My C-Section

Wow I can't belive that Coen is already 2 weeks old! Time is flying by so quickly. I keep looking at him and how little he is...somehow hoping I can remember these times when he's all grown up!

I thought that I would do a post about my c-section. Partly for my own memory and recollection and partly because I talked to soo many of you about it beforehand. I had an unplanned c-section with Cael, because of a failed induction. So with Coen we decided to schedule one. Cael was born at Kaiser and Coen was born at Glendale Adventist with the famous Dr. Frields. And wow let me tell you there was such a difference!

Having Cael at Kaiser was a traumatizing experience. We went in to be induced and after 3 days and several types of medicine, nothing worked and they decided to do a c-section. When I walked into the operating room they decided they needed a new IV and 90 minutes and 15 people later, they finally got one. Without going into every detail, it was not a fun experience. The staff were overall not very friendly. They constantly came in to check on us, waking us up in the middle of the night to weigh Cael-must the baby be weighed at midnight?? I left the hospital feeling overall harassed by the nurses and extremely traumatized by the actual c-section. I couldn't even think about the c-section for the first year without literally breaking out into a cold sweat. And it was 2 years before we even seriously considered getting pregnant again, knowing it would result in another c-section.

So when I became pregnant with Coen, it was like this huge countdown in my mind for 9 months until the big day when I would once again have to have another c-section. I replayed every detail in my mind and tried to work through how I would not be as traumatized as before. I tried talking to every person who had had a c-section, trying to find out their secret for surviving their c-sections. And the closer we got to my due date, the more nervous I became. In fact, the night before I didn't sleep a wink but tossed and turned the entire night- I was that nervous!

Febuary 19th dawned bright and early. My c-section was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. so we had to be there at 5:30 a.m. for prep! I sprang out of bed at 4:45 when Gus' alarm went off, anxious and ready. My main thought was that I just couldn't wait for it to be over. I replayed how happy I would be, how relieved I would feel, once it was OVER!! We arrived at 5:30 a.m. and was put in a bed in their triage area. Basically a staging area for moms having c-sections, a bed with a curtain around it.

The first order of business and my first main obstacle to conquer was getting an IV started. I am a very hard stick and was also dehydrated. It took several nurses, one hour and 15 pokes later but they finally got an IV started! Surprisingly enough, I was not traumatized by this process. I think it helped drastically that I was laying calmly in the hospital bed, not sitting in the OR room, looking at all the tools they would be soon cutting me open with. The nurses were so nice about it too and felt so bad that they couldn't find my vein. Huge sigh of relief though when they finished! 1/3 of the way done, in my mind, of this process!!

Unfortunately the long delay with the IV caused us to get bumped from our 7:30 slot. Dr. Frields came in shortly after and told us it probably would be sometime in the afternoon before we would be able to have the c-section. I was kind of bummed but relieved at the same time. I had started to become anxious as the reality of the surgery was hitting me. So we waited until 3:00. I tried to doze off and a few times came really close. Overall though I just wanted to get it over with. So at 3:00, I was relieved when they came to get us, and not as scared as I probably would have been at 7:30 that morning.

Walking into the OR was probably the scariest part. Gus had to wait outside until I was prepped and the surgery was ready to start. This was the time I was dreading the most and replayed the most in my mind. I sat on that teeny tiny operating table awaiting my spinal. Obstacle #2. Thankfully the nurses were SO friendly. Both of them had had c-sections themselves so they understood how I was feeling. We immediately started chatting and before I knew it, the spinal was over. It did kind of hurt, the 3 times he pricked me, more than I remember Cael's spinal hurting, but it wasn't that bad and best of all, it was over!! Obstacle #2 down. 1/2 way there in my mind!!

The anastheologist that did the spinal and sat by my head afterwards was very friendly and talkative. So much so that the nurse had warned me about how talkative he was. But you know what? That was one of the hugest blessings. Before Gus even came into the room, while I was laying there as they finished all the prep, one of those dreaded moments, we chatted away. He had done extensive traveling and was telling me all about the shops in NY city, restaurants in Scotland, etc. etc. In fact we were so engaged in conversation I barely even realized they had started the c-section. Gus came in and the 3 of us chatted away about the places we'd been and everything. It was incredible! I barely even noticed anything else happening around me!

Right away I did ask for the oxygen mask because I didn't want to panic about not being able to feel myself breath. And it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest-lots of pressure. And once I tried to cough but couldn't really because those stomach muscles were paralyzed. So weird. Right before Coen came out, they also pushed really hard which I felt, to get him out. But I knew this would happen and didn't even mind because I knew Coen would shortly come out.

And sure enough within a few seconds I heard them clearing Coen's lungs and his lusty cry. It brought tears to my eyes as the realization that my baby was out and it was over hit me!! I felt much more aware of what had happened, whereas with Cael it felt much more out of body. They immediately started cleaning him up and Gus went over to cut the cord and take pictures. Within a few minutes they brought Coen over to me, all bundled up, and I held him for a few minutes. Such a precious time to get a first look at my son. And of course my first thought was that everything was all worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat for him! It's amazing how the love just flowed out of my heart immediately for this little guy I had been carrying for the past 9 months!

Gus and Coen went off to the recovery room where he got cleaned up. I was about 10 minutes behind them. And that anastheologist once again was very handy in his talkativenss and the time flew by. I heard them do various things to finish up, just like with Cael, but I didn't care. I couldn't feel anything so it didn't matter. It was the weirdest thing to not be freaked out by everything they were doing to me that had totally freaked me out the first time. What a huge blessing! And before I knew it, it was over. C-section complete! I felt so happy and overall relieved it was done! The Lord had carried me through it!!

Another huge blessing was that from the time we arrived until we left, we did not have a bad nurse. Every single one was such a blessing. So nice. And helpful. There were several procedures they did differently and the difference was huge in my quicker recovery! We left the hospital feeling so thankful for the staff and Dr Frields-who, by the way, has delivered over fourteen thousand babies and done several thousand c-sections!! What a great man and what a privilege to be under his care!!

A week after Coen was born, I sat up in bed and told Gus that I could do it one more time. I could have a 3rd c-section, as long as it was at Glendale with Dr Frields! We're not sure if we're actually going to have a 3rd child yet-the discussion is still pending with that one-but what a change in my attitude, for which I'm so thankful. I can look back on the procedure with such a different perspective. Praise the Lord!!

And, like Dr Frields told me when I mentioned a few weeks beforehand that I was nervous about it all, at least I was getting a baby out of all of this!! And what a baby!! Coen is such a joy that we treasure!!