Your Birth Story: Part 3

Dear Charlotte,

Your Birth Story: Part 1
Your Birth Story: Part 2

Shortly after 7am, mommy's nurse, Therilyn, quietly came in to check my blood pressure. Her movements woke me up. She apologized for waking me, but was glad she had the chance to say good-bye. Her shift was ending. She said she would be back that night at 7pm but may not be assigned to me. I was glad she came to tell me as I have slight attachment issues and would have been disappointed to wake up and not see her. She said by the time she comes back that night, you will be here and I said I sure hope so. She gave me a reassuring pat on the arm and left.

A little after that I was introduced to my new nurse for the next 12 hours, an older no nonsense woman named Joyce. Dr. S came in shortly before 8am and told me the Foley bulb catheter didn't do the job. To tell you the truth, I wasn't surprised.. especially with how the night/early morning was going. She said we will to have to go in and get you out by cesarean. She said we would have to do it soon since your heart rate was still not where she would like it to be. I asked her if my failure to transition into active labor was due to my body not cooperating or the baby. She said it was the baby. You weren't tolerating labor and were refusing to budge. [Stubborn girl- a hint of what your personality would be like already]. It didn't really "hit" me that she was implying we were in an emergency situation since she didn't use those words; it didn't register that "soon" meant NOW, but within minutes everything began moving really fast. There was definitely a sense of urgency in the air that wasn't there before.

An anesthesiologist and his nurse came in to talk to me about getting the spinal (an injection to the spine that would numb me from the chest down). They explained the process to me and told me I had nothing to worry about.  I asked if the spinal would have any affect on you and they assured me that it wouldn't. Then Joyce began prepping me for surgery. It was all very overwhelming, but to be honest the speed of how everything happened was a blessing in disguise. It didn't allow me any time to digest what was happening to me and by extension, you. I wasn't given the time to psych myself out.

Within 10 minutes of Dr. S telling me we were going with a C-section, they were wheeling my hospital bed into the OR. Daddy followed and was given instructions and a pair of patient scrubs to wear. He was told to wait in another area until they called him; meanwhile they pushed me into the operating room. I was then lifted onto the operating table where I could see several doctors and nurses prepping for your delivery.

[Your dad all scrubbed up!]

And then suddenly it was time to get the spinal. I didn't even have time to get myself worked up over it. They had me sit up and lean forward on the operation table. The anesthesiologist was really great about telling me what he was doing step by step and what I should be feeling. His nurse stood in front of me and held my shoulders. He said I would feel a pinch... and then it was over. The expectation of pain was worse than the actual thing. I would say the needle felt very similar to getting your blood drawn. After that they had me lay back down and then I suddenly felt really cold, teeth-chattering cold. They said this was normal and one of the nurses put an oxygen mask on me because my teeth were chattering so violently that I had difficulty drawing in air.

The anesthesiologist then took a blunt object and gently pressed it on my arm. He said that he's going to use it to see if I am numb below the chest and asked if I could feel any of the pricks. I said no, and he said great we're ready to go. They placed a curtain between my chest and abdomen and Dr. S and another doctor were both sterilized and ready to go. And then in walked your dad.

I could tell your dad was really nervous. They told him to stand by my head and gave him a stool to sit on, but for some reason he remained standing (maybe he felt more grounded with his feet planted to the floor?). The nurses began doing some sort of countdown that didn't make any sense to me. It sounded like they were counting up and not down, but then again I was pretty out of it. And then I could feel them cutting into me. It was the strangest sensation... as if I had no control over my body. I could feel them pulling and tugging, but it didn't hurt. At all. I was shivering uncontrollably now. I couldn't even get a grip on how cold I was. I imagine this was a small introduction to what hypothermia must feel like. It felt like my body was convulsing and I had absolutely no control over it. To be honest, the shivering was more uncomfortable than what they were doing behind the curtain. And then I heard something horrible.. Dr. S said "the cord is wrapped around her body twice." I held my breath. I kept looking up at your dad for some sign that you were out and that you were okay, but his face (though masked) revealed nothing. It felt like a thousand years... in my head I was thinking "where's the cry? Why isn't she crying? What's wrong?" but honestly it was probably just a few seconds, because out came the most beautiful sound and it filled the entire room. You, my girl, have quite a pair of lungs and you weren't afraid to let the world hear it.

With that first cry, I instantly felt emotional and the tears welled up in my eyes. Your dad let out a breath (which I guess he was holding) and said "Oh..." and I said "What?" And he said "she's beautiful.." One of the nurses held you up for me to see and I know everybody says this, but the sight of you literally took my breath away... thank goodness I had that oxygen mask on. I think I forgot how to breathe. And just like that, the last 11+ hours, all that pain, pitocin-what? all disappeared. You were here. At last.

Below is a string of play-by-play photos your dad was conscious enough to capture. I am so grateful that we have these images of your first few minutes of life:

[Our very first family picture.]

My sweet baby girl, you were born on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 8:27am weighing in at 5lbs 13oz and 18.5 inches long. So, you were the one kicking me this whole time...hello, daughter.