My birth story: Scheduled RCS
Oct 28, 2015 18:53:43 GMT -5
Post by starry on Oct 28, 2015 18:53:43 GMT -5
XP from a board on GBCN
Background: I was hoping for a VBAC with DD2. My first c section was done under general anesthesia at 37.5 weeks due to severe preeclampsia / HELLP so I was a good candidate. My blood pressure remained stable throughout the pregnancy with DD2 but at 39 weeks I had still not dilated beyond 1 cm or effaced at all so we set a date for a RCS at 40w3d (they would not let me go beyond 41 weeks and this was the most convenient date for me). I tried several things to get labor going but had not progressed at my 40 week appointment. My cervix was also still too far up to strip my membranes.
Story: The night before my RCS I'm a ball of nerves. I'm terrified of being cut open again, of dying, of the baby dying, etc. I threw up everything I ate the entire day at 11 PM with a midnight cut off for food and drink. I managed to get in a little something before bed, which is good because I couldn't eat again until 10 PM or so the next day. I probably only got 3-4 hours of fitful sleep.
I go in for my RCS at 7:15 AM. I could not believe how calm / relaxed everything was. My intake nurse was fantastic and got me started on my IV and explained the process. They told me I actually would most likely get in early for the surgery. Getting my IV was the second most painful part of the day, with the uterine massages after delivery being the worst.
My husband goes to grab a coffee at 8:30 and at 8:40 they come to say they are pretty much ready to go (even though the surgery wasn't scheduled until 9:30). Luckily they waited for him to come back.
They take me back as soon as my husband comes back, around 9:00 AM. It was an all female team (6 people) in the delivery room which I thought was pretty cool. They explained every step of the process. Luckily a friend had already prepared me for most of it. It was all new to me since the first c section was under general.
The epidural really was not a big deal but it was super weird not to feel my feet for many hours. I felt like the scene in Kill Bill - WIGGLE YOUR LITTLE TOE. I sincerely worried I never would be able to again
Then they got me hooked up to a catheter and brought my husband back in. Then it was show time.
It was great to hear them describe every part of the process. It was also cool watching my blood pressure - it gets quite low due to the anesthesia! When they said they saw her head with the cord a little wrapped up I was super nervous but excited. They kept saying "SHE LOOKS SOLID! VERY SOLID!" And when they pulled her out and I heard her crying I started crying myself. My husband stayed by my head for 30 seconds and I was like GO BE WITH THE BABY!!!! She was born at 9:25 AM, so 5 minutes before the surgery was supposed to start.
They kept talking about how big she was but she didn't get weighed for a while. When I saw 9 pounds 8 ounces flash on the screen I was like holy shit, I'm glad I had a RCS. Her Apgars were 9 and 9. I spent so much of my pregnancy paranoid of the worst and she was here and nearly perfect.
It was odd how the mood changed after the delivery. The team went from describing everything they were doing to cracking jokes about college football
They wheeled me out of delivery around 10 AM and my mom was in the recovery room within ten minutes. DD2 latched right on in the recovery room and nursing has been much smoother sailing with her vs DD1 (although we did supplement a little with formula days 3-5). After delivery things went pretty well beyond having issues vomiting for about 12 hours post delivery (threw up everything but ice chips).
Overall it was a very positive experience.
Here is a picture from right after delivery. LOOK AT HOW GENTLE THEY WERE. lol
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Background: I was hoping for a VBAC with DD2. My first c section was done under general anesthesia at 37.5 weeks due to severe preeclampsia / HELLP so I was a good candidate. My blood pressure remained stable throughout the pregnancy with DD2 but at 39 weeks I had still not dilated beyond 1 cm or effaced at all so we set a date for a RCS at 40w3d (they would not let me go beyond 41 weeks and this was the most convenient date for me). I tried several things to get labor going but had not progressed at my 40 week appointment. My cervix was also still too far up to strip my membranes.
Story: The night before my RCS I'm a ball of nerves. I'm terrified of being cut open again, of dying, of the baby dying, etc. I threw up everything I ate the entire day at 11 PM with a midnight cut off for food and drink. I managed to get in a little something before bed, which is good because I couldn't eat again until 10 PM or so the next day. I probably only got 3-4 hours of fitful sleep.
I go in for my RCS at 7:15 AM. I could not believe how calm / relaxed everything was. My intake nurse was fantastic and got me started on my IV and explained the process. They told me I actually would most likely get in early for the surgery. Getting my IV was the second most painful part of the day, with the uterine massages after delivery being the worst.
My husband goes to grab a coffee at 8:30 and at 8:40 they come to say they are pretty much ready to go (even though the surgery wasn't scheduled until 9:30). Luckily they waited for him to come back.
They take me back as soon as my husband comes back, around 9:00 AM. It was an all female team (6 people) in the delivery room which I thought was pretty cool. They explained every step of the process. Luckily a friend had already prepared me for most of it. It was all new to me since the first c section was under general.
The epidural really was not a big deal but it was super weird not to feel my feet for many hours. I felt like the scene in Kill Bill - WIGGLE YOUR LITTLE TOE. I sincerely worried I never would be able to again
Then they got me hooked up to a catheter and brought my husband back in. Then it was show time.
It was great to hear them describe every part of the process. It was also cool watching my blood pressure - it gets quite low due to the anesthesia! When they said they saw her head with the cord a little wrapped up I was super nervous but excited. They kept saying "SHE LOOKS SOLID! VERY SOLID!" And when they pulled her out and I heard her crying I started crying myself. My husband stayed by my head for 30 seconds and I was like GO BE WITH THE BABY!!!! She was born at 9:25 AM, so 5 minutes before the surgery was supposed to start.
They kept talking about how big she was but she didn't get weighed for a while. When I saw 9 pounds 8 ounces flash on the screen I was like holy shit, I'm glad I had a RCS. Her Apgars were 9 and 9. I spent so much of my pregnancy paranoid of the worst and she was here and nearly perfect.
It was odd how the mood changed after the delivery. The team went from describing everything they were doing to cracking jokes about college football
They wheeled me out of delivery around 10 AM and my mom was in the recovery room within ten minutes. DD2 latched right on in the recovery room and nursing has been much smoother sailing with her vs DD1 (although we did supplement a little with formula days 3-5). After delivery things went pretty well beyond having issues vomiting for about 12 hours post delivery (threw up everything but ice chips).
Overall it was a very positive experience.
Here is a picture from right after delivery. LOOK AT HOW GENTLE THEY WERE. lol
