Yesterday, June 29, 2012, Pat and I left the house to go to the hospital. We got there around 8:30 am, and I checked in with registration and went up to Labor and Delivery, to room 457. I got hooked up to the monitors. To no one's surprise, they couldn't find Veronica's heartbeat. I wasn't too worried (ha ha) as I had felt her moving when we left the house, but that old friend anxiety popped up to say hello anyway. After a while, they finally got her on and we started the paperwork process. It felt like it was taking forever, when in reality, I took about a half hour. Then the nurses tried to put in the IV.
OUCH!!!!!! One nurse, one poke- no IV. Another nurse, another poke- no IV. hey gave up and called the anastestiologist which is spelled wrong, but you know I'm talking about the drug doc). She came in and was able to get it in and get out a few vials of blood. Unfortunately, I sprung a leak. I bled all over my hand and down on the floor. Not the way I wanted my day to start!
So, we just pretty much sat and waited, and watched the clock get closer and closer to 10:30. A few minutes after 10, a nurse came in and said that my c-section might get bumped. I had been so worried about that with all the heat we've been having. I started to cry. The nurses assured me that I would still have the c/s that day, but it might be a few hours later. At 10:40, they came and gave me the good news: it was time to go.
And that's when I got nervous! I was wheeled into the OR, and got up on the table. As I waited to get my spinal, I started to get scared. What if something happened to me while I'm on the table? What if the med student helping the drug doc fucks up and I become paralyzed? What if my BP goes too high or too low?
Well, of course, all my fears were unfounded. I was drugged and then Dr. A came in and said hi. I must have been a little loopy, because I remember him shaking me a bit. I focused and told him I was really happy to see him and thanked him for not standing me up. We joked for a bit, and then it was on.
I felt a lot more pressure, tugging and pulling this time around. I'm not sure if that was because I was expecting to be feeling it or if it was because when Nathaniel was born I had already been in labor and was exhausted. Whatever the reason, it was pretty weird to feel all that and not have any control over my body.
After waiting anxiously for what seemed like an eternity, at 11:47 am, Veronica Lynn was pulled out and Dr. A. announced "It's a girl!" and we heard her cry. Wow, she had some lungs on her! She was giving good long cries, and then Dr. A. held her up for us to see. At first glance, she looked huge! I didn't get to see Nathaniel "in the raw" when he was born, so maybe that's why she looked so big. I have to admit, it was kinda icky. But she was beautiful.
Born at 11:47 am, Veronica weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19 inches long. After she was cleaned up a bit, I was unstrapped from the table (well, my arms were) and I was allowed to give her some kisses and touch her sweet little head. She and Pat left the OR, and I was stitched back up and stapled together. I heard the staple gun and asked if that's what I was hearing. Apparently, they now make dissoleable staples. Who knew? I was wheeled into the recovery room about 12:10 and focused on breathing and trying to move my legs. It was very "Kill Bill" in that I tried to wiggle my toe. I remember doing the same thing after Nathaniel was born and chuckled about it.
It's a very odd feeling to know that you are trying to move a toe and you see your whole leg jump. I wish I were wordy enough to describe it in detail, but I think it's one of those things that unless you experience, you can never fully understand.
The spinal wore off faster than the epidural did, and about an hour after surgery, I was wheeled into my room to finish recovering and to see my sweet baby. She is just incredible. Unfortunately, by the time I recoverred enough to get back in there, my mom had already left to go pick up Nathaniel from school. I missed having her there immediately.
I got to meet Veronica around 2:00 and I honestly think she is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen. I am far more blessed than I ever dared or hoped to be. I truly am one of the luckiest women on the planet.
