Because I had a c-section with my first child, there were risks in me having this child vaginally.. Although the chances of my uterine scar rupturing is very rare.. (1 in 575 I was told) the results are devastating.. I.E.: Possible death for me, the baby, or me and the baby.. I didn't want to take such a risk... I decided I would have another cesarean.. I went to the OB on April 27.. a Friday, as I'm sure you all know.. They sent me home in good shape.. I definitely didn't know what the next day would hold for me..

My mother flew in from Spokane, WA.. I drove to Denver to pick her up and have lunch with her before she went to visit my grandma for a couple days..

My pelvis felt especially achey at the airport.. I didn't think much of it.. My pelvis has been quite the bitch to me in this pregnancy.. Towards the end, your ligaments start to stretch to prepare for the passage of the baby.. With each subsequent pregnancy, the pain becomes more intense..

After the date with my mommy, we went to see HandOfZek's mom.. We went to the mall.. I was contracting sparatically.. Again, I thought nothing of this.. I passed it off as Braxton Hicks (practice contractions that are fairly common starting in your second trimester). All of the sudden though, my pelvis felt like it was having an intense cramp.. I figured I'd been walking too much that day..

We returned to his mom's house for dinner.. I was in a lot of pain and decided that I'd rather cut the visit short and go home.. We got in the car and left without dinner.. HandOfZek was super sleepy and fell asleep right away.. The baby fell asleep shortly after he.. I was driving maybe 20 minutes when the contractions started up again.. I was in a lot of pain in my pelvis that I sped home averaging 100 mph the entire 45 minutes.. When I got home, I called the emergency room to see if I should be alarmed about the intense cramping in my pelvis.. They said no.. But if I wanted something stronger for the pain, I would have to come in and go to labor and delivery for a pelvic examination.. We went in at 1030 pm.. I dressed my daughter in her jammies and packed a bag with her diapers, fruit snacks and milk..

The hooked me up to a monitor and checked on the baby's heartbeat and to see if I was having any contractions.. They asked if I was having any labor contractions.. I said no.. I didn't notice any pattern to them and I hadn't felt one since the trip home.. They didn't sound like they were going to keep me there..

The doctor came in and felt around my pelvis... He said that it was just my ligaments stretching and that they would probably just send me home.. I was at 37 weeks that day.. I had 3 weeks to go.. The doctor left the room and I stayed on the monitor for a bit longer..

The nurse checked my cervix and I was dilated 1 cm and 60% effaced.. Being 1 cm dilated is nothing.. I was at 1 cm 3 weeks before, so there was nothing urgent about that.. Effacement refers to the how much my cervix has thinned out.. I was at 60%.. So nothing to worry about..

The baby was getting a little antsy and Zek was fairly annoyed with everything.. He just wanted to get the prescription and go home..

The doctor came back in and said, "For someone who isn't having any contractions, you sure are contraction an awful lot.. You're at every 2 minutes.." I looked up at the monitor and saw the lines peaking fairly close together.. I had been focusing on the pain in my pelvis so much that I didn't notice my contractions..

Maybe it was psychological, but after the doctor pointed out my frequent contractions, I began to really feel them..

The doctor returned once again and said, "Are you ready to have a baby tonight?" My heart began to race.. I said, "Really?" He laughed and asked if I was going to opt the vaginal delivery or the cesarean.. I said the cesarean.. He left to call the anesthesiologist to the labor and deliver floor.. Zek was fairly surprised and his stress level went up..

We called his dad, who lives in town, to pick up our daughter for the night.. He came and took her immediately.. Zek left to the car to get the car seat and the bag we were keeping in the car in case I went into labor.. While he was gone, the nurse came in and said that they were ready for me.. I asked them to wait until he returned to take me.. So they sent in the doctor's and anesthesiologist to explain the procedure and have me sign consent forms..

When Zek returned, the made him suit up, and then the fun part began..

I had an I.V. and catheter in.. They also took my blood in the case I would need blood after the birth.. I then got out of bed and followed the nurse to the O.R. in labor and delivery.. Zek was asked to wait at the door while they prepped me for the cesarean..

I climbed onto the operating table as instructed.. It was then that I began to feel extremely anxious and nervous, not to mention scared shitless..

They asked me to sit with my legs crossed and to hunch over, curving my spine.. I started shaking.. My thoughts were racing.. I'm terrified of needles and a huge one was going to be inserted into my spine.. I began asking question like, "If I jump a little will I be paralyzed?" They assured me that I would not..

I began to cry.. They asked me what was wrong.. I told them I was afraid.. The nurse held me and stroked my hair to help calm me.. The anesthesiologist explained everything that was going on in great detail.. "Right now I am going to insert Novocaine into your back.. You'll feel a pinch right now.." I felt the pinch and screamed out.. "You're doing so well.. You'll feel a little numb now.. I am going to insert the epidural now.. I want you to take a deep breath and try to remain as still as possible.." I inhaled and felt the needle penetrate my spine.. I yelled out again.. and sobbed harder.. "Now fall back into my arms quickly, I promise I will catch you.. Fall back now.." I let my body fall into his arms.. I laid there on the bed and slowly lost control of my body from just under my lungs, down..

I closed my eyes trying to calm myself.. When I opened them again, Zek was above me.. "Hi," he sid awkwardly.. You could tell he was feeling quite nervous.. "Are you ready to become parents again?" "I think so.." I replied..

They kept pinching me to check on how numb I was.. The anesthesiologist came around and asked me to squeeze his hand as hard as I could.. He said, "Perfect.. " I asked why I had to squeeze his hands.. "That how I check to see if you're ready.. You're numb enough to begin the surgery, but not overly numb that you can't feel the upper part of your body..

It was slightly difficult for me to breath.. It felt as though my lungs had something pushing against them.. Like I had bricks lying on my chest.. They put up a sheet just under my breasts so I couldn't see what was happening..

Zek started talking to me keeping me occupied and distracted from the noises of surgery.. He kept me calm and comfortable..

Although I could feel no pain, I could feel that they were moving things around.. I could feel tugging and pressure.. I was shaking very badly.. I felt very cold.. I was just scared and anxious..

"Stand up now dad, " the doctor said, "meet your new son.. I have his head out.." He stood and smiled.. "What does he look like," I asked.. "Does it look icky over there? Can you see my insides?" I asked.. He goes, "Yeah.. it looks gross.." I giggled a little..

They pulled the rest of him out and suctioned his nose and throat.. It was then that I heard him cry for the first time.. Zek left my side and followed the doctor over to some place I couldn't see, due to my sheet Zek came back, holding our baby.. he put him in front of my face and I kissed him repeatedly.. then I took a good look at him.. I turned to HandOfZek and said,"Hey! he looks like you again!" He was 6lbs. 14 oz and 20.4 inches long.. We named him Caydin-John Micah Lastname... Zek took the baby back to the nursery.. I lay there on the table shaking terribly.. I keep asking paranoid questions and the anesthesiologist asked me if he could give me something to make me feel a little more relaxed.. I agreed to it and he put diazopram into my I.V... I felt very relaxed.. They finished the surgery and wheeled me back to my room..

They lifted me and placed me into the hospital bed.. I was hooked up to a machine which distributed morphine into my body at the press of a button.. I had control of the button.. I was in a great amount of pain.. My initial dosage was 4mg.. Each dose after that would be 1 mg.. I could press my button to release the dose every ten minutes..

Zek returned shortly after.. I was talking very nervously.. I kept talking to the nurse and would not stop.. "I can feel my legs a little more.."

I noticed that they still had not brought me my baby yet.. I asked them where he was and how he was doing.. The nurse said she would talk to the nursery and find out what was happening.. 30 minutes later.. A man came in..

He explained that the baby was having a little trouble with his breathing.. He was grunting with his breathing and his white blood cell count was high.. They said I could not have him for a little while but that they would keep updating me on his progress.. I felt so scared for my baby.. "Why is he having problems?" I asked.. "Well he is 3 weeks early, his lungs are just a little underdeveloped;; Not too much though.."

Zek was asleep and had no idea about the baby.. It is nearly impossible to wake him once he falls asleep..

Around 8 am.. They took me into the recovery room.. I woke up Zek and was extremely embarrassed that the nurses had to see his stupid behavior.. He was half asleep and wandering around the room like a zombie.. They asked him repeatedly to follow them and to carry our stuff out of the room.. Finally, he came into the room they had wheeled me too.. He fell back to sleep instantaneously on the cot they made up for him..

The nurse then came in to check on my pain level.. They come in every hour to massage my uterus.. They do this to help it shrink back to it's normal size.. The massage is terribly painful.. I screamed at the pain.. It is especially bad when you've had a c-section.. Your uterus had just been cut open and they are squeezing and pushing on it.. They checked my incision and made sure it was not bleeding or oozing at the staples.. I was fine so I continued my T.V. watching and morphine distributing.. I continued to ask about my baby.. I could not move out of bed yet, so I could not see him.. I asked how I could feed him.. They told me that he did not need to eat because he was hooked up to an I.V. (The I.V. was in his head.. That was the largest vein they could work with.. They assured me that it only looked terrible..) They took my catheter out and left me alone to recover again..

The nurse eventually returned to massage my uterus again and check my vital signs.. After 40 mg of morphine had been injected into my body over a period of time, they took the machine back.. They switched to giving me percocet and Motrin for the pain..

I began to move around and get out of bed.. I peed for the first time, which was terribly uncomfortable.. It is painful to relax your body so you could pee.. After the baby was delivered, I began bleeding much like a menstrual period.. So I cleaned myself up and put an OB pad on.. The recovery process from the surgery is very intense.. It is an incredible amount of pain..

I was finally able to see my baby in the nursery.. I held him close and talked to him about everything.. His oxygen level was rising and he was doing much better..

Zek's dad came back and brought my daughter to visit me.. She was happy to see me and her daddy.. My grandma came and picked him up and returned to my apartment..

A couple days later (May 2), after my baby was able to get off of his oxygen and I.V. we were allowed to go home and be a family.. It was a great day.. It was terribly hard for me to get moving around, but I made it to the car and around my home..

Adapting to Life at Home

Since we've been home, we've experienced all sorts of issues..

Our daughter is having a difficult time accepting the new baby brother.. We can tell that she is very jealous.. I've tried to include her in taking care of her baby brother.. "Riley-Jayne, can you help mama change baby brother? Do you want to hold baby brother? Come and sit in my lap with baby brother.." She has started throwing tantrums.. Today she spent a half hour kicking and screaming and throwing herself on the floor..

Zek and I thought it would be a good idea to take her out for some alone time with just us.. no baby brother.. She was happy at first.. Then she threw another tantrum at the mall.. I don't know what to do to make her feel better.. I keep telling her how much I love her and how special she is.. but she just doesn't seem to want to behave right now..

The baby is doing very well.. He is breastfeeding like a beast.. He will stay at the breast for an hour at a time..

My breasts have become engorged with milk.. it is extremely uncomfortable, and my nipples are very sore.. On my right nipple, I am beginning to scab and bleed.. But on the plus side, my tits look amazing.. :p

Zek has been so helpful with handling his new family.. He is excellent and fathering our children..

Overall, this experience has been a good one.. I'm still in a lot of pain, but I'm healing everyday.. My breasts are beginning to feel a little better each day as well.. Pretty soon things will regulate and life will be great..

I'll keep you updated on the progress of my daughter adapting to the new baby..

Advice is very welcome!

Have I missed baby photos?

If so please repost or email me them!

CONGRATS :)

Congratulations.

...Should of made his middle name "Totse". But eh, to each his own.

lol Our camera has perfect timing for breakage.. We'll gets some pictures up soon though!

Congrats to the both of you.

Holy crap.
That's amazing.

I can't wait to see the baby photos.
*squeals*

I told you she'd post.

She wanted me to post my side of things too. So:

We had a baby.

Congratulations :)

wow, intense. Congrats ppl, and best of luck.

Cool, congrats guiz :D
<3

Happy Baby Day!

Cheers,

MOTO

She wanted me to post my side of things too. So:

We had a baby.

The OPs and this post sum up the differences in male/female perceptions remarkably well.

Congrats. Can't wait for pics!
__________________
†Jesus†

So how old is your first one? My sister was 6 when I was born and my mom has said that she threw MASSIVE tantrums once she realised I was there to stay.:P
I don't think there's much you can do about the jealousy issue right now...Just make sure you pay a lot of attention to her and try to ride it out. Soon she will forget that she ever was an only child.

Haha, what an adventure. Congratulations on the baby ^_^ Sounds like a lot of work...but, its over now, well...more work on the way. Hope you all live healthy and happy =)

that's lovely!
ick, i now want to give birth even less :(

Then become a lesbian, dear. You'll also save a fortune on pills, condoms and Clear Blues. And you'll always have a toilet clean enough that you want to sit on it.

Then become a lesbian, dear. You'll also save a fortune on pills, condoms and Clear Blues. And you'll always have a toilet clean enough that you want to sit on it.

Who wants that? If she becomes a lesbian her chances of having sex with me decrease drastically.

Hmm, interesting how they couldn't put her under general anesthesia. Having kids=like brain surgery... Anywayz, congrats on the kids.

It's nice to hear about the baby and your story, sounds terrifying to me and I'm male. I remember vaguely when I was 3 and my mum had my little sister. I threw many tantrums out of jealousy for all the attention she got.

I think their method of dealing with it, was for my father to pay extra attention to me instead. However to be honest I don't think it really worked all that well :-D.

Good Luck coping with the night times of checking on the baby!

First baby is only 22 months old.

I'm pleased for you both!

giving life is an extrodanary experience, that lasts until the day you die.

I want pix so I can make more pictures like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/nofuturechaosuk/plottindeath.jpg

much <3 to you guys and your family. may you give your children everything they need and be loved in return.

I was expecting a Bel Air.

me too. op, thanks for reinforcing how much i don't want to have kids.

Great post! I really liked Zek's take on it haha

congratulations and thanks for posting this. :) i've always sort of considered having a c-section when the time comes around and it's really interesting to have a realistic perspective on it.

Congrats on the baby. Jesus, after hearing that story it makes me want to appreciate my mother for all that she went through for me.

Oh god every time I hear a birthing story it reminds me more of why I don't want children.

That was the most boring thing I ever had to read out loud to the rest of the class.

Why do you WRITE!!?!?!

j/k, congrats.

Thank GOD I'm not a woman.

Congratulations.

There is nothing in the world to compare the bond and love you feel of having a baby growing inside you then to actually be able to hold it in your arms. Any anxiety or pain in labor is temporary but the joys you experience and the bond you have with you baby will stay with you.



-Congratulations on the new baby you two. ^__^


Has your daughter taken any classes on bringing home a new baby for siblings? They offered them at the same place that I took the Lamaze classes. Maybe you can try that or some similar group for siblings.

Thank you all for the congrats, it's appreciated!

<3, yo.

There is nothing in the world to compare the bond and love you feel of having a baby growing inside you then to actually be able to hold it in your arms. Any anxiety or pain in labor is temporary but the joys you experience and the bond you have with you baby will stay with you.



-Congratulations on the new baby you two. ^__^


Has your daughter taken any classes on bringing home a new baby for siblings? They offered them at the same place that I took the Lamaze classes. Maybe you can try that or some similar group for siblings.

I didn't even carry the baby, but still felt a bond with him when he was unborn.

And I've never heard of sibling classes, we should look into it. Thank you.

I know I've given you a lot of grief in the past, but I really do wish you all the best.
I've never been very supportive to either of you, but I do have a lot of good experience to share should you ever think you need it.
You can email me at jpaigey@gmail.com and I promise I'll be good and informative as opposed to the prick-self I often have presented.
Regardless, I wish you and yours the best in life.

EWWW!!!!

BABY!

There, that's to balance out all the disgusting hormonal women who are going to be falling all over your rugrat for the next 10 years. Remember this. There's nothing special about it beyond what you put in to it that is exceptional. Don't let the broads get to your head. They're selfishly talking to themselves with you as an audience. No one actually cares about your child beyond using it as a love object for their own wants and needs. Everyone else is being polite.

Baby kissers are the lowest forms of life.

Pedophiles are atleast honest about selfishly exploiting children.

This thread makes me glad when I look down and see 2 testicles. And yes, I do browse totse naked.

I find it interesting that I was a C-section baby, yet my two younger sisters were born naturally. I was given life by man and his science.

Congrats you two... some of that stuff on the c-section was much more effective birth control than any health class i've ever taken, i must say... harsh.