Ins and Outs of a C-Section

I have had five c-sections now and have had varying experiences with each and I always like to look back and remember. This one may be quite long so hang in there (if you are interested that is).

I was up early Monday the 29th of August. I figured it would be difficult to wake but being big and heavy I had been having a hard time sleeping and woke up around 4 a.m. so got up and started getting ready. I figured John would have to wake me but thankfully I was ready to go. The children had slept at my parents house so it was just the two of us. We left home and drove into town watching the gorgeous sunrise as we headed east. A beautiful day it was to be and I was going to be stuck in the hospital. Granted for a good reason but…

My c-section was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. so I needed to be there by 5:45 a.m. After checking in and getting to my room I was talkative, maybe nervously so, although I felt fine as John sat quietly listening.The nurses started coming in and monitoring fetal movements, taking blood and tried to get an IV going. I dread that part as my veins are so small that unless I drink a lot, which I couldn’t do, it is hard to find one. This time however, they wrapped my arms in warm blankets which did the trick and made my veins easier to find and thankfully I didn’t need to be poked quite as often. I still cannot handle watching as it makes me feel faint. This time I had one in each arm which is the case with multiple c-sections with the possibility I would need blood at the same time they are giving me whatever else.

Okay, all set to go. I watched the morning news as I waited and watched the clock too seeing it inch ever closer to 7:30 a.m. I figured something was wrong being that I am always wheeled into surgery and they are usually cutting me open right on the dot. Sure enough, in comes the anesthiesiologist who told me that my Doctor had an emergency that morning and she was finishing that up. I found that interesting as my Dad had reminded me a few days earlier about when I had the twins and needed an emergency c-section that I “bumped” another lady, who my Dad had met later on. He had wondered if someone would ever “bump” me. I guess so! The only problem with that is I was ready to go and waiting longer got my mind to wandering and remembering just what was going to happen and I started to think to myself “There must be another way to get this baby out. I really don’t want to have surgery!” Thankfully my Mom brought the older boys up and they helped to distract me.

I don’t remember the exact time I was wheeled into surgery but it was sometime after 8 a.m. The ride was kind of entertaining as the nurses forgot to raise my bed and so they were all crouching low to pull/push my bed through the hallways. As I entered the “surgical suite” memories came back and it is SO cold in there. I find some things amusing about the whole process and one of them is trying to maneuver on my back, big belly and all, from my bed over to this narrow operating table. Doctor Smith was there and was welcoming. I was very touched as when I was having my spinal and sat on the edge of the table she stood in front of me so I could lean into her as I clutched my pillow.

I remembered another time when I was having a spinal while laying on my side and the nurse saw John looking in the window watching a long needle go into my back and he did not look so good. I imagine not. I always say I think it might be easier for me to go through all of this than for John to be on the sidelines watching me go through it. Well, he doesn’t actually watch anything but he hears it and knows what is going on.

The numbness sets in almost instantly making moving really strange. The nurses tell me they are putting in a catheter or moving my leg or washing the area with that orange stuff (can’t remember the name) “okay”. I have a curtain almost right up to my face and my arms attached to boards on each side and have oxygen too. The anesthesiologist assitant is at my head and I learned his name is Noah. I appreciate having him there as he was so personable and easy to talk with (as are all of the anesthesiologists I have met). I always like to have a play-by-play and by the end of the surgery I have learned quite a bit about him. John is now at my side and they have me feel a sharp stick and then touch it to other parts of my body to make sure I am numb and so begins the first cut.

I had made a mixed CD of some of my favorite songs and they have that playing in the background for me which is always so calming. It takes about 10 minutes until baby is ready to be delivered. I was told that I would feel heavy pressure as if someone is sitting on my chest and then baby would come out. I felt that and then I heard them saying, "Baby is swimming out!" (John reminded me that typically they reach in and pull baby out which is something I can feel). He must have really wanted out of there! Of course I am thrilled to hear baby cry and as I heard the words "boy" I begin to cry tears of joy. Yes, I would have loved a little girl to be a sister to Missy but life is a miracle and I am just so thankful that God chose to bless us again. How can I be anything but overjoyed! As he was born the song Glorious Day (the old hymn One Day) by Casting Crowns was playing. I love to have associations like that with music.

John was now able to take baby and go back to the nursery to have him cleaned up and weighed. While I would love to be able to hold my baby I am happy that Daddy gets to have time just the two of them for awhile too. He brought baby out to introduce the children to their new brother and all were excited from what I was told.

I was in surgery for at least another hour or more. There are four layers they cut through and my scar tissue is hard to work with so it takes longer to sew it up each time. I also found out later that they do examine the female organs, which I find fascinating. They couldn't get mine out due to the scar tissue but apparently everything looked good as they moved things aside. I also was told that they had a harder time pulling my muscles back into place. But it all went well.

People often tell me how lucky I am to have a c-section but the only benefits I find are it is relatively quick (rather than laboring) and I know the date in advance for planning but that is about all. I would love to be able to labor and deliver a baby naturally! (I have done it twice). The hard part for me is recovery. I find the day of surgery is my best being that I still have the spinal and morphine in my system I can't feel pain. I have energy and excitement of having a new baby and all is well until the next day when it hits. I do find it difficult to take pain meds as they make me feel so loopy as if I am having an out-of-body kind of feeling and I can't stand that. The nurses get you up and moving relatively quickly. I found this time that having a belly band wrapped around made it easier to move as it supported me more so that the strain wasn't as painful. All in all I suppose it was one of my better c-sections and I was moving around faster but it took at least three weeks until I was moving around as normal, able to turn over in bed, climb stairs, etc. without pain.

All is going well now. I ended up with a yeast infection on my incision from the excess skin hanging over it but otherwise I am feeling closer to my "normal" self. If you hung around this long now you know the ins and outs of having a c-section.

Adjusting...

Sleepy smile at 2 weeks.

Baby is 2 weeks old and we are all adjusting to having him around. I am trying to get in some semblance of a routine but it sure is hard to do with a newborn! He is doing really well with sleeping at night and only wakes up once typically around 3 a.m. which is great, although after getting a decent amount of sleep I still am quite exhausted. During the day he doesn't sleep quite as well and at this point it is a guessing game as to what the routine might be for the day.

I have had my parents here almost every day to help out and keep the other children occupied. Meals have been provided which has been nice, although I am finding a few of our children may be pickier eaters than I had thought, which we are working on. I am trying to rest as much as possible to help with healing and it isn't too difficult to do seeing as my energy is lacking and the desire to get up and go is not very strong either.

I drove for my first time since surgery yesterday which was fine as long as my seat was leaning back more as sitting straight up is not comfortable. Thankfully I am getting around better each day and Tank told me yesterday how well I am moving.

Seppy asked me last night when the baby girl is going to come out. :) I am hoping not to look pregnant for too long but the doctor said it will take some time being that the muscles are going to take awhile to go back to normal. Evidently they had a harder time pulling them back into place with scar tissue all around. It is quite a strange feeling to try and suck in your belly but nothing at all happens. It is as if I have no muscles whatsoever. All in time, I know.

Everyone else seems to have adjusted very well to having a baby again and they all go about their day without a care. I do have quite a few willing helpers and so if they hear crying and I am in the middle of something I often find one of the older boys with baby in his arms trying to console him. I very much appreciate this and I am sure baby does too! I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off too quickly!

It's a.....

BOY!!!! Yes, we had another baby boy a week ago today. I'd have posted sooner but I always forget just how much a c-section takes out of me. And too, I don't know that I have many followers anymore.

Here is a picture of our precious little one.

8 pounds 1 ounce -- 19 3/4 inches

I'm still here...

I have so many things I could post about but really, have no time to accomplish that. I have loads of pictures to crop and resize so you can see what we did with our summer (it was busy!) but I am getting ready for a new life to join our family in 2 days!!!

The summer has flown by but thankfully will not be over quite yet. I checked the forecast and am very pleased to see that the day baby and I come home from the hospital summer will still be here! I was afraid it might be as last year at this time when we were wearing jeans and sweatshirts. So not ready for that! The boys are ready for the County Fair and my Mom took George and Pete to help setup the 4H building which is one of my favorite things to do. I have finally realized I can't do it all but I hope I remember that after the baby is born.

I am very excited but a bit nervous too. I hope to post from the hospital with pictures of our little one.

Only 2 more days!!!  :)

Not Labor but a Kidney Stone

After my previous post I figured I was in the clear from kidney stones, but, I did end up with what I assume was a kidney stone a week ago. We were on the way home from a family gathering when a sudden pain came on in my back. I determined that it was not labor pains as it was only on my left side and kept getting worse and was constant without moving to my abdomen. I told John how much it reminded me of when I had a kidney stone when pregnant with Missy. I lay down on my left side as soon as we were home with pillows around but the pain was so bad it brought me to tears at times and nothing stopped it. Our older boys were so sweet and albeit worried too but would check on me and ask if they could get anything for me. 

I ended up calling the on-call nurse who did determine that I was not in labor but said I sounded like I should get to the hospital to get it checked out. I was all for that seeing as I was miserable. We were on our way and upon getting on the highway my pain suddenly stopped. It had been about 1 hr. 15 minutes by that time. John decided to go in anyway and wait it out at my parents house as they are right down the road from the hospital and he didn't want to be heading in later that night. My Dad scared my Mom by calling to her that we were there because I was having the baby and we all got a kick out of that. I ended up calling the nurse to tell her I no longer needed to go in and she agreed I sounded so much better.

I do think that calcium carbonate may be in other things I have taken such as digestive enzymes and possibly the generic prenatals I had been taking but not certain that was the problem this time. In looking up kidney stones in pregnancy I did find that all of the pressure of the organs pressing on each other can cause build-up of waste in the kidney along as well as dehydration both of which I think caused my problem. I have a horrible time making sure I drink enough. And the learning continues.

So, now we wonder if this is a sign that we are having a girl being that the only other time I had a kidney stone was when pregnant with a girl. :) We'll see!

Calcium and Kidney Stones in Pregnancy

I am constantly learning new things, and even though this is my sixth pregnancy I am still learning. I typically have heartburn, especially during the third trimester. In the past month it happened often while I was still eating.

When I was pregnant with Missy Blue I popped Tums like there was no tomorrow. I figured they were helping and the berry flavor was so good. But I developed kidney stones, which was horrible, and found that taking too many Tums can cause calcium deposits leading to kidney stones of which my current doctor agreed. With my last pregnancy I avoided taking them at all costs and this time as well I took one only if really necessary but usually endured the annoying burning feeling of my food coming up.

I was talking with a friend who told me that Tums has calcium carbonate which is not easily absorbed. I did more research and found out that it can cause more problems than kidney stones such as arthritis from calcified muscles and possibly even a heart attack as your heart is a muscle. My friend also told me about a calcium supplement she takes with bioavailable chelated (I am not getting into all that as it is way over my head or desire to really grasp) calcium and magnesium that her midwife recommends and so I began taking that. I was amazed at what a difference it made. My heartburn has almost completely stopped along with the charlie horses I would get in my legs each morning upon waking. And the round ligament pain that I always experience ended also. I sure wish I would have known this at the beginning of pregnancy! I was told that I don't "complain to the right people". :)

36 Weeks and Counting

Here is my latest side view at 36 weeks. Missy told me yesterday that she really would like me to get some shirts to cover my belly better as she is tired of seeing it all the time. :) Seppy just laughs when he sees it.

I really do have a hard time keeping the lower portion covered as maternity clothes do not seem to be made for women who stick straight out in front. I pondered the idea of starting my own maternity line to make flattering clothes that do not pull so tightly in the back and ride up too high in the front. The only thing that really works is if I have the full panel belly which is also harder to find. Here I had looked forward to wearing some of my cute maternity tops and dresses from past pregnancies but most have not been fitting for the past few months. Well, soon I'll fit in my maternity clothes without a problem and it will be my normal clothes that will take awhile to squeeze back into.