I'm Just a normal person. I think anyways.
I am a new mom and love to read about other moms experiences so I would like to write about mine.
While I was sitting in my living room eight months pregnant I knew I couldn't wait to meet the little angle I felt in my belly. I never knew the roller coaster that was about to unfold just the next day. As far as I knew my plans was to go shopping for those last few baby items at a huge consignment sale with my sister. I couldn't wait to go shopping, it is one of my favorite things to do. Plus, finding items at a deal made me excited. But, my plans didn't matter.
As we drove to the consignment sale my sister and I were just talking about her experiences with her son that was just 7 weeks old at the time. I mentioned how watching her labour last eleven hours scared me to death. As we were only a few hundred feet from the consignment location when I felt a water balloon pop in my pelvis. I knew from reading other mom's stories that this was the real deal! I had false alarm only the week before and so, my sister calmly said we would go inside to the bathroom and see if my water really broke. I told her to stop the car as I got out of the passenger seat. My shorts were soaked with fluid it not only looked like I peed myself but, it looked like someone poured a whole gallon of water in my lap. I think at that moment she believed me. My sister has always handled stressful situations amazingly so, I was lucky she was with me. I called my husband at work and just told him it was time and to rush home we were leaving. I think that was the fastest he ever moved. I remember everything like it was yesterday. I had a bag packed for my husband and I plus, a bag packed everything a newborn baby would need. I changed my clothes and put on a depends underwear. ( for anyone who is expecting buy depends underwear- not only for IF your water breaks but, the week or so afterward especially after a c-section)
My sister made sure we had everything before she left to go get my mother to start the long trip to the hospital. In ten minutes we had everything and was in the car ready to make the trip ourselves. I choose to have my baby in a hospital 1 1/2 hours away. Even to this day I wouldn't have went anywhere else. My contractions were 30 minutes apart. I called the hospital three times making sure we could make it because once we left the city there wasn't a decent hospital around for miles. The trip was going as well as a trip goes with a scared husband and a pregnant woman in labor goes. My husband put on the hazarded lights on the car and weaved in and out of traffic. He tried his best to calm me down and distract me.
About 15 minutes away from the hospital things changed for the worst. My contractions came every 5 mins all of a sudden. My feet were on the door panel and the dash. My husband screaming telling me to close my legs. (He really thought I could stop it) The most disturbing thing is that when your body prepares for labor it excretes all the bowel contents. (yuck) As we were coming on the on-ramp to the hospital when the pain went from bad to even worst. We pulled in as my husband was screaming for someone to help. The attendant helped me into a wheelchair as we flew past people as I hugged my stomach and still trying to make sure I was covered up.
We finally made it to the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. Again things took a turn for even worst. The nurses tried to see where my labor was hooking devices up to me to monitor my babys heart rate as my husband went to use the bathroom. But, even before my husband could come back to my side my contractions was then one minute apart! The pain was so bad I couldn't walk. I had no idea what was going on with me. I was scared not only for me but, my unborn son. The nurses helped me into a bed as they ran me down a long hallway to delivery.
At this point the pain was so bad my body was constantly in a tensed state. My memory now is more like one with blinders. I remember looking around there were about ten people surrounding me in my small room. The nurses tried and tried to take blood and to hook the IV in my arm of course, because I was already in so much pain my veins were tiny. After about 6-7 sticks and another nurse pushing on my engorged stomach all while my body tensed up every minute I had enough. I screamed for one nurse to work on getting the IV in because I wanted a epidural. I knew I couldn't handle this much pain much longer without my body giving out on me. The doctor was monitoring my baby's heart rate. He shook his head..... I could tell something wasn't right. He told me that if the baby's heart rate didn't increase they would have to do an emergency c-section because he wasn't tolerating birth. Finally, the nurse after a few more sticks got my IV in my arm as she then pushed on my stomach. She asked me where I hurt as a mourned that I hurt all over while gripping the bed rail as if my life depended on it as my contraction peaked.
What I didn't know at the time was what I was feeling was not normal.It was Placental abruption.
From Wikipedia:
"Placental abruption (also known as abruptio placentae) is a complication of pregnancy, wherein the placental lining has separated from the uterus of the mother. It is the most common pathological cause of late pregnancy bleeding. In humans, it refers to the abnormal separation after 20 weeks of gestation and prior to birth. It occurs in 1% of pregnancies worldwide. Placental abruption is a significant contributor to maternal mortality worldwide; early and skilled medical intervention is needed to ensure a good outcome, and this is not available in many parts of the world. Treatment depends on how serious the abruption is and how far along the woman is in her pregnancy."
The doctor looked at me and my husband before he started ordering people in the room to get me ready for an emergency c-section. They wheeled me in a cold room filled with people clothed in blue hats, mask, and gowns. They draped all sorts of linens on me. They turned me on my side as the inserted the epidural. Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything but, pressure on my low back. They made sure I couldn't feel anything before they moved me again as the doctor and mid-wife took position to rescue my baby from my body. At 4:44 pm the man that had been holding my hand the whole time said I had a son. I freaked out for a moment because, I couldn't hear him cry. Then they briefly showed me my red/blue and purple son crying over the drapes that separated me from the doorway in which my son was born. It felt like forever as they stitched me up and brought me to my room.
Look for the next blog about the post birth
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