Jennifer V
Cathlete
Saturday I had my baby shower, and to our great surprise the following day my water broke as I sat down in the passenger seat of our car. What a rush! Of course, my husband freaks, and we went home to gather a few things and make a couple of phone calls.
I was admitted at the hospital around 11:45 a.m., and just waited around for the contractions to begin. They never came! By 5 p.m. I only had a couple of mild cramping, but nothing else. The baby was in breech position, and so the doctor said the safest bet was a C-section.
The epidural was okay (I thought the IV needle in my hand to be more painful), and everyone at surgery were in good spirits and talked my husband and I through the whole process. The freeze extended to my chest and I felt tingling in my hands during the surgery. The actual delivering time only took 5 minutes (so fast!) and little Eric William was born on March 19, 2005 at 6 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long, and at what I believed to be 36 weeks gestational age. The hospital pediatrician believes our baby is 37 weeks, by his reflexes, neck strength, and whatever. I only estimated anyway!
The C-section wasn't scary or painful for me. In recovery it took me 4 hours to thaw out. During that time I was covered in blankets and had warm air blowing into the blankets to help my body with the shock of delivering. What scared me and shocked me was that my body started to shake uncontrollably from shock, and there was nothing I could do about it! I was the only patient in the recovery room at the time, but the nurses and doctors never left me alone and were very kind and upbeat, answering to all my concerns. I was very groggy, and spent a lot of the time sleeping while my husband got to show off our bundle of joy to family waiting outside. Our parents were there, and I think it was hard for them to see me through surgery.
Once thawed our Eric was able to stay with us in the hospital room, and we stayed from Sunday until Friday. The nurses were amazing with their help to guide me through breastfeeding and healing. Unfortunately, Eric wasn't able to latch on and suck properly (and he still can't figure it out!) Right now we practice for 10 -15 minutes at each feed, and then he's fed my expressed breastmilk from a pump. He's done it a couple of times, so we're hoping he'll eventually get the hang of it.
The first night home went well, and mu husband and I felt much more relaxed about our new routine now that we were home. I've got my Mom staying with us over the week-end to help us get settled, and it's really helped. We still needed to buy some baby stuff!
Thanks for all your support everyone, and I look forward to talking to everyone about the post-partum process!
Jennifer V.
I was admitted at the hospital around 11:45 a.m., and just waited around for the contractions to begin. They never came! By 5 p.m. I only had a couple of mild cramping, but nothing else. The baby was in breech position, and so the doctor said the safest bet was a C-section.
The epidural was okay (I thought the IV needle in my hand to be more painful), and everyone at surgery were in good spirits and talked my husband and I through the whole process. The freeze extended to my chest and I felt tingling in my hands during the surgery. The actual delivering time only took 5 minutes (so fast!) and little Eric William was born on March 19, 2005 at 6 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long, and at what I believed to be 36 weeks gestational age. The hospital pediatrician believes our baby is 37 weeks, by his reflexes, neck strength, and whatever. I only estimated anyway!
The C-section wasn't scary or painful for me. In recovery it took me 4 hours to thaw out. During that time I was covered in blankets and had warm air blowing into the blankets to help my body with the shock of delivering. What scared me and shocked me was that my body started to shake uncontrollably from shock, and there was nothing I could do about it! I was the only patient in the recovery room at the time, but the nurses and doctors never left me alone and were very kind and upbeat, answering to all my concerns. I was very groggy, and spent a lot of the time sleeping while my husband got to show off our bundle of joy to family waiting outside. Our parents were there, and I think it was hard for them to see me through surgery.
Once thawed our Eric was able to stay with us in the hospital room, and we stayed from Sunday until Friday. The nurses were amazing with their help to guide me through breastfeeding and healing. Unfortunately, Eric wasn't able to latch on and suck properly (and he still can't figure it out!) Right now we practice for 10 -15 minutes at each feed, and then he's fed my expressed breastmilk from a pump. He's done it a couple of times, so we're hoping he'll eventually get the hang of it.
The first night home went well, and mu husband and I felt much more relaxed about our new routine now that we were home. I've got my Mom staying with us over the week-end to help us get settled, and it's really helped. We still needed to buy some baby stuff!
Thanks for all your support everyone, and I look forward to talking to everyone about the post-partum process!
Jennifer V.
