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" Yes -- this body provides a comfortable home" Bailey Derek was due on Monday, November 22, 1999, but his birth story really begins on Wednesday, October 27, 1999. I had a pretty easy pregnancy--no morning sickness, not too much weight gain...just some off and on high blood pressure. My measurements had been right on all along, up until the 36th week. At that appointment, the doctor measured my belly and instead of being 36 cm, it was 42 cm. She was concerned that this was a *big* baby. She actually said that if the baby was as big as she thought, I'd probably need a c-section and she might not even let me try a vaginal birth. Obviously, I freaked. My last childbirth class was that night and I asked the teacher all kinds of questions about c-sections. On Friday, October 29th I was sent to have an ultrasound to try to determine the baby's weight. The perinatologist took one look and said to me, "You do know this baby is breech, right?" Ummm, no, we didn't! Thank goodness--I was measuring so big because *nothing* had dropped and the baby was sitting "criss-cross" in my tummy. They estimated the weight at 8 1/2 lbs., give or take half a pound each way. On Monday, November 1, I had my 37th week check-up. That office rotated patients through all the doctors so that no one was a stranger come delivery time. That day I was seeing another doctor in the office. She gave me 3 choices--I could try a vaginal breech delivery, I could opt for a c-section, or I could try a version (where they attempt to flip the baby over). I didn't feel the risk of attempting a vaginal breech birth was worth it, so we opted to try the version. My doctor didn't have another hospital day that week (as luck would have it, she was there that day), so this doctor asked me if I wanted to wait until late next week or if I wanted to schedule the procedure with her on her hospital day that week (Thursday, 11/4). We chose Thursday. Thursday morning, November 4th, found me, Ryan, and my friend, Lily, heading off to labor and delivery at the hospital. They actually admit you to the hospital for the version incase something goes wrong, or it causes labor to start, or your water breaks, etc. We got all checked in, they gave me some sort of muscle relaxer, and a little while later the doctor came in. It was the one doctor in the office who I hated. He made me really uncomfortable when I'd seen him a few weeks before. I was so bummed. I knew that they needed 2 doctors, but I didn't know it would be him. The nice doctor walked in next. So, HE gets the ultrasound going, verifies that the baby is still breech, then says, "Let's turn him around." Him?? We didn't know the gender of the baby. The other doctor says, "We'll see if she wants to turn. This might be a little uncomfortable." Next thing I know, I think my belly is going to explode! They are pushing and squeezing and I am in the worst pain I've ever been in. The L & D nurse says, "Try your breathing." Well, I could have tried to focus on breathing if I had been ready before I thought I was dying. So, I just sat there in pain. They got the baby all the way around pretty easily, let go, and the little weeble-wobble immediately flipped back. Mr. mean doctor says, "Let's try the other direction." This direction was much harder. About halfway around I yelled, "I need a break!" The female doctor let go immediately. The male doctor said, "No, just a little more." Ryan said (in a mean voice totally unlike him), "My wife said STOP." And they did. The next day my doctor's office called and said that they scheduled my c-section for Monday, November 15th. We called all the family and our parents were set to arrive the day before to be here for the birth. The next day (Saturday) I called my sister, Alisa, who was studying in England and told her the date. That night, I was having some Braxton-Hicks contractions. They were the strongest I'd had yet, but if I got up or changed positions, they stopped. They never hurt and weren�t even what I�d call uncomfortable. At one point, I did call Ryan at work (around 9pm) and tell him that I felt weird and I wanted him to come home soon. He was more worried about the fact that I never had dinner, so he brought home McD's for us around 11pm. I had spent the evening sorting laundry and working on the cross-stitch blanket I was making. I had a small section of the blanket left when I decided to call it a night. We got the laundry by the front door to take to the laundry mat in the morning. We were going to do the sheets for the guest bed, the towels, rugs, etc in order to be all ready for the company and the baby. Around midnight we headed off to bed. I'd had no more contractions for the last couple of hours. Sunday morning I woke up a little after 8am. I was lying in bed, thinking about getting up, waking Ryan, and going to do the laundry when I felt a POP and the bed got all wet. I poked Ryan and said, "Either I just wet the bed or my water broke." We both got out of bed pretty quickly. Since the baby was breech, I leaked water all the way across our room to the bathroom. I sat down on the toilet while Ryan called the doctor. They had him hold while they got the doctor on-call on the line. He (Dr. Bines) asked how far from the hospital we were. Ryan told them about 10 minutes. Dr. Bines said he'd call L & D and tell them to expect us in 15. They wanted to start the section before I started contracting! So, we called our folks and rushed out the door. Well, kind-of rushed...I remember sitting there watching Ryan go back and forth across the bedroom getting dressed. He�d get one thing out of the closet, then one thing out of his dresser, back to the closet, back to the dresser� We got to L & D and they were so quick getting me prepped for surgery that both doctors weren't even there yet. The assisting doctor was one from my office who I just loved. It also turns out that he is the only Mohel (the guy who performs Jewish circumcision ceremonies) in Santa Barbara. We had already talked to him and let him know that we'd be hiring him if the baby was a boy. As they are getting me into the OR I asked the anesthesiologist about the part after the baby is out--where I lie there for 30 minutes as they sew me up and Ryan leaves to the nursery with the baby. I was really freaked out about that part (and about being awake during the surgery, but I was dealing with that knowing it�s best for the baby). He said he'd have a sedative ready for me and he'd ask if I wanted it after the cord was cut. Ryan came in and sat by my head, refusing to watch the surgery. Dr's Bines and Rafael were talking about the Bears/Packers game I was causing them to miss. It was all pretty funny and lighthearted. Then, one of the doctors says, "Daddy, your baby is waving at you." When they made the uterine incision, and tiny hand popped out. Well, Ryan jumped up to watch the rest. He just kept saying, "Oh my God" over and over in this amazed voice. I kept saying, "What is it?" in response. Finally he said, "We have a son." We both cried, then said to the Mohel, "Well, guess we'll be seeing you for the circumcision in 8 days." Oh, and the reason that the version was unsuccessful---the cord was wrapped around Bailey�s neck a whopping 5 times! The cord was cut, they held Bailey up for me to see, and then the anesthesiologist asked, "Do you..." and I interrupted with, "Yes" so he put the shot in my IV. Ryan says my hand went limp and my eyes rolled back. I do vaguely remember them bringing Bailey over for a kiss before they all left for the nursery to clean him up. Ryan met me in the recovery room we made our phone calls. My friend's daughter, Julianne, came to visit me (she was my flower girl when we got married and she told her parents in no uncertain terms that she would be there when the baby was born�they had already planned to pull her out of school on the 15th). She missed the delivery by about 30 minutes and was so disappointed. I had 2 doses of morphine in recovery, so the rest of the afternoon is pretty blurry to me. They moved me to my room a couple hours later and Ryan went down the hall to get Bailey from the nursery. He met his mom in the hall, so they all showed up at once. I was nauseous from the meds and kept asking for my mom between dry heaves (thank goodness I finally stopped being stoic and asked for meds for that). My mom showed up a couple hours later. They visited with us for the rest of the day, then went back to our apartment. Before they could go to bed, they had to go to the laundry mat to wash sheets (one bed was bare and one was wet)! So, the grandmas bonded over our laundry! And, they next day my mom sat in my hospital room and finished the last small section on Bailey's cross-stitch blanket for me. Bailey Derek was born on Sunday, November 7, 1999 at 10:18 am (after a mere 2 hours of labor and 0 contractions that I know of) at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. At 15 days early, he tipped the scales at 7 lbs and 7 oz. past | future0 comments Listening to: Reading: Eating/drinking: Do what to me?!? - April 24, 2007 Wicked funny websearch - April 05, 2007 Trot out the dogs 'n ponies - March 31, 2007 Almost done... - March 20, 2007 Who am I? - March 12, 2007 READ ME |