Well little David is asleep on my chest after a rough morning and early afternoon here in the Frauenklinik. So far today he has battled bad gas, a terrible poke to the foot, and a rather rough wardrobe change by a stern and pushy nurse who was convinced that, in this 80 degree weather, he was cold. He is out, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a quick post. Unfortunately, I left the camera across the room, so the photos will have to come later. (Probably later today, if not then tomorrow.) Michael's mom, Terry, will be here in an hour or so--I am SO excited--and we will definitely have some fun photos to share!
Some of you already know this, but I know that others were wondering about the birth and how things went. Ultimately, things went well insofar as David and I are both healthy! The birth itself was not exactly what I'd hoped for, but it's hard to be too bothered by that with little David asleep on my chest.
We went in for the induction on Sunday, as scheduled, and I think it was good that we did. My first BP reading was 110/60, which was incredible, but an hour later it was 150/110. I had no idea it could fluctuate so rapidly! In any case, I think induction was the right choice. They use two drugs for induction here, a weaker one until you hit 3cm and then oxicotin which is, I think, what they tend to use at home. I got my first dose of the weaker stuff at around 10am and contractions started with the hour! They were weak, but fairly regular. Michael and I played Backgammon and watched some Alias on DVD and waited for things to progress.
I will spare you all of the details of the very (very) long day, but after my second dose of the first medication, things got very intense. By the third dose, I asked for an epidural. I had hoped to wait until 5cm to get one, and I was astonished to hear that I was only 1 1/2 cm after hours of virtually uninterrupted intense contractions...and definitely not going to wait any longer. (It turns out that in the short time it took them to move me downstairs and got the epidural ready, I got to 6cm!)
I am not doing a very good job of sparing you all the details, sorry! Long story short, my water broke as they were trying to get the epidural in and it didn't take me long at all to get to 10cm, so it looked like things were just going to race along. Then I stayed at 10cm for 4 hours and nothing changed--despite all manner of gymnastics geared towards rotating the baby and bringing him out! They tried everything--increasing the medication, decreasing the (already not very strong) epidural, and even stopping the contractions for a while. This baby was just not going to get into the birth canal. So, in the end, we had to have an emergency C-section. within 6 or 7 minutes of the decision, I was on the operating table and being given general anasthesia.
It was not what I had hoped for. Up until a few weeks ago, when this blood pressure business began, the plan was to try for a natural water birth in the Frauenklinik! Still, after the operation they said that there was just no way he would have made it out. (Some bone structure problem, it seems.) I am so incredibly grateful for the state of medicine today, and for the prayers of everybody both here and back home, to have this perfect little guy and to have us both be healthy. I am having a hard time seeing why anybody would ever choose to undergo a C-section for non-medical reasons--the first day I felt as if a monster had just clawed through my stomach--but I am nevertheless grateful for having had one myself. And it turns out they're telling the truth when they say that you get much better each day. I can't believe the difference, and it looks like I will be allowed to go home tomorrow!
I hope nobody minds the lengthy birth story. I know some of you were interested, and I don't have much time for writing individual emails right now so this seemed the way to go.
I promise more photos soon. I have a great one of David and Michael napping together this morning that I can't wait to share!
One more quick thing: If there is one defining feature of David at this point, it is the fact that he absolutely must be cuddled at all times, day or night. He just has to be held all the time, and it doesn't matter how deeply he's sleeping or how tightly he is swaddled. (I did get him into the crib for about 40 minutes once by extreme swaddling, and boy was he ticked when he opened his eyes and saw where he was.) He will sleep on the bed if he's on top of or right up next to your arm, but if you slip that arm away, he immediately begins to cry. It's not the easiest trait to deal with at night, but it's still extremely endearing and, really, we are generally more than happy to oblige :)
2 comments:
Thanks for the story. I actually like reading birthing stories. It's just amazing how everyone is different, but we all end up with a beautiful baby.
I have a feeling someone is already manipulating their mommy and daddy ;-)
Love it up - they grow up so fast. Listen to me acting as if my children are grown and out of the house. LOL
Hi Dolores, Thanks for sharing your birth story! It's so good to write it down - you'll really treasure that. Get lots of rest - I'm sure you already know that. And I wanted to share - if David keeps needing to be held - which is what Jack is still like - you might really, really find babywearing very helpful. When Jack was little, John would wear him for 1 nap (2-3 hrs) and I would wear him for the other. In a pouch sling, like a New Native Baby Carrier or similar (I'm sure they have them in Germany) or ring sling (like a Maya Wrap), it's nice because you can actually switch them from person to person while they are sleeping - so if your back gets tired, Michael or whomever can take a turn! John's advisor saw us doing that from afar one day on campus and thought we were two people doing some sort of weird dance - a not uncommon occurence around Berkeley, to be sure. Anyway, Moby Wraps are also nice, although a bit more complicated, also Ergo Baby Carriers, especially for when they're older and heavier. I just had a cozy walk with Jack late this afternoon while he comfort nursed in the cool fading Berkeley smoky sunset! Anyway, those are just a few things that worked for our still very high-needs, incredibly demanding but equally sweet little boy. You might end up with a child who only sleeps on you if you go this route - but really, I think Jack came out that way, we didn't make him into it, and at least he sleeps (a lot)!
Just so you have a laugh - John and I, stuck with no one for thousands of miles here in Berkeley when Jack was first born, didn't even DIAPER Jack, let alone clothe him...we just held a cloth diaper to his butt. He's naked in all his pictures. We kept him in a blanket, too, I suppose, but really, we had no clue what to do with the poor thing! Maybe that's why he still seems so worried about the world........
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