This is the long version so don't say I didn't warn you.
On December 20th I started having really bad back pain and contractions about 6 minutes apart. I was 35 weeks and 1 day. We headed to the hospital (this was our 4th visit to labor and delivery) and had to wait an hour for a room to open up all while having what I thought was back labor since Little Miss was breech and contractions every 5-6 minutes. I finally got into a room and settled. They checked me and I was still only 1 cm dilated and 20% effaced, only slightly more than the week before.
After a few hours of continued pain and monitoring, they figured out I had a kidney infection which was actually causing all the back pain and probably the contractions too. Sometime in the middle of the night they started me on antibiotics and magnesium and gave me something for the pain. I knew then I was going to be there at least for a few days on the IV antibiotics. I ended up getting "magged out" over the next 24 hours and having a terrible experience the following night with a less than sympathetic nurse. They lowered my magnesium and I felt much better within a few hours.
From then on, they were able to keep me relatively comfortable with the magnesium and Tylenol for the back pain. Over the weekend (Saturday was Christmas), we got mixed messages about whether they would try to wean me off the mag and send me home to cook the Little Miss a bit longer or if they would be keeping me until delivery. It was the day after Christmas that I hit 36 weeks and breathed a little easier. I was getting several different opinions though of how she might do, particularly with breathing, because of my diabetes along with the fact that she was measuring HUGE...already full term size before 36 weeks.
At one point they tried to wean me off of the mag and I started having more uncomfortable contractions within an hour or so and that idea was given up. They decided to “humor me” and do an amnio Wednesday to see if her lungs were ready. The night they did the amnio she measured in at 9 lbs 2 oz by Dr. T's measurements and he said there was no chance her lungs would be fine yet with her size and my diabetes. He also said that if I were to go full term she would make the papers because she would be 13 pounds. The next morning the preliminary amnio results came in saying the lungs were mature so we waited to hear from Dr. J (the one we liked better) when the c section would be scheduled. We found out just before lunch that Little Miss was going to be born that evening and called the family.
Dr. J scheduled the c section for 7 pm so they didn't let me eat from lunch on. In the intervening hours, I showered, we cleaned up our hospital room, and tried unsuccessfully to rest. We were super excited and a little nervous. I went really low twice in the hour and a half prior to the section and they had to give me IV dextrose since I couldn't eat anything and both his family and my family were all in the room and I felt a little overwhelmed. They finally said the OR was ready and came to wheel me back around 7:15. The hall outside was filled with more family.
When My Love and I got back to the OR they had him put on a white suit, cap, booties, and mask. It was rather comical watching my 6' 5” husband trying to cram himself and his size 15 feet into the sterile garb. He ended up wearing the booties over his socks because his shoes didn't fit. We had to wait for Dr. T who was assisting because he was stuck in traffic. They finally took me in to get the epidural started and before I knew it, they were opening me up. I was a little out of it from whatever they gave me but I perked up when I heard that one of her legs had been delivered. Then she was out and I waited for that first cry. It was beautiful.
I kept asking how she was and after what seemed like forever, they said she was great and asked My Love to go cut the cord. She was born at 8:05 pm weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and 19.5 inches long. She had a beautiful full head of dark brown hair and the longest fingers and toes.
I was really uncomfortable though as they were still working on me and they said because of having been on the magnesium and her breech position my uterus was really soft and having a hard time contracting down so they gave me pitocin and something else to help with that. I wanted something for pain but not until after I saw her. The nurse finally brought her over and then Ricky came and held her up for me. We took a few pictures and then they were out the door to the nursery. They gave me something more for the pain and I dozed while they finished stitching me up. Dr. J did a fantastic job with dermabond and steri strips on the outside and it looks amazing.
I continued to doze in recovery and asked for my mom and more pain meds. She helped me test my blood sugar (118) and eventually My Love came in with Little Miss. They ended up being totally full on the post-partum side of the floor so they took me back to my room on the L and D side. As soon as I was settled in bed, I wanted to try to nurse and Little Miss did great even though it had been about 2 hours since the delivery (longer than I would have liked but it turned out fine). The rest of the night was a blur but I will never forget those first hours with my precious baby girl.
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