The concern for me about a scheduled c-section is that I never really have felt confident that the scheduled day is actually the right timing. Well...for Hogan...July 30th was going to be his birthday whether the csection was scheduled or not.
My cesarean section for Hogan's birth was scheduled for Monday, July 30th at 7:30 am.
At 1 o'clock in the morning on July 30th, I got up to use the restroom. Typical for a 9+ months pregnant lady. When laying back in bed around 1:30 am, I thought that maybe y water broke. (Not certain since, as previously stated, 9+ months pregnant lady cannot always hold her bladder.) I got up and walked back into the bathroom. Then my water broke again and more, creating a puddle on the bathroom floor. I paced back and forth from teh bedroom to the bathroom, uncertain of what to do next. My surgery was scheduled to begin in a few hours and I was planning to check in to the hospital at 5:30 am anyways. Dave woke up startled at my pacing and I told him that my water just broke. He asked if we needed to go to the hospital. I told him I was not sure. He said we should go. I called the urgent care line and talked to the midwife on call, Liz Marley. I told her that I have my csection scheduled for this morning at 7:30 and I would really like Jeanean and Lori Halderman to still be the ones to perform my surgery, not the doctor currently on call. She recommended that I go ahead and head to the hospital now so that I can be monitored and so they can monitor baby.
At 2:00 am, we wake up the big kids and all load up to drive to the hospital. I thought Andi and Eastman would be groggy, but they were excited to get up early and go to the hospital. They were ready to meet their baby brother. Before we left for the hospital, I got dressed and fix my hair and makeup and did not see the sense of urgency. (I imagine this made Dave a little anxious...he was ready to get to the hospital.) I sat on a towel on the way to the hospital. At about 2:30 am we arrived at the hospital. We had to check in through the Emergency Department since the hospital was closed. Before checking in, I had Dave take a couple of pictures of me standing in front of the hospital (of course he cooperated, but was more than ready to get me checked into the hospital.) After checking in through the ER, they walked me to the Labor and Delivery Unit. The nurse wanted to push me in a wheelchair, but I told him that I was okay to walk. Dave hated that we had to walk through the ER with Andi and Eastman because we encountered some questionable characters. (I did not really notice-I was just anxious to get checked in to monitor Hogan.) I got checked into a labor and delivery room, hooked up to the monitors, and had to answer lots of intake questions. The kids got tucked in on the fold out couch and we turned on a TV show for them. After one show (and when the nurses were finally able to leave me alone), we turned off the TV and asked the kids to go back to sleep. Dave tried to do the same in his chair and I tried to sleep (or at least remain as still as possible so that Hogan would stay put until my scheduled surgery). My water continued to break and I soak through several towels. I just kept a stack of them at the end of my bed and would change them out when needed. I was amazed at this. My water did not break with Andi or Eastman, so this was new to me! As I lay there (not sure if I slept or not, but did my best to lay still and quiet), I listened to the rain outside my window. They say that rain on your wedding day is good luck, so I imagined it was also good luck today!
7:00 am and the daytime nurse arrived and began asking me more questions, pre-op paperwork, and getting me ready for my cesarean section. She was very pushy and seemed grumpy and I was not initially thrilled to have her as my OR nurse. A few minutes later in walked Dr. Dani who would be helping Jeanean and Dr. Halderman with my surgery. Jeanean said more hands on deck since this is surgery #3 and there might be lots of scar tissue. Dr. Dani was alarmed and mad that she was not told that my membranes were not intact-that my water broke. (Turns out everything is okay and maybe I am glad that she did not know or else she may have taken me in for surgery hours ago.) Jeanean came in to say hello and ask if I was ready. Of course I was ready but I was also emotional and the tears began to flow. They wheeled me back to the operating room and asked if I was okay for a couple of student nurses to be in on the surgery. I agreed. Then it was time for my spinal---the worst part of all of the surgery! I was a big baby, lots of tears and held on the grouchy nurse and squeezed her tight as the nurse anesthetist performed the spinal. She said that she usually does not let patients hug her, but I did not give her an option. Jeanean was not in there yet (who I usually hold on to). I think that might have been the turning point for me and the nurse. She ended up being a fantastic nurse and I was so thankful that she was in the OR with me. When they finally let Dave into the operating room, the nurse asked for my phone so that she could take pictures and videos while Dave took his own pictures and videos. The nurse anesthetist was great and kept me comfortable and asked me what type of music I wanted to listen to. I told him 80's or 90's and Dave said that he was please with the music selection when he walked in. I only felt a little sick once during the procedure. I got really hot and nauseated and then felt better. As they got close to pulling Hogan out, they lowered the curtain so that I could get a better look. I could not really lean forward, so it did not help much for my viewing, but it did help me not to feels so claustrophobic. They pulled Hogan out and the nurse immediately put him on my chest and had me start trying to feed him. She recognized that he was a big baby and knew that he needed to try to eat to ensure a good blood sugar. They continues working on my surgery. They took Hogan to the scale and he weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds 15 ounces! Jeanean said that I should claim 10 pounds because he peed when they pulled him out. I looked at Dave for approval and we both thought that 9 pounds 15 ounces was plenty big and since that is what the scale read, that is what we will claim. After the weighed him, the nurse put him back on my breast to feed again. Hogan did not leave my side during the whole procedure. He remained on my chest as they stitched me up and as they wheeled me to recovery. In post-op recovery, another nurse came in to check Hogan's vital and do his baby assessment.
After being in the recovery room for quite some time, they wheeled me to my postpartum room where Andi, Eastman, Nana, Papa, Gram, and Grandavs were waiting. I could not wait to see the look on Andi's and Eastman's faces as they saw their baby brother for the first time. And I could not wait to hug and kiss them too. It was so sweet seeing their reaction and love in their eyes for that baby! They adored him already!
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