Sunday, July 05, 2009

Butterball's Birth Story.

Why yes. We're still here. And I guess it's time I tell you how Butterball came to be. No, I'm not going to tell you how she was conceived. I'm pretty sure you already know that.

My pregnancy with Butterball was pretty uncomfortable. Way uncomfortable, in fact. I'd even go as far as to say I was miserable. I was happy to be miserable, though. The 20 weeks of terrible morning sickness was followed by about 3 weeks of glorious honeymoon 2nd trimester. But the third trimester stuff started a lot earlier than with my first pregnancy. I couldn't move, roll over in bed or walk without pain. Eating was hard to do, sleeping nearly impossible, and I spent about half my life in the bathroom trying to go, but only dripping. I spent months at night praying that the baby would come out as SOON as she was healthy enough. I also spent weeks telling Little Monster to tell his baby sister to come out. Every time I asked him his answer was "Mommy, Butterball say No!"

I'd been having regular braxton hicks contractions at night for several days, a couple of weeks perhaps. Once it was even enough to call the people who were going to watch Little Monster to forewarn them that they may be getting a middle of the night call. For nights I would get excited, go to bed to get some sleep, and wake up pregnant without contractions.

Thursday I woke up feeling pretty crummy. Everything made me want to either scream, or cry. A couple of times the crying won out. I called Not the Momma at work, hoping he was on his way home several times, but couldn't get a hold of him. I thought I was getting the flu, and hoped that he could come home and take care of Little Monster while I napped and tried to get over whatever was going on. While Not the Momma was swimming for the Navy to ensure that he is fit, I was begging Little Monster to tell his sister to come out. His answer, which has never changed became "Mommy, Butterball say in a little bit." I still didn't think much of it at that point. I figured he was repeating what we'd been telling him for months -- that "in a little bit" he'd be a big brother.

As the day wore on, I felt worse and worse. Not the Momma had a softball game, and wanted to go. I didn't think it was a great idea, because I was worried that this "malaise" was really early labor, but at the same time, I didn't want to keep him home for nothing. So, he went to his softball game I put Little Monster to bed. As I was putting him to bed, I asked him to tell his sister to come out. This time his answer was "Mommy, Butterball say yes." I still didn't think much of it. I wasn't having contractions that were regular or painful.

Fast forward one hour. Contractions seemed pretty real, and they were five to seven minutes apart. Not the Momma came home, and I told him that this could be the real thing. He ran around the house grabbing things as I showered. We told our friends that they could very well be getting a two year old in the middle of the night. Then we went to bed. I very well expected to wake up in the middle of the night needing to time contractions and head to the hospital, but that didn't happen. I woke up twice with contractions, but they weren't regular. I was sure it was going to be another false alarm night. However, I got up in the morning, and the contractions picked up again. By 9:00 we had the kid in the car and were headed in to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 9:30, we were admitted by 10:00, and at 10:30, they ordered an ultrasound to check the size of the baby. Because I was so uncomfortable, and because Little Monster was so big, they were a bit worried that this baby was going to be very large as well. Shortly after, the ultrasound tech arrived. Let me tell you, dealing with the pain from contractions while laying flat on your back -- not an ideal situation. She estimated that the baby was 10 lb 13 oz. Knowing that the numbers could be off by 20% in either direction, I was NOT prepared to have a natural birth. It was 11:30. The C-Section was scheduled for 12:30, and then the whirlwind began. People came in to do blood work, IV's were connected. Release forms needed to be re-signed since my doctor was out of town. By 12:30, I was being wheeled into the OR.

Anesthesia didn't go like expected. The spinal they wanted to do wouldn't take, I could feel all kinds of craziness in my left leg. It had a lot to do with the way the baby was laying and messing up my spine. So, an epidural it was, which was fine. at 1:28, she was born. 9 lb 7 oz, and two weeks early. Unfortunately, she'd taken a big suck of fluid before they pulled her out, and she couldn't cry enough to get the fluid out. She cried and her color was good, but when she quit, she'd turn blue. So, they put her in the nursery under an Oxygen hood for a few hours. It was awful being separated from her for so long.
It was a bit scary knowing that my baby wasn't breathing room air normally, and I was terrified about the whole C-section experience. Recovery has been easier than I expected, but definitely harder than after a natural birth. Women who opt for a C-Section to avoid labor are nuts. But then, that's just my opinion. There are plenty of reasons to have them, but they are SO much harder to recover from, and WAY more painful.
Dad, Baby and Mom.
A few things I learned: Morphine does nothing for me except make me sleepy. I still felt every stitch of pain. After surgery, get up the first time they offer it -- it gets easier after that. There's no need to be a martyr or a superhero -- take the pain drugs.

The doctor seemed to be a little bit concerned that we opted for the C-Section unnecessarily since she was smaller than Little Monster was. I don't have one ounce of regret about the decision we made. The chance that she was going to be the full 20% smaller was too low for me to be comfortable doing anything else.

A month and 6 days later, we're healthy, happy, and I'm feeling a million times better than I expected I would. And this, this isn't some Anne Geddes baby, this is my baby girl, happy healthy and now 11 lbs 2 oz, and 3 inches longer than she was at birth.

Sweet Pea

We're blessed to have this new member of our family. I feel even more blessed that this morning, without prompting, Little Monster said: "Mommy, that Butterball? I love her."

3 comments:

Amanda said...

Thanks for sharing your birth story! Butterball is such a little cutie!!

Samantha said...

That is such a great story. Love how LM is loving the little sis.

Lisa said...

Awwww! How sweet! I had c-sections with both of mine...the first one was an emergency, but I have never gone through labor. Loved the story. Congratulations!