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 mini dreams here and there. When I did come to, I still felt lightheaded and sick to my stomach, so I kept my eyes close. I didn’t talk much or respond to Daniel or the anesthesiologist who stayed by my head, because it took so much effort to 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 anesteiologist 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 on his stats – 8 lbs., 8 oz., 21.5 inches in length. I barely managed to stroke Ryan’s cheek before slipping out again.
The next thing I know, I was wheeled into a recovery area. (By now I think it was around 10:00am or so, but I can’t be sure). I was so out of it that I was given oxygen, and soon nurses came around to give me more medicines via IV to alleviate the sickness as well as sudden itchiness. I drifted in and out of consciousness until Daniel arrived (he had gone with Ryan to the nursery), and even then it was hard for me to put together a coherent response that wasn’t extremely mumbled and slurred.
By 11:00am it was time for me to be wheeled to my room. I got extremely sick on the way over, and wound up vomiting into a little blue bag in the hallway somewhere. In my room, I was slid from the gurney into the hospital bed, set up with pads, some more fluids for my IV, a blood pressure cuff, and then left alone.
Most of the afternoon passed in a blur of sleeping, waking for a few moments to throw up, then going back to sleep. My mother showed up with Alyssa around 3:00pm, and I roused myself for a bit. But it was hard to remain awake, and even when my brothers arrived a bit later I still dozed off and on. I also threw up several more times. Ryan was brought to us around 4:45pm, but I felt too shaky and dizzy to hold him, so I contented myself with touching him and talking to him while my mother or Daniel held him near me.
By 8:00pm things settled down. All of our visitors had left, and I was given another dose of meds via IV to head off the sickness, and I felt well enough to sit up and keep my eyes open and stay awake. I finally felt well enough to hold my son, and to really take the time to look at him. I attempted to nurse Ryan, but he didn’t seem to understand that latching on wasn’t enough – he needed to suck, too. I expressed a bit of milk for him (I can’t believe it’s coming in so quickly!), and then Daniel fed him via syringe. Tomorrow a lactation consultant will come by to work with us and assist in getting Ryan to suck.
Around 11:00pm my evening nurse came in and helped me get up and out of bed. I dreaded this, and rightfully so: it hurt. I ache like my stomach area is one big bruise, and the burning sensation that tore through the incision area every time I twisted/pulled on it was rather exquisite. But I made it up and out of bed and then the fifteen or so feet to the front of the room and into the bathroom. There I brushed my hair, brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then came the fun part: coming back. Walking was painful, but I knew the bending/twisting required to get back onto the bed and settled in would be painful. And it was. It brought tears to my eyes.
Now it’s nearing midnight, and Daniel and I are settling down. He has his hide-a-way bed made up, and we’re watching television until we’re both tired enough to fall asleep. And hopefully tonight I’ll get a good night’s sleep, as last night I slept no more than two hours, and even then it was restless and broken.
Page last updated on 10/03/2006.
Hello! I'm Jenn, and this is Jenn.nu, my personal blog. I'm 27 years 
