T's Birth

T.G.O.

08/14/2011, 6:33 pm

11 pounds 8 ounces

22 1/4 inches

I somehow knew from the very beginning of this pregnancy, that T would be late. So I planned to start my maternity leave the day after his due date. Every woman in my department who was a mother, had given birth three weeks early. (I'm not kidding... ALL of them). They thought I was crazy to keep working and were constantly worried that I'd go into labor at any moment. But, I wasn't surprised when T's due date came and went without any fanfare. The next day, Thursday, I had a doctor's appointment in the early afternoon. I was still barely dilated to 1/2 cm and I was HUGE. Since G was a 10 pounder and I was just over 8, we were a bit worried about the size of T. Despite our concern, my OBGYN, Dr. Martin, wasn't worried. He scheduled an induction for Saturday night. The plan was to spend the night at the hospital and then begin Pitocin early on Sunday morning. We were so excited!!

We, including my mom, who had arrived earlier in the week, spent our last baby-less days running last minute errands, finalizing the baby's room and spending time together. On Saturday we saw a matinee (The Help) and ate an early dinner at Lazlo's. I had a giant slab of medium-rare prime rib with horseradish and green beans. It was delicious - obviously, since months later I can still remember how great it tasted, and I'm not usually a huge fan of red meat! I knew I wouldn't be able to eat or drink for a while once I got to the hospital, so I went all out. Then we came home, packed up the hospital bag, took a few pictures and then G and I headed to the hospital at 7:30.

Once we were checked in, the nurses hooked me up to monitors and asked if I knew I was having consistent contractions every 3-5 minutes. Nope. The contractions changed our plans and instead of starting with Cyctotec, Dr. Martin directed the nurses to start me on a low dose of Pitocin for the night. By 7 am, after 11 hours on Pitocin I was still only 1/2 cm dilated. I'm sure you can guess how I felt about that news. I shouldn't have been surprised since I could still barely tell I was having contractions. The nursing staff increased the Pitocin and at 9 am, Dr. Martin was in to break my water. They continued to check me and crank up the Pitocin every few hours. The contractions gradually increased in intensity, but I was still able to talk and laugh through them.

By 3 pm I was dilated to a whopping 2 cm. Dr. Martin gently broke the news that we might be heading for the OR, but that he'd give me another couple of hours. I was pretty much in denial about having a C-section still hopeful that things would start moving soon. At 4pm my contractions were starting to get painful, so my nurse called in the anesthesiologist for an epidural.

With no progress by 5 pm, Dr. Martin explained that T's head was probably too big to move down any further and we were going to deliver via C-section. I tried not to freak-out, but wasn't successful. I was scared and disappointed and upset with the change in plans. Although I trusted Dr. Martin, I was worried he wasn't making the right call. But, as usual, G was cool as a cucumber. He said he felt really good about the decision and since I trust G even more than Dr. Martin, I started to calm down. T's delivery wasn't going to be as I had always imagined, but he would be here healthy and safe.

Once I had recovered from my melt-down, everyone started preparing for the C-section. Since T wasn't and hadn't been in any distress, no one was rushed or panicked, which was really nice. The anesthesiologist was back in to to adjust the epidural, since the first try had only numbed my left side. While he was there Dr. Martin talked him into letting both G and my mom into the OR since it was a Sunday and there was only one other patient on the L&D floor.

Right before we left our room, Dr. Martin sealed the deal as the best OBGYN on the planet. He sat down and looked at both G and I and said... "Remember that really tough day last March when you were in my office? I told you then that even though today was a bad day, i promised a really happy day was coming in your future. I told you that one day we were going to get you a baby. Well, today's that happy day. Let's go have your baby!" I had completely forgotten that he had even said that to us on the day we found out we had miscarried, but he did and he remembered. Man, I love that guy.

Right after 6, the nurses wheeled me into the OR. Shortly thereafter, my mom and G arrived. I was a little panicky again and wasn't feeling great. I felt nauseous and shaky, but the sweet anesthesiologist kept talking to me and telling me everything that was happening. G and my mom were holding my hand. I could barely comprehend that we were about to meet our baby. It wasn't sinking in. I just kept thinking that the OR was so bright and how I was glad that they let me keep in my contacts. I know that's weird, but when I've been in surgery before, they made me take out my contacts and it was so disorienting not being able to see anything.

Dr. Martin was hard at work behind the blue curtain and kept giving us little updates on his progress. When T's head was finally out, everyone laughed. It was so big!! At 6:33, he arrived. My melon-headed boy. He peed on everyone and then started crying. Then I started crying. I was relieved and bewildered. That was MY baby crying. I had a BABY!! A nurse brought him around the side of the sheet for me to see and then took him over to the isolette near my feet to clean, weigh and wrap him. G went with T and my mom stayed with me.

The next thing I knew, G came running up past the curtain with a crazy look on his face. "LAR!! HE WEIGHS ELEVEN POUNDS EIGHT OUNCES!!" I couldn't believe it. I mean, I could, I carried him around in there for 9 months, but still. I was expecting a 9 or even 10 pounder. I never once thought he'd be almost 12. The anesthesiologist then leaned down near my face and told me that Dr. Martin's decision to do a C-section had definitely been a good one. T would never had made it out naturally. He said he was glad I hadn't had to spend hours and hours pushing before ending up in the operating room anyway. Me too, anesthesiologist, me too.

In the recovery room, I finally got to hold my little-big T. He was so squishy and warm and heavy! He had a little bit of hair, a birthmark on his tummy and a crease at the bridge of his nose that made him look like he had one giant squinty eye. I couldn't believe he was here and that he was mine.

I've heard from other mothers that they had an instant bond with their babies. Love at first sight. Like they had always known each other. Of course, I loved T as soon as I saw him, but more than anything I felt surprised by the realization that he was his own complete person. He'd been a part of me for so long that I was shocked to suddenly see him as a separate entity. Instead of feeling like I'd always known him, I felt like I didn't know him at all! Who was this little creature? I was so excited to get to know him and was thrilled when I realized I would be able to. I'd be there for all of it because I was his mom. I was his mom - I never knew how great those words would feel.

1 day old

2 days old

3 days old - Too big for his newborn 'going home' outfit

On our way home. Those cheeks!!