Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Newborns-Pt. 3
My third pregnancy was another surprise, and this time I was using a contraceptive! However, I chalked it up as fate -- this child was meant to be and nothing was going to come in her way of being created!
I must admit that I was depressed for a very short time, but that was immediately overcome by sheer delight when I had my first checkup and heard her beautiful heart beating so loud and so fast -- and she was only 10 weeks old (gestation - wise) -- and these prochoicers believe an unborn baby is nothing but a blob of tissue! Right! (Sarcastically speaking!) Abortion does stop a beating heart!!!! But that is another issue! In case anyone hasn't guessed by now, I am PROLIFE and proud of it!
Anyway, I had my first OB checkup about a week later and had an ultrasound done immediately as he said my uterus was showing a five month size. I mentioned my history of having a larger uterus with Jeremy, too, and he said that it was probably due to my twin pregnancy but wanted to do the ultrasound anyway.
When I saw my baby, I sat in complete awe! Sooo tiny but completely perfect in every way, shape, or form. Here she was doing somersaults, kicking her legs, waving her arms, flipping backwards and then forwards, and I loved seeing her inside of me! My other ultrasounds were different -- mostly due to different machinery and the fact that my son was bigger and "older in age". So, this was special to me, and I was so happy!
This pregnancy was really totally uneventful. I wasn't sick at all and the only symptom I had to complain about was being dizzy at times.....but that happens to me when I'm not pregnant, so it was really no big deal. I only gained 25# total and could do just about anything and everything I wanted to do without any pain at all.
I had many ultrasounds to follow my pregnancy along and to make sure the dates were correct, so we could schedule another cesarean. During my sixth month, the ultrasound tech managed to catch my baby in the right position and I found out she was a girl. I was so hoping for a boy so Jeremy could have a brother, but...it was not meant to be :-)
My mom really took an interest in this pregnancy and started buying every piece of girl clothing she could get her hands on, so this baby was clothed for the first two years of her life before she was ever ready to be born :-) As with Jeremy, I had sold all my prior baby supplies and had to start over! I have to wonder if I didn't do these things on purpose cause I just love to shop for baby stuff :-) (Of course, I didn't, as I had no way of knowing the future, but......it seems to fit me!)
I worked right on up to the week before delivery, only taking a week off to rest a bit. I think I could have made it through the end, but I needed a week off :-)
Scheduling was done a few weeks before the delivery -- the ultrasound showed the dates were conclusive and the baby weighed about 8#.
I went into the hospital the evening before and had all the lab tests done and got prepped for the pending surgery. I was to have an epidural this time, as I wanted to be awake again and Dr. C refused to do a spinal. He claimed that the epidural was the best way to go.
Well, lo and behold, on January 27, leave it to me to prove him wrong! That ruined my whole beautiful pregnancy! We had planned that my friend, Dorothy (an ex OR nurse) would be in the OR with me and take pictures of the delivery and all. Well, nothing went right! The anesthesiologist was a jerk from the word go -- very mean and ugly to me. I wanted to know step by step what he was doing to my back, and he told me to shut up and mind my own business. Well, that did it. I lost it -- got scared, cried nonstop, and was extremely mad! I let him know in no uncertain terms that this was MY business as he was sticking things in MY back!!!! The CRNA was a godsend -- he held me and tried to calm me down and reassure me, but I wanted that doctor out of my room and to leave me alone. The first try was a no go! I felt like this jerk was trying to put a tree inside my spine -- it hurt and I could actually hear what sounded like "bone grinding"! He (being the jerk he was) told me it was impossible to hurt as I had been given a pre-epidural injection to numb the area. I was in no mood for this bull, and I told him there was no way he knew what I felt or didn't feel, and I would love to trade places with him.
At this point, the CRNA tried to get the catheter in. That was a failed attempt, also. The doctor tried a third time, and he said he finally got it in, but.....he failed. At one point, I felt something warm on my back and when I asked the "doctor" what it was, he said it was NOTHING. I had my suspicions as to what it was, but I asked him to make sure and that was the answer I got. I was so upset with this monster. The CRNA hugged me and whispered it was "blood" -- just as I suspected.
While waiting for the numbing effect, I started feeling my heart pounding real hard throughout my whole body and I felt as if I were leaving my body. I cried out to them for help, but they both ignored me -- well, I thought the CRNA did, but I found out later that he was begging the anesthesiologist to give me the spinal I wanted! I became quite hysterical :-( The only part of me that did get numb was my left hip :-( So, I was to go under general anesthesia.
When I heard that, I became even more hysterical...screaming at the top of my lungs. MOF, I was completely incoherent at this time and did not see anyone around me that I wanted to see...like my friend, my OB, his wife (assistant), or the CRNA. All I saw was that horrible anesthesiologist glaring at me and telling me he was going to put me to sleep. I found out later that everyone was there with me and talking to me, but I never saw them. I do remember being wheeled into the OR and I saw my doctor putting weights on my abdomen -- he was fussing cause the epidural didn't work and the surgery was not on schedule. His wife told me, later on, that she was talking to me the whole time, but I never saw her :-( Little did I know I was having an adverse allergic reaction to the medicine injected into my back!
When it was time to put me out, I grabbed the CRNA's hand and begged him to put me out as I didn't want that "monster" touching me, and I demanded he be thrown out of the room. The CRNA smiled at me and reassured me that he was taking care of me. My OB told me later on that when I demanded that the other doctor leave the OR, he enforced my wishes and threw him out :-) Thank you, Dr. C :-)
The next thing I remember was hearing some nurses talk and without opening my eyes, I was nervously asking "where's my baby?" They talked to me and reassured me that she was fine and was in the nursery and that I was fine. Then I felt this horrible pain in my abdomen :-( The anesthesia was wearing off, and the cramping in my abdomen was unbearable! I asked for something for the pain, but they said I had to wait till I got to my private room. So, they called the station and said they were bringing me to my room and promised me that they would stop by the nursery window so I could see my new daughter.
We did stop, but my eyes weren't focusing well at all and I saw a little blur with lots of dark hair and took it for granted that this was my new baby :-)
I did get a shot for pain as soon as I got to my room and then I made a very important phone call to my dear friend, Ann, in NY to let her know that her new goddaughter was born and doing fine. I was very disappointed to learn that no pictures were taken during delivery due to the fact that my friend couldn't open the camera lens cap :-(((((
They brought me my new baby around 4:30 and I got to feed her the first bottle (water) and we got lots of pictures. God, she was beautiful and sooooo tiny. She only weighed 6# 8 oz and was 19 1/2" long! I really couldn't believe she was mine :-) (Of course, I said the same thing with my other three babies as well!) Her size really surprised me since my ultrasound that morning said she was 40 weeks in gestational age and weighed approximately 9#. That goes to prove ultrasounds can be wrong! She was only 36 weeks and no where close to the suspected 9#! She was born a bit early, but she did just fine!
I didn't want Amity going back to the nursery but since I couldn't get out of bed yet, they felt it best if she didn't room in till the next day.
I had a rough night -- terrible pain...just as bad as with the twins :-( The next morning, I had to get up and shower and sit up and then try walking in the hall. I could not straighten up for anything. I found out later on that there were adhesions stuck to the omentum in my abdomen -- which had to be removed and that's what was causing the extra pain. The gas pains started early and boy did they hurt :-( If at all possible, these pains hurt worse than the surgery and cramping!!!! And these pains hurt worse than they did with my first or second surgeries :-( I tried walking and walking and walking -- but I couldn't stand up straight and nearly fell several times from being in so much pain :-( As with Jeremy's birth, I had brought my own antigas pills, but they didn't work at all :-(
We were discharged on the fourth day after surgery when Amity was just three days old :-)
Those first two days at home were MISERABLE! The gas pains were horrible, and I couldn't sleep in my waterbed or on the couch, so I sat in my office chair -- and tried to sleep that way when Amity let me. She, too, suffered with colic, and it was worse than any of my other babies. Those first two nights, she cried all night long, and I cried right along with her! I think she slept more than I did, though! Once the gas was gone, I was able to move around a lot better and was able to sleep on the couch until my stitches were removed.
My mom literally stole the show with Amity and basically still does. She is a mawmaw's girl! I went back to work when she was two months old and generally only saw her on the weekends for the first eight months of her life :-( Usually when I got home from work, she was ready to eat, bathe, and go to bed for the night, thus I only saw her for about an hour most days during the evening weeknights and maybe an hour during the morning weekdays :-( But, as fate would have it, things went wrong, and I ended up needed surgery in August to repair an abdominal hernia..and I was out eight weeks due to developing two kinds of Staph in my incision and requiring extra care! I was demoted to part time in my job, too, because of that, but I managed to find two other jobs in my field and both were part time, which allowed me to spend a lot more time at home with Amity :-) After what my boss of seven years did to me, I quit them with no regrets!
Amity was a very quiet baby like Jeremy was but she did talk earlier and it was and still is nonstop :-)
My prior experiences helped with caring for Amity so much and I could pretty much figure her out each time she cried, so I didn't quite feel as lost as I did with my twins and even with Jeremy.
This pregnancy was my best and easiest by far!!! :-)
Isn't this background adorable! Thanks, Jan :-)
