's way. We stopped by McDonalds on the way and I ordered 2 breakfasts figuring that since it was going to be my last meal for a long time I'd better make the most of it. Of course it's not physically possible to cram 2 meals into a stomach compressed by a nine plus pound baby so Derek wound up with 2 breakfasts instead.

After I was admitted the doctor came to break my water and I was hooked up to some pitocin. The next 8 hours weren't a whole lot of fun. Derek was troubled by the fact that the TV remote was attached to my bed so he had to watch shows like What Not To Wear and even had to go with no TV for a couple hours when the pain was pretty intense and I just wanted things dark and quiet. I was more bothered by the contractions getting stronger and more frequent not to mention (TMI warning!) a fresh wave of amniotic fluid gushing into my bed every time I moved.

Labor wasn't pleasant for me, but it also wasn't as bad as I was anticipating based on some horror stories that I've heard. The epidural was awful though. It took nearly a full HOUR of prodding around with a huge needle which sent pain surging down either leg as it scraped the nerves of my cauda equina. The anatomical term cauda equina not only makes me sound immensely intelligent, but is also significant because it is where the spinal cord branches off into several stringy nerves. Fortunately for me epidurals are placed at this level of the spine or I would undoubtedly be paralyzed from having my spinal cord pierced so many times by that needle. I digress though. The true moral of this substory is that when an anesthesia student wants to practice his budding skills on you the answer is HELL NO!

I seem to have inherited an unfortunate combination of a small pelvic opening with a propensity for large babies so even with having my water broken and the pitocin turned all the way up labor wasn't really progressing and after eight plus hours David was showing minor distress. My doctor gave me the option of waiting it out longer, but there didn't seem to be much point so we opted for a C-section. As I was being wheeled out my mom tried to ease my nerves by reassuring me that she had experienced this 3 times and lived to tell the tale. Of course with Michelle the anesthesia didn't take and she felt each and every cut, but the point is that she survived. Thanks Mom.

"Feel free to give me lots and lots of medicine," I begged the anesthesiologist while everyone prepped for the surgery. When my doctor announced she was ready to start I wanted to leap off the table because I was definitely not numb. I could totally feel the nurse spreading the drapes over me and swabbing my abdomen with the betadine. They explained that I would still feel pressure but not pain and started to cut. The nurse invited Derek to stand closer so he could watch and he almost passed out on the spot before he regained his composure and explained that for my sake he needed to stay where he could comfort me.

While it's true I didn't exactly feel pain, the words 'pressure' or 'discomfort' don't even begin to describe the unpleasantness of being fully conscious while someone rearranges your innards. Soon the head was out and Derek was even convinced to go watch while they finished pulling David out. I couldn't see anything but the next thing I heard a baby screaming and one of the doctors exclaiming, "He's practically a toddler! I hope you didn't buy any newborn sized clothes." I glimpsed him briefly as a nurse held him up for me as they whisked him away to the nursery but I had to crane my neck to see him from the corner of my eye and my mind was so fuzzy from the drugs that I don't really remember anything about it.

By the time I got to recovery everyone but me had already seen David and I wanted him brought out to me but I was shaking so badly I wasn't sure if I'd be able to hold him. I also discovered that Derek had already announced to everyone that the baby was named David even though he was the one that had been adamant about not deciding on a name until we had seen him first. Since we really didn't have any other names in the running it wasn't really an issue, but I gave him a hard time afterward about not consulting me.
I would have much preferred to hold David for the first time without being attached to a million different monitors but I managed to hold him and even nurse him for a few minutes while I was still in recovery. As cheesy as it sounds as soon as I held him the shaking stopped and the pain was immediately much, much less. He was wide awake and I think I was just so amazed to finally be meeting this little newborn person that even pain couldn't distract me. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since then and David gets more fun and lovable all the time. We are so blessed to have such a healthy and sweet little boy.