On the third day of Christmas my Daisy gave to me..
3 hours of labor.
True to her nature, stubborn Daisy decided to come early and gave me the...pleasure?...of three full hours of painful labor. More on that later.
On the second day of Christmas my Daisy gave to me...
2 swollen ankles.
Despite already having my Daisy, I still have swollen feet and ankles. The only advice they could give me was to walk and drink lots of water. I've been doing so but they are still there.
On the first day of Christmas my Daisy gave to me...
1 of herself.
That's all I wanted for Christmas, was Daisy. She came early and she may have given me a painful labor experience and a bunch of other side effects all through pregnancy but looking at her adorable face...I wouldn't ask for anything else.
And now, the moment you've been waiting for...Daisy's birth story...
True to her personality all through pregnancy, Daisy decided to throw one more curve ball at us. Cue December 28, 2011 at 5:14am. (Exactly 39 weeks gestation, 2 days before our scheduled c-section) I begin finishing getting ready for work and am dreading the thought of trying to finish even two more half-days at work. I unfold my socks and I feel a vibration of tearing low in my belly. It didn't hurt but I knew immediately what it was. Then the fluid started coming out and I jumped off the bed trying to spare the sheets from the water. I called out to Matt who was instantly awake. I told him my water broke and he asked if I was sure. Absolutely, there was no mistaking that!
I think a moment of shock passed over us. I started giggling hysterically in disbelief and Matt looked concerned. I told him I was going to jump in the shower and to call labor and delivery. Silly me, I thought that once your water broke, that was that. No one told me that even if your water broke low and gushed out that you would still have fluid coming out all through labor. Additionally, no one told us the best way to dress while still leaking fluid. We eventually figured I'd wear a pair of pants I didn't mind getting wet and put a towel under me for the ride. Honestly, this was a rather hysterical moment. One made for the movies. No wonder it's in all the movies!
My contractions didn't start until about fifteen minutes later on our way in. They were about four to seven minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds to a minute long. They were very mild and by the time we got to labor and delivery they said I was around one to two centimeters dilated. Since my contractions were so mild, they decided to go ahead with their scheduled c-section first then do mine second around 9am.
So began our wait. We joked with the nurses and each other. This part was easy. After all, since it was my first birth, things should go slow. Of course, it also meant Daisy should be late, not a week early from her due date but I didn't think about that. Usually, labor takes many many hours, sometimes taking up to a day or more. I anticipated that even being second would mean I would have the same mild contractions and we would breeze through the surgery. I would still get to say I experienced labor but wouldn't have to worry about the really painful parts.
About two and a half hours later, my contractions started picking up in intensity and frequency. By the time MIL J and FIL D got there I was in excruciating pain. I had definitely reached a ten on the pain scale. It felt an awful lot like something was ripping me apart and I told them as much between moans and shameless cries. When they finally got my operating room together, my contractions were less than a minute apart and lasting as long as two or three minutes at a time. Even on the walk to the operating room just across the hall, I had to stop for another contraction. There was nothing, I mean nothing, that could keep me moving.
They timed my spinal with a contraction so I didn't even notice the pain. Ironically, I had worried through the last month of my pregnancy that I wouldn't be in any pain for the epidural and thus wouldn't be able to handle one. Funny how things work out. The doctor doing my c-section noticed how much pain I was in and stepped in as a labor coach since Matt wasn't allowed in the room during the spinal. This was a blessing because I really needed a hand to break.
They laid me down and suddenly everyone seemed to be in a huge hurry. I felt only one or two more contractions when the medication kicked in and I was cool as a cucumber. They were not. They kept testing to see if I was numb and I kept thinking, "Hey now, we can take our time. I'm not in pain anymore and that's really why we were in a hurry...right?" I didn't voice my opinion but that's what I was thinking. They were just considering a double dose when the medication finally started to work and they got started.
The first part of the surgery was quick and easy. Daisy was out in five minutes but it took another minute for her to cry. Both Matt and I were worried even though we both knew it could take longer for her to cry than a normal delivery. When I finally heard that cry, I started to cry too. I got to kiss her a couple of times before she was whisked off to the nursery and Matt with her. That's when things started to get really painful. They started to pull everything together to close me up and I could feel so much tugging and pulling but what I really couldn't stand was the pain. I was moaning and no one ever said, "Don't worry, you're not feeling any pain." They knew I was in pain. I'm seriously hoping it's because they were in such a hurry and I don't experience this pain every time I have a c-section. As a result of the pain I felt horrible and like I was going to pass out so they gave me some strong drugs to help me which made me feel like I was in a nightmare. I had a hard time remembering how exactly everything had happened that morning and felt like everything was in slow motion and that my brain was very very sluggish. Eventually the drugs and the stress put me to sleep and when I woke I was almost done. Thankfully.
In recovery, the nurse told us Daisy had some bruising and the doctor would talk to us about why. The surgeon had actually been pulled into a meeting so the nurse decided she would just tell us. We were finally told that Daisy's foot was actually out by the time they got me on the table which is why they were in such a hurry to get her out, she was coming one way or another! Essentially, I not only experienced a c-section but a nearly all-natural birth too. The pain from the contractions was either because I was 5-6cm dilated and Daisy was pushing my cervix to open faster or because I was in the transition stage when contractions get a little wonky and very painfully edgy. Or both. I think it may have been both.
I'm not going to go into the stuff that's happened since then because this post is very long already. But here's some pictures of her!
The most beautiful baby in the world.
G-Ma and Daisy
Proud Working Man and his daughter
No better rest than when she's on my chest.
MIL J and FIL D and their first grandbaby. They are definitely proud!
The new momma,
FFR
