So I made it to my scheduled c-section date. I ended up staying home and going on bedrest that week. The c-section was on a Thursday so I spent Mon-Weds at home and didn't go to work. It was probably the best thing to do and I did enjoy the quiet downtime.
This c-section was much rougher than my first. I think the doctors here in California are much more reluctant to medicate than they were in Virginia. In VA, the anesthesiologist told me to speak up the second I started to feel funny and if I so much as looked a little funny, he would push something that kept me feeling normal and good. Here, I damn near flatlined (literally!) before they pushed anything. I kept having major blood pressure drops and would start to feel bad, then lose the ability to speak and would go completely out of it before they did anything. I had my mom with me this time and she said she would see my pressure drop to nothing and it freaked her out. It irritated me because I pretty much missed out on the birth of my baby and there was no need for them to let me get so bad. Recovery was pretty rough too. When they wheeled me out, I was so out of it, I couldn't see anything. My vision was completely jacked up. It was like looking at an old TV with scrambled stations. Of course, they didn't seem to care and someone offhandedly said something about me stroking out. This scared my mom because if there was a risk of me stroking, why didn't they do anything? Again, I was so out of it I couldn't hold my baby and I don't remember much of anything.
Then there was the medication issues. They ran out of beds in the maternity wing so I was put in a room in the pediatrics unit. I barely fit into the bed and was likely the only patient who *could* fit in those beds. Because I was in another unit, they routinely missed my medication times. I ended up having to time and set my alarm to go off every 4 hours so I could ring the button and remind them to get my meds. Most of the time I didn't get my meds until they wore off and left me in terrible pain. I don't like vicodin, it makes me feel really wonky and sick so with my first c-section I took percocet and ibuprofen. It was great. I had no pain and felt normal. Well, here they gave me the following options: Norco (vicodin), Tylenol 3 or ibuprofen. I settled on the T3 and advil. Needless to say that didn't offer too much in the way of total pain relief (who makes the patient choose their meds!?) but it was enough and at least I didn't feel too bad (when I could actually get my meds). Of course, not only did I have to remind them to get me the meds, but I always checked to make sure I was getting the right stuff. One time I was given something other than what I was taking and thankfully noticed and called the nurse. She tried to tell me I was wrong, but I made her check my chart and get me the right stuff. *eyeroll*
There was a significant amount of pain this time around and I really feel that it was because of inadequate medication and care. I got no sleep because they wouldn't take the baby out of the room. In some ways this is nice, but in others it was very hard. My pain management wasn't very good so getting out of bed was very painful and I had to get out of bed to reach the baby. I was still up and around after 8 hours (they wouldn't let me any sooner) and did my best to take strolls down the hallways, which was kind of hard because I had to push the baby in the bassinet. I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days this time and went home Sunday morning. The doctor was going to let me go against her advise on Saturday, but she and my mom convinced me to stay another night so I wouldn't have to go home and deal with my 2 year old.
Now for the fun stuff. Baby girl weighed 9 lbs 1 oz, 21 inches and was the exact same weight and size as her big brother. How crazy is that? The doctor said that must be my max capacity lol. Shocked everyone in the OR (again lol) as the doctor pulled her out. Doctor said it was like the magician's trick of pulling out the continuous hanky. The baby just kept coming! Overall shock at how someone as slim as me could carry such a big baby. She also looks *exactly* like her brother. She is just now starting to look a little different, but it's not a big difference yet.
She will be 3 months on Nov 1 and is already smiling and laughing and can grab things and put them in her mouth. Big brother absolutely adores her and dotes on her. He brings her toys and covers her up with his blanket. He loves to help give her a bath and will put her tub in the big tub and fill it up. He even makes sure I don't put too much water in it lol. He is protective and very loving with her. She smiles at him and has started to laugh and interact with him. It's so adorable and I hope they stay close.
Chase and Cara
