Brooklyn's birth story

I'm writing this post a lot faster than the last one. I think it's because this birth was so much better it's easier to talk about. When we went to our first doctor's appointment she mentioned that she was worried about the birth because of my terrible tearing last time. She said she was worried that if I had tearing again it might cause permanent damage. We decided to talk about it as the birth got closer and we could see how much the baby weighs and how big she looked. At my 36 week appointment Brandon came with me so we could discuss everything in detail. After talking we decided the best option would be to do a c-section. Basically if everything went perfectly with a normal birth I would have an easier recovery etc but if I tore anything above 2nd degree there were pretty good chances I would struggle with my problems I've had from Tyler's birth permanently. We decided it really wasn't worth the risk just because I didn't want a harder recovery. My doctor also said even if I had recovered perfectly from 4th degree tearing and not had my problems, recovering from a c-section would still be easier. If the baby was over 7 pounds she was worried I might tear badly again. I figured there was very little chance after having an 8 pound 10 ounce baby that I would get one under 7 pounds. At 37 weeks I did an ultrasound to see how big she was and she was already 6 pounds 9 ounces. I'm glad I did the ultrasound because it definitely confirmed our decision to go with the c-section. With three more weeks to go I knew she wouldn't be under 7 pounds.

At 38 weeks Brandon and Tyler got really sick with a flu like virus. I didn't get it so I took care of them for a few days. At 38 weeks and a few days I got sick so Brandon had to take extra time off work to take care of Tyler because I couldn't get out of bed. I basically was throwing up every hour and couldn't keep any liquids or food down. at about 16 hours of puking every hour I decided I'd had enough and we called the on call doctor to see if I needed to come in for fluids. At first she told us we could just go to an insta care until I told her I hadn't felt the baby in a little while and she told me to come into labor and delivery for fluids and monitoring. Brandon's parents took tyler for the night and we went down to St Marks. we haphazardly threw an overnight bag together thinking we would probably just get an IV and come home. we got checked in and into a triage room where they started me on IV zofran and fluids. It showed I was having contractions on the monitor but I couldn't feel them. The on call doctor said If I was having that many contractions he would just start me into labor if I was dilated enough but I was only dilated to a 2. They decided to keep me over night because I was still throwing up and very sick so they checked me into a room which was actually the same one I gave birth to Tyler in. I stayed on the monitors all night with IV fluids. I wasn't responding to the IV zofran very well because I kept throwing up. I think i'm pretty immune to zofran because i was taking it my entire pregnancy (both pregnancies) because I was so sick all the time. At about 6 in the morning the nurse came in and told me that the baby wasn't looking good. Her heart rate was spiking up to 190 and she was supposed to be under 160. They had put me on oxygen a few times during the night to try and calm her down but it really wasn't working. The nurse got kind of somber and told me they usually don't like to induce babies when they are stressed because it usually makes it worse so they would probably need to do a c-section. I told her we were already planning on it so that's fine and she got very happy. She said usually that conversation doesn't go well and people are very disappointed so she was glad she didn't have to disappoint me. My doctor would be in at 7 AM and they thought they could do the c-section around nine. I was super anxious waiting for her to come because I really wanted to have the baby and I was hoping she would actually recommend that.  she came in and told me she didn't really want to do it because she was worried about being sick and throwing up after having the c-section would really suck but she said it really would be best for us and since I wanted to we could do it at nine. I had 6 bags of IV fluids and still hadn't peed very much so I was really dehydrated. My doctor said the nurses told her I was one of the sickest people they had seen. I had to laugh because I somehow always end up being the worst case scenario. My problems from tearing happen to less than 1% of people, I went to get a massage for back pain this pregnancy and she told me I was the tightest and one of the worst she's ever seen. When I went to physical therapy to help with my problems from Tyler's birth she said I was one of the worst she's ever seen. I got HG which  happens very rarely. Seriously I don't know how I'm always the worst but it's gotten to the point where it's funny.

 Anyway The nurse did all the paper work and prepped me to go back. I got the spinal block which was super weird feeling because it basically felt like i had lost my legs. they laid me down on the table and I was waiting for them to start but my doctor told me she had already started. It didn't hurt at first but right as they got the baby out my shoulders started killing me and I was shaking really badly. They said its normal because as they open you up the gas gets released and you just can't feel it anywhere else because of the spinal block so your shoulders hurt a lot. they showed us Brooke and then took her to suction her nose and get her cleaned up. Brandon got to go with her to the little room off the OR and watch while they finished closing me up. She was born at exactly 10 AM. I got to look at her while Brandon held her until they took her away again because she had rattled breathing. everything was fine after they suctioned her again and she was perfectly healthy and didn't seem to be affected by my sickness or being stressed. At this point I was pretty miserable and I remember looking back at the clock thinking only about 15 more minutes I can make it. A c-section is really weird because they can block pain receptors but you can still feel them moving stuff around and tugging and pulling. Its really just an unpleasant feeling but I think it wouldn't have been as bad if I wouldn't have been sick and drained. My doctor was worried I would throw up during the surgery because she said almost 50% of patients throw up. Luckily I didn't throw up at all, what can I say I'm an absolute expert at barfing and I know how to control it. Totally not a skill you want to have but I have all kinds of knowledge and skills you wouldn't want when it comes to throwing up.  Finally I heard them start counting the instruments to make sure everything was accounted for and for some silly reason that got me through the rest of the surgery because i thought it was cool. after it was all done we went back to our room and got to hold Brooke and call and tell our families she was here until they moved us up to the second floor where we would stay for the next 3 days.

 This was definitely a different experience but I honestly liked it so much better! Tyler's birth was really traumatic for me because I did natural and because of the tearing. I had magically blocked out how painful that tearing was until recently it all came flooding back to me and I now remember how horrible it was. a c-section is indeed major surgery and its very hard to recover from but it really was easier than last time. Unfortunately I was really nauseous for about a week after I had her and that was the worst part. The pain was manageable but I was really looking forward to having the baby and not being sick anymore. After 9 months of sickness its pretty disappointing to do another week of it but once it was gone I started doing a lot better. Luckily I didn't throw up again until about 5 or six days after the surgery because after a c-section using your abs in anyway kills! it definitely hurt a lot to throw up but once the nausea went away I've been barf free! HURRAY! My sickness started at 8 weeks this time (two weeks less than last time YAY) and I made it to 38 weeks thats 30 weeks of barfing so 210 times. Lets just say I was glad to be done and I can't even believe I probably did at least 245 times last time if I only accounted for once daily. The reality is it was probably double that and then some, I bet it was at least 500 times and probably a lot more accounting for the times i threw up 15+ times a day. YUCK! Overall this pregnancy was a ton better. I didn't get HG and that was awesome. I was a lot more emotional this time but that's probably because I have a toddler to look after. I can happily say though I'm back to normal with emotions (mostly except for a few baby blues which is to be expected). One major difference in this birth was when I met Brooke for the first time it wasn't the same magical experience. I think it's because I was sick and didn't get to hold her for a while and I really had to focus on helping myself heal and finish the surgery. It was just a different kind of bonding because it was such a different experience. i didn't get that "wow this is my baby" feeling until a little later. Having done both a c-section and normal delivery now I can say I liked the c-section more. I definitely wouldn't choose it though if I wouldn't have gone through what I did. They say it is major surgery and they really mean it. If you have to have one it's totally doable but a normal delivery (baring any complications) is easier in the long run. Since I had to do months of physical therapy and a bunch of other stuff to heal from Tyler's birth it really took me a solid 6 months before I was back to myself. This time it's been three weeks and I'm already feeling back to normal. I'm definitely still in pain if I sneeze or laugh too hard or do too much activity like lifting Tyler too much but other than that I'm not having any of the problems I did last time. I'm just really grateful for my amazing doctor and modern medicine that gave me options for my birth. I love the staff at St. Marks and they really made the whole experience as good as a surgery can be :). We are loving having sweet Brooke with us and I'm so grateful that shes here.