Birth Story: Ryan
Wednesday, July 26th, 2006 dawned as a slightly overcast, humid morning. Daniel and I arrived at the hospital at 6:30am promptly. Before I could really take the time to blink, I was admitted, stripped down to a gown, impaled with an IV, hooked on the monitors and signing consent forms. A last minute ultrasound confirmed that Ryan was still breech. After a brief cry, I got myself together, went to the bathroom one last time, and off to the OR we went.
In the OR things were a bit of a blur. I sat up on the operating table while my back was numbed, and then received the spinal. Within moments I started getting numb from my feet up, and I was laid down onto the table with my arms strapped down on either side of me. I joked that I was being laid out like Jesus on the cross. Then the blue screen went up in front of me, and as the pressure on my chest increased (due to being numb) and lightheadedness set in, I closed my eyes and focused on breathing deeply and evenly.
The c-section and tubal ligation took about 45 minutes. During this time I drifted in and out of sleep; I even had dreams here and there. When I did come to, I still felt lightheaded and sick to my stomach, so I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t talk much or respond to Daniel or the anesthesiologist who stayed by my head, because it took so much effort just to form slurred responses.
When it came time for Ryan to be pulled out and held up, I was offered the chance to have my head lifted so I could watch. But I felt too loopy – I declined. Instead, Daniel watched as he came out and took pictures. I heard Daniel cry as Ryan was born, and felt tears prick my own eyes. He told me later that they had trouble getting his head out from underneath my ribs, and apparently they lifted/pushed my stomach out of the way to do so. At this point I felt a severe need to vomit, but while my stomach was heaving and my mouth was opening, nothing in between “connected”. The anesthesiologist put something in my IV to alleviate the sickness, and within a few moments I felt a teensy bit better.
Daniel came to my side a few moments later to show me Ryan, and to report that he was born at 9:00am. He weighed 8 lbs., 8 oz. and was 21.5 inches in length.
After Ryan’s birth:
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Page last updated on January 1 2007.
As the domain name suggests, my name is Jenn, and I own this blog. I'm 26 years old and married to my one true ♥, Daniel. And while I have two kids (Alyssa is five, and Ryan is three), you won't find "mommy" in my username or email address, nor does my blog revolve around them. I'm a mother, but most importantly I am me, with a passion for love, blogging, reading, and photography. I'm also a busy freelance writer, web designer & SEO goddess, and a blogger relations person for an adult toy company.
