So I've been meaning to write my birth story out because it's a crazy story and I need to write it down before I forget what happened. I mean if that's even possible. Although I'm already starting to forget how much it hurt. All I know is, it was a lot. So here it is. Hopefully I do it justice.
First I'll start by saying Marshall was breech. He was breech since the first time they looked at him on the ultrasound and of course there was plenty of time for him to turn around since then but he never did. The doctor checked at 35 weeks, still breech. I made a weak effort to turn him based on stuff I read on the internet. The doctor checked him at almost 37 weeks, still breech. I made a panicked effort to flip him at home almost daily because I realized his chances of flipping were growing slimmer. In the meantime, we made an appointment to have him flipped by doctors on the morning of the 23rd. If it was successful, it would ensure that he was delivered safely and naturally. If it was unsuccessful, it would mean I would need a c-section.
On the morning of the 22nd, I was waking up and preparing myself to get out of bed when my water broke. I was pretty sure he had not flipped on his own so I knew there was a very high chance of getting a c-section. I called John who was at work already and he rushed home to get me. Bishop was born 4 hours after my water broke so we knew the clock was ticking and Marshall would probably be here even faster. We drove to the hospital with Bishop because his babysitter for the day was meeting us there. By the time we get there, my contractions are pretty painful so we went right to the front entrance. We are greeted by Linda who goes to our church and also volunteers at the hospital on Mondays. It was a nice surprise to see a friendly face. She got me a wheelchair and helped us get upstairs to labor and delivery. We checked in, at some point Bishop took off with Larry and I was admitted to triage.
They checked to make sure my water had broken (which seemed like a waste of time; I had literally lost cups of it at that point). Then they checked to see how dilated I was and it was at this point they felt a foot instead of a head. So they did an ultrasound to double check and see where the head was. He was still breech of course. They explained to me that I would need a c-section because they don't deliver breech babies anymore. So I have to sign release forms and I have to talk to the anesthesiologist about how they're going to numb me during the procedure. This whole time I'm still having pretty painful contractions and I'm thinking "okay can we just hurry this up so I can stop feeling all this pain because they'll just cut him out anyway." I don't know how long it actually took them to prep the OR but it felt like forever because I was laying there just dealing with contractions.
By the time they're ready for me, I don't feel confident walking so they just wheeled me in on the bed I was already laying on. Since they had to numb me, John had to wait outside until the epidural was done. But he never got a chance to come in. As soon as they tried to move me unto the table, I had a really bad contraction. Then as soon as they got me on the table, I felt like pushing. At this point, it was just pandemonium. Doctors were yelling over each other, they were telling me not to push and that they needed to knock me out for an emergency c-section. I was panicking because I was trying not to push but my body was having none of that. Then I started screaming in pain and I just felt completely out of control. And his feet came out. Then someone tells me I need to push and I was able to calm down just enough to get him out. It took about 3 pushes total. So the c-section was cancelled. And Marshall ended up being perfectly healthy. All the doctors were very excited that things had turned out so well and I promptly decided that 2 children was more than enough. I'm pretty sure I have a small residual stress headache from the incident.
So that's the story of my little 6.5 lb, 2.5 weeks early breech baby. He is a rarity in this modern world. And in case you're wondering, John was freaking out the whole time I was in the OR. It was a little stressful for him as well. But now we have another perfect little boy. He's so tiny and Bishop seems so huge now.
First I'll start by saying Marshall was breech. He was breech since the first time they looked at him on the ultrasound and of course there was plenty of time for him to turn around since then but he never did. The doctor checked at 35 weeks, still breech. I made a weak effort to turn him based on stuff I read on the internet. The doctor checked him at almost 37 weeks, still breech. I made a panicked effort to flip him at home almost daily because I realized his chances of flipping were growing slimmer. In the meantime, we made an appointment to have him flipped by doctors on the morning of the 23rd. If it was successful, it would ensure that he was delivered safely and naturally. If it was unsuccessful, it would mean I would need a c-section.
On the morning of the 22nd, I was waking up and preparing myself to get out of bed when my water broke. I was pretty sure he had not flipped on his own so I knew there was a very high chance of getting a c-section. I called John who was at work already and he rushed home to get me. Bishop was born 4 hours after my water broke so we knew the clock was ticking and Marshall would probably be here even faster. We drove to the hospital with Bishop because his babysitter for the day was meeting us there. By the time we get there, my contractions are pretty painful so we went right to the front entrance. We are greeted by Linda who goes to our church and also volunteers at the hospital on Mondays. It was a nice surprise to see a friendly face. She got me a wheelchair and helped us get upstairs to labor and delivery. We checked in, at some point Bishop took off with Larry and I was admitted to triage.
They checked to make sure my water had broken (which seemed like a waste of time; I had literally lost cups of it at that point). Then they checked to see how dilated I was and it was at this point they felt a foot instead of a head. So they did an ultrasound to double check and see where the head was. He was still breech of course. They explained to me that I would need a c-section because they don't deliver breech babies anymore. So I have to sign release forms and I have to talk to the anesthesiologist about how they're going to numb me during the procedure. This whole time I'm still having pretty painful contractions and I'm thinking "okay can we just hurry this up so I can stop feeling all this pain because they'll just cut him out anyway." I don't know how long it actually took them to prep the OR but it felt like forever because I was laying there just dealing with contractions.
By the time they're ready for me, I don't feel confident walking so they just wheeled me in on the bed I was already laying on. Since they had to numb me, John had to wait outside until the epidural was done. But he never got a chance to come in. As soon as they tried to move me unto the table, I had a really bad contraction. Then as soon as they got me on the table, I felt like pushing. At this point, it was just pandemonium. Doctors were yelling over each other, they were telling me not to push and that they needed to knock me out for an emergency c-section. I was panicking because I was trying not to push but my body was having none of that. Then I started screaming in pain and I just felt completely out of control. And his feet came out. Then someone tells me I need to push and I was able to calm down just enough to get him out. It took about 3 pushes total. So the c-section was cancelled. And Marshall ended up being perfectly healthy. All the doctors were very excited that things had turned out so well and I promptly decided that 2 children was more than enough. I'm pretty sure I have a small residual stress headache from the incident.
So that's the story of my little 6.5 lb, 2.5 weeks early breech baby. He is a rarity in this modern world. And in case you're wondering, John was freaking out the whole time I was in the OR. It was a little stressful for him as well. But now we have another perfect little boy. He's so tiny and Bishop seems so huge now.
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| This is from today |
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