National Hug Day

Today, January 21st, is National Hug Day. To celebrate, not only did I give Nora and Nate LOTS of hugs (and kisses too!), but Nora made a hug to send to her Great Grandparents. I tried tracing Nora's hands, but she refused, so I traced mine, and had her color them. Then we cut a piece of string that was the length from one of her hands to the other. I wrote a note to them telling them about National Hug Day, and told them that whenever they miss Nora they can just wrap her hug around them.

Nathaniel's Birth Plan

With Danielle's c-section, I did a lot of research before and while writing my birth plan for her. Since I had already been though it once, and had learned much more about birth, I had a much better idea of how I wanted this birth to go. One thing that helped me write my birth plan this time was a video that my friend & doula from Nora's birth, Ashley of Gaia Birth, about a "Natural Cesarean." If you are having a c-section, I highly recommend watching it, and using it to help you write your birth plan. You might not want to use everything you see in the video (like I didn't want the drape dropped to see him being born, but I did want pictures to look at later), and some hospitals might not let you do everything, but it's worth asking!

We request informed consent for both Sarah and our son, Nathaniel.

For Sarah’s Prep & Surgery:

ü  IV’s in left arm/ hand (numb area before IV goes in)

ü  IV should be placed so the loop is above my knuckles

ü  Adam does NOT leave my side as soon as the IV’s are put in

ü  Adam will be in the OR when the spinal is done

ü  Low transverse incision (want a VBAC again with rest of children)

o   If he is not in the optimal position for a low horizontal incision, attempt to move him (We will not consent to a vertical incision)

ü  Do NOT want arms strapped down

ü  No sedatives after he is delivered

For Nathaniel’s Birth:

ü  Would like to know when he is starting to be pulled out, and when he is all the way out

ü  We will wait with all new born procedures and assessments (weight, length, eye ointment, etc.)

ü  Want him given to Adam and I right away and try breast feeding while in the OR

ü  If he needs immediate medical attention, Adam will be with him

ü  Both Adam and the baby will stay with me the whole time (OR to recovery room and thereafter)

For Sarah’s Recovery:

ü  Spinals & epidurals work really well for me, and take longer than expected to wear off

ü  I don't move well by myself until well after the spinal has completely worn off

ü  I WILL need help moving and/or transferring beds, or I will throw up

ü  Would like the minimal amount of pain drugs to keep me comfortable

For Nathaniel:

ü  Adam and/ or I would like to give him his first bath

ü  We will be breastfeeding

o   Absolutely NO formula, water, or glucose water is to be offered or given to him

ü  We do not want our child offered a pacifier, we have some we might offer, if we feel he needs it

The Last Few Days

I got a sentence or two into this post, and ran out of time to write it before Nathaniel was born, so I'm trying to remember everything, but I can tell you that I don't!

Well, we finally had the tour of Woodwinds that I had been wanting to do (Tuesday, December 11th), except it wasn't at all what I wanted, and our tour guide, Julianne, was no good. At one point we asked a question, and we were right next to one of the nurses's station on the Labor & Delivery floor. Julianne gave us an answer and the nurse sitting there gave her a look like she was crazy.

While we were there, I got a call from Comprehensive letting me know that Dr. Mahan was out on delivery at St. John's. We ended up rescheduling with Dr. Nelson for about 15 minutes later than our original appointment time. So after our uninformative tour of Woodwinds, we headed across the highway to Comprehensive.

Dr. Nelson is still not a favorite of mine. I've seen her twice now, and both times she seemed to be in a rush to get in and get out, like she didn't have time for her patients.

On our way out, I asked if Dr. Mahan had any openings or cancellations for the next week, since I wanted to see her one last time before the c-section. I lucked out, and was able to switch my last appointment to her only open slot.

When we got home, I posted on Facebook about how I was more nervous to go under the knife after my tour than I was before. One of my friends, Ame, messaged me about getting in contact with some of her nurse friends at Woodwinds. On Thursday, I called Julie, the charge nurse on the Labor & Delivery floor, and she told me that I was on her list to call today, but she was in the middle of a delivery and would call me back. She did, and she gave me a much better "tour" over the phone, than Julianne did taking us around the hospital. She answered most of my questions, and the ones she couldn't answer, she knew who to talk to get an answer. One of the questions I had, well, more of a request, was that Adam be allowed to be in the OR with me when I got the spinal, and the possibility of me laying down instead of sitting up when he did the spinal. Jill said she'd talk to the anesthesiologist and get back to me. She also recommended using one of their volunteer doulas, especially if Adam wasn't allowed in the OR. After talking to Jill, I felt so much better about going into surgery. I still really didn't want to get "sliced & diced," but I felt more at ease in having to go into it.

Dr. Douglas Dubink, the anesthesiologist that would be in on my surgery called me also after Jill had talked to him. I told him about my concerns of how I needed Adam in the room, and how I would probably do better laying down to get the spinal than sitting up. After talking to him for a little while, he was okay with Adam being in the OR for the spinal, but said if he passed out that he would miss the birth of his son. I told him I wasn't concerned since he stood up to peer over the drape when they were pulling Danni out of me. (I think he was less concerned then too.) He explained about how it is easier for him to place the spinal when people are sitting up rather than laying down, but if I really thought I needed to lay down, he could do it that way too. We decided to make that call on the day of the birth.

Jill also called me back to make sure that Dr. Dubink had called me, and to see if I had any other questions. Dr. Dubink actually came in her office while she was on the phone with me, and so she put me on speaker so I could ask one more question. With Danni, the anesthesiologist had said that their nurses were great photographers, so I asked if the same were true at Woodwinds. He assured me that someone would be able to take pictures in the OR for us, but it would probably not be him or his nurse. Jill also suggested that I contact Julie, one of the volunteer doulas at Woodwinds, that would be on call that day. She said that Julie would be willing to come in a little early to be with us for the prep and surgery. She gave me her phone number to contact her ahead of time, but I never got around to calling her.

After talking to all these wonderful people at Woodwinds, I felt much more at ease going into the c-section. I still really didn't want to do it, but I felt that it would be a better experience than Danielle's birth in the OR.

I will leave you with my last "belly shot" from Nathaniel.

36 weeks 2 days

36 weeks 2 days