My Awesome Birth Story

I was full of fear at the beginning of my pregnancy thinking about the end, mainly the c-section.  With my first c-section they were unable to numb my back and it turned into a nightmare as the anesthesiologist wouldn't stop trying even though the nurses were fighting with him to.  He poked me 7 times with various sized needles, with the last one hitting a nerve that shot down my left leg and left me with neuralgic pain in that spot for about 5 years!  After that, my daughter's heart rate drastically fell and it turned into an emergency situation and I remember being thrown down on the table and a catheter shoved in me and I almost came off that table from the pain from that and then I was knocked out.  Then, during the surgery I woke up and they had to put me back to sleep.  Also, they had sewn me up and I started hemorrhaging and they had to re-open me and stop the bleeding.  They still had problems upon the 2nd closing but finally got it to stop before I needed a blood transfusion.  I woke up feeling like I had to cough really bad and did and WHOA.......talk about pain!  They had maxed me out on morphine but I remember that pain being like no other at first waking.

So......you can see how I was apprehensive about this c-section!  I've had bowel issues for years and even after a colonoscopy there was no diagnosis but irritable bowel syndrome.  My surgeon suspected that I had massive scar tissue from my first c-section and she believed it was what was causing my bowel issues and said she would check things out when she had me open.  She was right, but more on that later.

I went into labor a week before my scheduled c-section and didn't know I was in labor.  I had contracted for 3 months constantly during pregnancy, so I didn't realize I was in real labor.  However, after 10 hours of regular contractions and them growing closer together and stronger, I thought maybe something was wrong.  We went to the ER and I expected to be sent home like always when they couldn't explain my contractions - but this time, they didn't.  I was dilating and effacing within an hour of them checking and then I started bleeding as well....this was real!  They told me it was amazing that my planned surgical team was actually there that day and they would be doing my c-section.  Everyone, even the scheduled anesthesiologist was there!  I knew this was God and felt peace about how it was all working out.  It was Zach's time to come out.

I met the anesthesiologist and let him know about my previous c-section and that anesthesiologist.  He had no doubts at all and was so confident that he said I will be numb after one try.  He told me he had been doing this for 20 years and everything was going to be ok.  He was right.....it happened so fast, I didn't even know it was over and was amazed I was really numb with just one poke!  I would have kissed the man if it would have been alright lol!  =0  He forever changed my opinion of anesthesiologists!

The rest of the surgery went amazingly well and the team was talking about various topics, which let me know that everything must be going good.  The only problem I had was the nausea but that was bearable.  I got to see them hold Zach up and he was so beautiful!  Then, I watched him across the room on the table as they checked him out, he was so calm and looking around and I was crying "my baby!"  At the end of the surgery, they asked how I was doing and I said "For some reason I'm really craving a cheeseburger."  They all laughed and the anesthesiologist said she's ok lol.

I got to hold him right away when I was taken to the recovery room and it was so special because I didn't feel pain for a long time afterwards and got to enjoy more of being with my baby!

Now, the surgeon was right, my scar tissue was bad and it had attached my uterus to my bladder and turned my uterus completely around - it was flipped.  All of this explains the severe pain I had from the beginning of the pregnancy till the end and it also explains my bowel issues over the past few years.  The scar tissue attached to the bladder, caused it to spasm, which in turn caused my bowel to spasm over the years.  Then in pregnancy, it caused my uterus to spasm (contract) and that is the pain I was feeling.  She completely removed my old scar and the tissue and took her time to stitch me up with minimal scar tissue.  She did such a good job, that it is almost completely invisible now at just 16 days postpartum!  My stomach is actually smaller now than before I got pregnant in my lower abdominal area, so all that pudge must have been the scar tissue.  Oh and I've lost 29 pounds in just 16 days folks!!! Here to think I was so concerned my weight gain all pregnancy and it literally fell off so quick lol.  I only have 6 pounds left to lose and I joke with hubby that it is in my ring finger since my wedding ring still doesn't fit haha.

All in all............the pregnancy was hard but the delivery was a miraculous victory!