The Story

 

 I know…I was HUGE!!!  This was taken a few days before due date. 

The day before the due date I had a doc appt and this little guy turned out to be breech.  The doctor felt very confident that the baby could be turned easily.  He made an appointment early the next morning to turn the guy – if he turned then he would start labor so he wouldn’t go breech again.  If the baby didn’t turn, the chances of him turning on his own were slim because I was due and he was only going to get bigger and so harder for him to flip.  But he was very very sure that he would flip easily.

After 3 hours of sleep (did I mention that I was sick with sore throat, a  cough, and stuffy nose?) we got to the hospital at 5am.  I got an epidural and a uterine relaxer then he started the turning.  Wow.  He was kneading my belly like dough.  It was pretty intense.  The doc said that if he didn’t turn the first time, he probably wouldn’t.  But since he was so sure that he was going to turn he just kept going at it.  He definitely worked up a sweat.  Like I said.  It was intense…and Sam didn’t turn…

…and there was a slim chance that he was going to…

So my options: Go home and wait until I go into labor, and then hurry up to get an emergency c section (I could try a breech birth but it is 7 times more dangerous for the baby) OR go for an elective c section right then.

Well, not much of a choice there.  I was nervous – what if the baby wasn’t fully cooked yet?  I mean, yes I was due, but he wasn’t flipped and I wasn’t even in labor.  All the other kids were late.  i was assured by the doctor that if the same thing happened last week, he would have done the same thing. 

So a couple hours later there I was being prepped for surgery!  Since the epidural was already in place the anesthesiologist wanted to do just a more concentrated dose to see if that would work.  If not, then a spinal block would be put in.  The epidural worked like a charm.

What a strange sensation.  Not pain, but just the pressure.  It seemed an out of body experience.  Wow.  After he came out I got to meet him I bawled.  He was beautiful.  The whole experience was crazy.  They whisked Joel and Sam away until I was sewn up.  Fifteen minutes later I was with my boys! 

It was just crazy.  I am happy we did it.  The doc said that the umbilical cord was low and so it was probably really good it was a c section because it would have caused problems in a regular labor.  Perhaps there was a reason for all this craziness.

I am still recovering.  Majorly.  The first 5 days I was hecka sore from the turning – the doctor said it would feel like I had been mugged and that is totally right.  Ouch.  Now it is incision pain that I am still having a hard time getting around with.  Meds are good.  Real good.  And on the flip side – I haven’t felt a single nursing contraction! 

Absolutely everything has been different this time around.  EVERYTHING.  But it could have been a lot worse.  I am so thankful that we are both okay.  And Mr. Sam is amazing.  What a good good baby.  And so handsome.  We are so happy to have him. 

Here are the pictures the nurse took – not the most attractive pictures of me, but I’ll share anyhow.  :)