In my defense I can only say that with my son, I never went into labor, and so was bewildered by the odd twinges and strange backaches I started getting three weeks before my due date. By the time Bear had talked me into going in to get it checked out and we drove to the local hospital, I was starting to contract. Not so much fun, and why, again, was I still thinking I had missed something when Cass was born? Ow. Off I went in the ambulance to the IWK in Halifax, a decision based on no back-up staff being available in Bridgewater, and my incision from the last c-section being T shaped. Eight hours of labor. Fuuuck. Finally, (finally!!) the OR was clear, and I was ready for my epidural. They numbed me, (oh my God was I glad to see the anesthesiologist!) strapped me down on the tilt table, and were ready to begin. I threw up twice (you know your husband loves you when he doesn't flinch when you upchuck on his hand holding the emesis basin) they tested for numbness, and all of a sudden everything hurt. My shoulders were aching, and there was a roaring in my ears I could barely hear over. I screamed up at the doctor "Are you just about done?" and promptly went into shock. The babys heartbeat abruptly dove, (as did my blood pressure) and things all went to hell.
I woke up two hours later. Bear (who had watched all of this without the benefit of the excellent drugs I had coursing through my system) was very pale and kept a tight hold on my hand as he struggled to explain what had happened. When I had lost conciousness, my placenta had fully abrupted, and the baby was breathing in blood. The pain I had been feeling was the extra blood finding its way through my system to the big vessels in my collarbones.
Our baby girl was in the NICU, on a breathing tube, a tube down her nose to suction out all the blood and gunk from her stomach, and an IV taped to her poor head. Her apgars had been 0, 1, and 8. We had very nearly lost her.
She was to spend four days there in the NICU- the longest, most hellish four days of my life, and several more rooming in with me in the hospital.
That was a year ago. Since then, she has proved over and over again what an absolute miracle she is, and how lost we'd be without her.
Happy first birthday, Rosey Posey. Mama loves you, forever and ever.
4 comments:
How did I miss this story? Did you post this on the other side? Dear god. I would still be a blithering idiot over that.
Tears...I didn't know. (((hugs)))
A true wonder!
Oh my GOD, I'm still stressed out after reading this!!! I can't imagine, those minutes waiting to hear your babies were ok must have been eternities. They must have seemed even more precious.... does it help when they are driving you insane?
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