Since we had no idea when the baby would have to be delivered, Caroline stayed in the hospital with me every day. The baby was breech, so we knew there was a strong possibility he would be delivered by C-section.
After a week in the hospital, we had one false alarm. One of the many medical staff attending me freaked out about the swelling of my legs (which was pretty severe actually) and determined I might be getting worse. I was rushed back into Labor & Delivery. Everyone was saying this might be the day my baby is born. I was pretty freaked out. I wasn't mentally ready. I was still hoping we could cook him a bit longer. I was only 36 weeks and a couple of days. He was small already, so I wanted to grow him as much as possible. Eventually, the OB decided not to deliver and I was sent back to my room.
That false alarm told me I needed to get ready for my baby. He was definitely coming sooner than later. Good thing I decided to get real about it because sooner became the next day. There was a dip in my platelet count and finally the OB said she couldn't see a reason to wait any longer. The C-section was scheduled for that evening.
I was pretty nervous about the surgery. I was planning to deliver vaginally. I never thought about a C-section and what would be involved. I was nervous about the spinal. I don't know about you, but the thought of someone putting a large needle in my spine is pretty nerve wracking. I was scared of being one of the few who become paralyzed by accident. But mostly I was worried that I wouldn't have the emotional attachment to my baby the way I imagined I would after going through labor.
I needn't worry, though. It all went smoothly. Actually, Caroline and I watched the surgery with the help of a mirror. It was incredibly freaky seeing my body manipulated like that. But the most amazing moment happened when the OB pulled Jacob out of me. I can barely describe the amazement and joy I felt seeing him for the first time. I cried. The love was there instantly.
Because he was a preemie, the neonatal unit had to check him out right away to make sure all his parts were working. Caroline watched as they cleaned him, weighed him and did all the other stuff. Then Jacob was brought over to me as the OB was putting me back together. It was wonderful. His eyes were open and he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Then he was whisked off to the nursery for a thorough exam.
I was brought to recovery and placed on a magnesium sulfate drip for 24 hours. That stuff is used to prevent any of the preeclamsia symptoms from getting worse after delivery. They also gave me an IV pain killer. Little did I know how much pain I'd be in. The spinal started wearing off right away and I began to feel the incision. Thank goodness for pain medication. I had to stay in the Labor and Delivery unit until the magnesium was stopped. Another uncomfortable bed.
Caroline's sister, Katherine, flew in from San Diego that night. She planned to help Caroline get the house ready for the baby. But since I had the C-section, Caroline had to stay at the hospital with me around the clock. There isn't much one can do after their abdomen has been cut in half. So Katherine readied the house by herself. She ran around buying all kinds of things we would need that we hadn't yet bought ourselves. She cleaned, bought groceries, cleaned the litter boxes, took care of the cats, bought clothes for the baby, and on and on and on. I can't even list everything she did because I was pretty out of it most of the weekend.
Having a newborn and major surgery at the same time is a bit overwhelming. There isn't much sleep to be had when you have a newborn. You have to nurse him every 3 hours, start to start. And the first night was just so overwhelming, I forgot to sleep. Caroline was equally exhausted because I couldn't get out of bed. She was changing every diaper, taking calls, helping me with everything. She forgot to sleep the first night too. By the time 24 hours had passed, I was so tired I started to feel like I was going to black out.
And then the real pain began. After coming off the magnesium (which, by the way, every single nurse told me was a "nasty" drug), I was brought to the post-partum unit. I hadn't moved a muscle since before the surgery and now the nurse wanted me to get out of my bed and into the wheelchair so I could be moved. The first time I tried moving, I thought I would die. Now let me say, if you're ever going to have a baby, avoid the C-section at all costs. Really, take my word for it.
The next 96 hours I spent in the hospital was basically consumed by trying to breastfeed and waiting to fart. Really. I couldn't have solid foods until I farted. You'd be surprised how hard it is to fart after a surgery like that.
More difficult was the breastfeeding. Since Jacob was a preemie, there were all sorts of issues with his learning to suck. I won't get into it now, but let me tell you that Jacob was a champ. We got him on the breast and he amazed everyone in the nursery and the lactation station with how well he was learning. It was very challenging for me, but I was determined to give him breast milk no matter what I had to do.
Four days later, I went home. Here is one of the first photos of our son. He was 4 lbs and 8 oz when he was born.
