C-section recap

Tuesday, c-section day, Alexander's birthday, was a day I'll never forget for the rest of my life. I guess I got all of my anxiety out of my system in the weekend prior to the birth, because I was very calm and collected as we prepared for the procedure. Only when I got to the OR and prepared to get my spinal did I get nervous, and that was mainly because 1) my husband wasn't allowed to be with me for that part, and 2) it was SO COLD that I was shivering and worrying that I wouldn't be able to stop before they put the needle, you know, in my spine.

Once the spinal was in, things moved very quickly. My legs and feet started going numb, and they placed the catheter. They tilted my bed steeply to the left and my left leg kept falling off while I was powerless to move it back! It was creepy.

You can't feel any pain during the section, but you do feel pressure. I felt pressure on my chest and heard them say "Wow, her heart is racing". I felt them pulling and tugging on things to get to him. Then, I felt a major lightening sensation and I knew he was no longer in my body. It's difficult to explain, but it was cool.

Once he was born, my husband followed him to the table in the corner with the pediatrician. I turned my head and was able to watch him be weighed, measured and cleaned up. A got to cut the cord, not while it was still attached to me, obviously, but he got to trim the part that was attached to him. He said it was a little weird. I was so glad he got to do this! It was one part of a vaginal birth I didn't want him to miss out on.

While I was being sewn up, they brought him over to me and the anesthesiologist helped me hold him for the first time. I can't remember a single thought that really went through my head at that time. Everything was so overwhelming! I do remember joking with the doctor, "That's 6 pounds I don't have to lose!" The anesthesiologist was the first person I told his name to. I liked her a lot, she was way kinder than her job required.

Then we were wheeled into the recovery room where we both held and admired him for a while. I nursed for the first time. He is an excellent nurser - great latch and strong suck, although he's often too tired and falls asleep at the breast. I just remember thinking that I was so lucky he could breathe and I could spend that time with him. 

The rest of the day and night are a bit of a blur. Lots of family held him. It took a few hours to be able to move my legs again. I sat on a pad that slowly accumulated blood, and I didn't enjoy that very much. I was cathed all day and night. I wasn't allowed to eat until I passed gas, and then I was cautioned to take it slow so I mainly ate jello and popsicles. We slept, but fitfully because we thought for sure he'd stop breathing at any moment. One time I stood at the edge of the bed with the help of two nurses.

At about 5am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I walked to the bathroom. It was horrible. I hadn't eaten since dinner on Monday (except for some jello cups). The pain was bad, I was bleeding down my leg, and there were catheter and IV tubes all around me. My blood pressure dropped severely and it seemed like it took forever to get back to my bed! I share this because this was the worst the entire recovery has been, and I think it was primarily because I lacked strength. If I had eaten a little something I think it would have been far less scary.

I hope to go over the rest of the days in this much detail soon : ) (I wrote this while pumping, yes, I am that awesome already, no, I'm not happy that I'm already pumping, but I'll give you details later).

Much love to all of you!