The Epic Birth Story

So hopefully this all makes sense. This will be long.

On 7/7 we were scheduled to check in at the hospital at 1830 (6:30pm). They were currently full in labor & delivery unit, so we were put into a small triage room till they could clean and move us into the big room.

B trying to get some sleep while we wait to be transferred to the big room. 

After seeing it might be a while before they could move us, the doctors decided to place the Cervadil there. They did the check and placement about 2030, and told me I couldn't walk for 2 hours. At this time I was 1.5

Around 2130, they moved us to the "big room". 

B trying to get comfortable in the big room.
(to be fair, he did work all day before we were admitted, and the plan was for him to try and work till i was in active labor the following day)

At roughly 2230 I was telling B how uncomfortable I was when 2 nurses, a tech, and a doc ran in. James had a significant heart rate deceleration.

They rolled me on my side, on my other side, and finally hands and knees. They rushed fluids and oxygen. But finally got him to settle down.

Within 20 minutes it happened again. This time i got 2 doctors, 3 nurses, 2 techs (and B). This time though, James really want responding.

When they finally got James to settle down the doctors, B and I had a talk about our options. The head doctor told us that right now James is "good" baby, he is healthy... but if we wait too much longer we don't know what's going to happen. The is highly suggested a emergency c-section.

The doctors assembled a team and we were moved really quickly into the OR and prepped for a c-section. When we got there I met the anesthesiologist, signed a bunch of paperwork and I got the epidural started. Unfortunately, the epidural/spinal block didn't take. They hung the screen and sanitized and my belly and I could still feel everything.

Now they're out of options. They made Brian leave the room (until after intubation) had 2 nurses hold my hand, 1 put on an oxygen mask the other one held pressure on my throat and I was put under. I was then intubated and they proceeded with the c-section.

Now everything for this part, I don't remember because I was put under...But, I heard multiple nurse's, a doctor, and my husband what happened. 

What happened was that they were able to get James out rather quickly. But unfortunately he was not responsive when they got him out. He took one breath.... Then decided that ear enough i guess. They rushed him to the incubator area and started CPR and they were able to get him back rather quickly but it was long enough my very even tempered husband was starting to freak out.

So what we didn't know at this point was that down the hall another mom was having an emergency situation. her situation was a bit more severe than mine resulting in a crash c-section. She moved into OR next to mine, half of "my team" split to help her. Causing bri to freak out a bit more.

So they wake me up in your rather abruptly and apparently I thought it was at the bar and couldn't find my husband and was freaking out. So Brian had to leave the baby side to come call me down.

Then as if that's not enough. I had an allergic reaction to the tape they used on my eyelids. Had get a benadryl for the itching and scratching. The benadryl and the pain medicine for the surgery reacted in a way that made me foggy to the point of delirium. The next day, the nurse commented on my... um... crankyness during that part. I explained to her how much I HATE the drug foggy feeling. I hate it more then i can explain, then add to it the fact that I was only able to be awake enough to feed James and I was out again. I hated every moment of that fog.

We learned later that the reason all of this started was James had is umbilical cord crimped between his head and the birth canal wall as well as wrapped around his neck once. So the smallest contractions (the ones that were barely a blip on the screen cause his stats to freak the fuck out.

With all that being said. Its now over a month later and I am still in awe of everything. If i had to do it all again, I probably would. There is nothing the doctors could have done to changed the outcome. Everything that happened was just a fluke and unpredictable. I mean. I got a really great baby out of the deal.