At 7:30pm, we were all ready to head off to surgery. Before we left the room, I asked Dr. Beaumont if I should try to throw up because I had just chugged half a liter of Smart Water moments before they told me I needed a C-Section and he told me no, I would be just fine. And then boom...I was being whisked off to surgery. It all went by really fast. I was rolled past my mom, dad, sister and Oscar who were all in the hallway right outside of the NICU/OR doors. They were all waving and saying good luck. Apparently, they were waving at me and the parade of Doctors and Nurses all waved back at them. Justin followed the line up.
They rolled me in to the Operating Room first and asked Justin to sit on a chair right outside and wait for them to prep me and then they would come get him. Dr. Pettit also happened to be my surgical anesthesiologist so I was really, really happy. The second doctor in the OR with Dr. Beaumont was midwife Sally, who remembered me from a few weeks ago when I ended up in L&D and she was my doctor.
As I was rolled in to the OR, I remember thinking how wonderfully cold it was in there. I saw the giant lights and it sort of freaked me out. Dr. Pettit had already started numbing me up via my epidural on the way down the hall from my room to the OR. They had me crawl from my bed on to a surgical gurney. That was not an easy task. As soon as I was positioned on my back, they hung a giant blue curtain up right above my chest, so I could not see what was going on. I remember hearing Stephanie counting out the tools and other surgical items to another nurse and also briefing everyone else in the OR on me and what was going on. Also, I remember hearing the Beach Boys playing in the OR. I thought that was the weirdest thing EVER! Who plays music in the OR? Apparently Dr. Beaumont does. The song that was playing as I was rolled in to the OR was "She'll have fun, fun, fun, til her daddy takes the T-Bird away" and I just kept thinking...oh the irony. I hate the Beach Boys because of extreme over-exposure to them as a child and then that song...of all the songs!
Justin was brought in to the OR and was seated right next to me. I was shaking uncontrollably and it was really scary. I knew it was just a result of the medicine, but it was freaky. Justin put his hand on my face and I was able to stop for a few seconds. Then I started shaking again. Dr. Pettit said as quick as the shaking can stop, it can start up just as fast. Soon after Justin comes in, I feel this poke, poke, poke...and I go "I can feel that...you just poked me with a tack, didn't you?"...next thing I hear is Dr. Beaumont say, "can we get another shot of whatever in there" and Dr. Pettit saying "I already started it"...then there was a pause for about 3 minutes...again...I feel poke, poke, poke..."I can still feel that!" "Can you feel it, or just feel pressure?" "You used a scalpel this time, didn't you?" "Uhhh...can we get another shot in there?" "Already on it." Then there is another wait...by this time I am shaking so bad. I feel like I am going to hop right off the table.
A few minutes later, I feel some pressure and Dr. Beaumont asked if I felt it...I said I felt it, but no pain...and he said "well, I pinched you pretty hard"...Dr. Pettit nodded to Dr. Beaumont and they got started. I remember smelling the burning of my skin. All of a sudden it felt like I was being shaken off the table by my belly. There was so much pulling and tugging going on. And then it hits me...I am going to throw up...like now. I said "I am going to get sick" and before Dr. Pettit could get me a bowl, I threw up and swallowed it. Threw up again...and it all ran down the side of my face and on to my shoulder. (mind you, you are flat on your back, so all you can do is turn your head)...Dr. Pettit handed the bucket to Justin and I kept throwing up all that darn water. Luckily, I had not had anything to eat...so it was just water. I was trying to hold the bucket myself and ended up dumping it all over my ear and face...and Dr. Pettit had to suction the bowl because I was making such a mess.
In a way, it was sort of good, because it took my mind off the surgery and the shaking. Moments later I hear these screams....LOUD screams...and then it hits me. That is MY baby! She is out, and she is screaming. From the waiting area/hallway, mom, dad, Kendall and Oscar said they heard her screaming, but were not sure it was her because they thought she would have been born already. What they did not know was there was the delay because the medicine was not numbing me.
Justin stood up to video tape. They held her over the curtain so I could see her and I remember asking if she was a girl for sure. Yup...she was. The nurse called Justin over to the little table where they were cleaning and suctioning our little girl. He made sure I was okay and then he walked over to meet her and video tape her. Then they called out "8 pounds, 13 ounces" and Dr. Beaumont goes..."oh, a tiny one" because he bet the other doctors that she was going to be bigger.
They bundled her up and asked me if I wanted to hold her. I declined. I was still shaking and just did not feel like it would have been a good idea to hold her. The nurse handed her to Justin, and bless her heart, she offered to video tape for us. We signed a waiver specifically saying that we agreed that we would not ask any staff to video tape or take pictures for us. It was so awesome to get those first few moments on tape.
Lauren's Birth (nothing gross). The password is Lauren.
They took our baby girl...who was determined to be Lauren due to her blond hair versus a brown haired Gianna, off in her little roll cart to be cleaned and vaccinated and whatever else they do to new babies. Justin kissed me and went off with little Lauren.
Lauren in the Nursery. The password is Lauren.
Mom, Dad, Oscar and Kendall were waiting in the hallway when Lauren was rolled to the nursery. The nurses stopped to let them all meet her. She was 9 minutes old when they met her. Dr. Beaumont finished working on me. I felt this strange gush from my belly and I was like..."whoa, what was that gush of warm water?" and Dr. Beaumont asked if I felt it...or heard it...and I said I felt it. So he pokes me in the abdomen with a scalpel...I said I felt that poke...and then I hear him saying to Dr. Pettit, "its a good thing we did not do a something incision...she would have felt it" and Dr. Pettit agreed and said that they got lucky on that one. I could feel the tugging and pulling as I was stitched up and then heard the staples going in.
Moments later, the curtain was down and I heard this vacuum going...it turns out, it was my bed getting blown up. Basically, the bed gets blown up and is on rollers and it sort of floats so that they were able to move me back to a normal bed. It was weird. Next thing I know, I am being rolled out of the OR and the NICU nurses were congratulating me as I went by (the OR is in the NICU unit). I remember saying that I hope I never see them again and they all laughed and agreed. I also remember joking with Dr. Beaumont and Dr. Pettit about my faux labor...and Dr. Beaumont laughed and said that I was right...my labor was a total sham. This was because when they turned off my Pitocin at 6pm, I did not have a single contraction after that. Not one. Most of the time your body will naturally continue with contractions...not mine...so every contraction I had for all 10 hours was a total fraud. Haha.
I was wheeled past my parents and sister and Oscar and I remember them saying that Lauren was beautiful but we did not stop there...we just kept going. I made it back to my room and I was in a lot of pain. The medicine was wearing off fast so Stephanie pumped my IV with some pain medicine...and then another dose...and then I fell asleep. An hour later Justin came in to check on me...and I thought it had been like 5 minutes. I remember asking him why he was not with Lauren and he said she was ready to come in with me if I wanted her to. I had no clue it had been over an hour. Poor Justin was worrying about me the whole time, hoping that I was okay. Little did he know, I was out of it.
He rolled Lauren in and I could not see her though the plexi glass bassinet she was in, plus the rails from my bed were in the way. Apparently he asked if I wanted to hold her. I thought I said no, but later, I saw that there are pictures of me holding her, so I guess I did hold her?
Kendall and Oscar came in first to visit. They were on their way out the door (at 9:30pm) because they had an early morning and did not think that they would get to see Lauren again anyways...so they came running back upstairs to meet her and hold her. After they left, my parents came in and held her and loved on her. It is sort of fuzzy for me...
Then around 11pm, I was moved to my postpartum room where I would stay for the remainder of my time at the hospital. Mom and dad came up with us. Justin pushed Lauren in her bassinet. I ended up on the 7th floor, which bummed me out, but the postpartum rooms were being remodeled, so I had no choice.
Here is Lauren's Birth Story in pictures.
Dad pacing the hallway waiting for us to come out of surgery...(past where he is supposed to go)
Looking down the hallway...again...past where he is supposed to go.
Standing in the hallway waiting...
Finally! Here comes Lauren and New Daddy Justin.
Proud Daddy showing off his new baby girl.
The paparazzi taking lots of videos and pictures of the new baby girl!
Poor Lauren, her face was so swollen and her left eye was puffed up and barely opened and her lips were so swollen that they were crooked.
The next stop was the the make-shift nursery...
The family looking at the pictures of her that they all took after she was wheeled away.
Getting weighed...(and trying to escape)
Written on August 20 & 21, 2010
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