Baby’s arrival

I did not have internet access at the hospital, but I did bring my laptop to watch movies and such. I typed this up on my third day there:

First, I’d like to thank Erick, who posted the pictures of our new baby per my request. I haven’t actually seen the pictures that he has taken (since I’m still in the hospital with no internet access), but I hope they were good. I’m certain he put at least one embarrassing shot of me. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it in time.

I’m currently in the maternity wing of our local German hospital. I’m in a recovery room which I share with another Army wife. She had a c-section last week and is checking out today.

I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of Baby David’s grand entry into the world.

As I posted earlier, the doctors scheduled an induction for Monday. We arrived Monday morning, and instead of the pitocin drip that I had expected, the doctor used a gel which contains a hormone that softens the cervix and can induce contractions.

I started having mild contractions, but nothing strong enough to induce labor. Several hours later, the doctor examined me and found that I had not dilated at all. He then gave me another dose of the gel, but this time he doubled it.

That is when the contractions started coming in full force. By evening, it got to a point that the pain was more intense than I felt I could bear. I requested and was granted some pretty strong drugs. I still was not dilating, however, so I sent Erick home (we live about 5 minutes away) to get some rest. I told him I’d call him if anything started happening.

At about two in the morning, the pain medicine was wearing off, and I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I requested and was granted more medication.

The midwives hooked me up to a monitor to check the baby’s heart rate and the speed and intensity of my contractions. The baby’s heart rate was much faster than it should have been, and the contractions were intense and occurred almost every minute. They examined me and found that I still was not dilating. They gave me some medicine to slow my contractions and continued to monitor the baby and me.

At this point, I was finally able to fall asleep for a few minutes. But the midwives began waking me up. They prodded my belly. They gave me an IV full of “sugar water” (at least that’s what they called it). They made me get up and go to the bathroom. They made me get up and bounce and “dance.” I was so tired and groggy that I wasn’t sure what was going on.

It didn’t make much sense until just before four o’clock when they woke me up again and told me that the baby’s heart rate was very, very low. All of the prodding and dancing and “sugar water” were attempts at increasing his heart rate. The midwives had called the on-call doctor to come and decide what needed to be done.

The doctor arrived and examined me and decided that I needed an emergency c-section. I grabbed my cell phone and told Erick to get there right away. They were taking me into the operating room.
Within minutes, I was in a hospital gown complete with my hair in a cap, lying on a very small, very uncomfortable operating table. The table was barely large enough to fit my midsection and head.  My legs were lying on two U-shaped cushions that were detached from the table, and my arms were stretched out to either side in similar, yet colder, detached cushions. They strapped my arms in, and I began to feel like I was being prepped for sacrifice rather than surgery.

Then they tilted the table forward, and I was certain that I was going to slide off the end and land on the floor. That’s when the general anesthesia began to kick in (I was told that there was no time for an epidural or spinal block). As the cold dizziness began to surge through my body, I asked if my husband had arrived. Someone in the background assured me that he was close.

When I came to, I had no idea where I was. But Erick was right by my side and so was a tiny, perfect baby boy. It took quite a while for me to fully realize what was going on. I woke up with immediate pain. The pain in my abdomen was more intense than anything I had ever experienced. I remember crying out. I'm sure I embarrassed my husband a bit. But I truly felt like someone had sliced me open. Well, they had.

Erick called a nurse to come help. The nurse offered me ibuprofen or acetaminophen. The pain meds definitely took the edge off.

Turns out that they didn't let Erick into the room where I was having surgery. He waited in the hallway. And the GIANT baby that had the doctors so concerned was about 7 lbs 13 oz. He is my smallest so far. But I’m not complaining one bit. He’s beautiful.

I feel like we have been tremendously blessed through this process. Both mother and baby are healthy and happy. Dad will still have plenty of time off of work to spend time with the kids and give me time to heal.

My in-laws were on their way out of town that very morning, but they were able to spend a few minutes with the baby before they left.

Everything worked out perfectly.

As for me, I’m not sure when I’ll be home. It’s up to the doctors. My roommate stayed five days after her c-section, so if that’s the case for me, I’ll be home no earlier than Sunday.