Dean's Birth Story

Since I started this blog, I have really loved to go back and read the posts of where we have been. It's been so healing for me with everything we went through. I tend to forget so many of the details as time goes on, so I'm using this to document all the memories! I love reading birth stories, so if that's not your thing, move on now :)

On Tuesday, we went in for my pre-op appointment as I was scheduled to have another c-section. We had decided to go with the c-section unless I went into labor early. There were just too many risks involved and at the end of the day, as long as our baby was here and healthy, it wasn't worth the risks of trying it naturally. Dean was breech anyways, so it wouldn't have happened regardless. Anyways, the pre-op appointment was quite ridiculous, in my opinion. They asked me a series of questions (that could have been asked a million other times) and gave me specific instructions for the night. I had to shower at night and use these anti bac wipes on the soon-to-be incision area. No eating or drinking past midnight. I was instructed to wear clean clothes and have clean sheets. Seriously?! Not that I sleep in gross clothes or sheets, but still! I could have gone into labor at any given moment and none of those things would have occurred. I totally get that it's preventative but it just seems crazy! We found out that we were scheduled for 8:15 the next morning and needed to be there by 6. I was super excited about this! I knew I was #3 of the day, but it turns out #1 went into labor early so she just moved me to her spot. I also wanted to be out of the house before Vera woke up!

The night before went pretty quickly. I was trying to soak up as much time with Vera as I could before rocking her little world. It was very strange to have a scheduled day to have a baby. Putting Vera to bed was really emotional, knowing what the next day would bring. I loved on her a little extra and cried like a baby for the next hour or so while I finished packing.

The next morning, I was ready to go! Of course, I had been throwing up all the day before, as any other day in my pregnancy, and I was so thirsty! Maybe I followed the rules too much cause I really would have loved some ice. I just didn't want them to tell me they couldn't deliver my baby that day so I followed the rules :) We got to the hospital and after a little waiting, we were taken back to the triage rooms. I was told there had been an emergency c-section so we had been pushed back some. Big bummer, but in the moment, you are glad you're not the emergency so I didn't mind it. As we kept waiting, my nerves (and thirst) started building. My nurse was a bit of a train wreck and was making me even more nervous. I won't elaborate much more there, but she didn't help my growing nerves. My mom, dad, and sister were all rotating coming in to hang. By 9:40 or so, we were headed back. I was really nervous about the spinal they were giving me (similar to an epidural) and the fact that they wouldn't let Derrick be in there until that was over and I was totally prepped for surgery. The part I needed him most for and they won't allow it. Again, frustrating! The nurses were great though and I had one holding my hands and helping me through it. As soon as that was over (and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected), they had me lay down quickly before I went totally numb. At some point over the next few minutes, I started feeling super sick. Of course, Derrick still wasn't allowed in, as I was frantically asking. Part of me thought it might be my nerves. The anesthesiologists are very adamant to make sure you let them know when something isn't right (they were also awesome, by the way!). I brought up that I felt sick and they indicated my blood pressure had just dropped really low and they were working on getting it back up. At that point, I started gagging and throwing up. I felt terrible! I was getting clammy and they could tell I wasn't responding well. However, I have to admit that they have a fabulous procedure! Within seconds, someone was holding something for me to throw up in, someone was wiping my mouth every time I threw up (I was tilted to the side for this) and someone was placing cold cloths on my head. That would have been a really handy crew for my terrible nausea all pregnancy! That happened again one more time, but not as severe. After that, it wasn't long before Derrick came in and the show was on the road! I was so unbelievably calm during this surgery. I wasn't expecting that and it was welcomed! It felt like it took forever for the arrival of our (still unknown gender) baby! At one point, the doctor made a comment about how ridiculous my abs were. He was having a hard time cutting through them, which was kinda hilarious and also a huge compliment! I can't credit that to workouts though. It was all the throwing up I did over the past 9 months. After a couple more jokes about the holes in his fingers from cutting, we were getting close! At 10:05, they pulled out our sweet son. It was such a surreal moment. I absolutely loved finding out the gender in that moment (and him peeing on me apparently). My instincts the whole pregnancy have been boy, but you never know! As soon as he was out, I literally said "that feels so incredible". Although I was numb, you can still feel pressure and all the pulling and tugging. And unfortunately, the smell of burning flesh. That part was pretty gross but they put the oxygen over my face a little more so I didn't have to breathe that in! Anyways, back to that sweet baby! While they are cleaning him up, I just sit and stare. I hate not being able to hold him and love on him, but that's also a sweet time to see Derrick get to help out! We hadn't agreed to a name yet, so I was running through our options in my head while staring at him. After they did their thing with him, I got to love on him for a little bit. I definitely got to hold him a lot longer this time than I did with Vera and it was so sweet. Soon after, he and Derrick left and they finished stitching me up. With Vera, they knocked me out after (cause I had been panicking a little), so I didn't know what to expect. I just laid there while we all chatted about running, music, etc. It was just funny to have those conversations after just having a baby, but it was fun! My doctor is super fun anyways, so it was great. At one point, I asked if they had given me something to make me calm because that was so not my nature. They hadn't though! I don't even know how long that all took, but I think by 10:50 or so, I was being wheeled back to recovery. In those moments, we agreed to the name Dean. That was Derrick's first choice and after running through the other names in our head and ruling some of them out, I agreed. He did look like a Dean to me :) It's such a grown up name to me, but he's obviously just destined to be super manly :) (you're welcome future wife).

I couldn't be happier with the whole experience! It was so different from my experience with Vera, and I enjoyed the calmness about the day! 

By noon or a littler after, we were being taken to the mother baby rooms where our journey with a new baby would start! Stay tuned for another post about the first 2 weeks at home!