A Little History, Pt. 1

I'm pretty sure anyone reading this blog already knows this, but I wanted to post it here so that I could look back and remember all the details. It's probably only interesting to me, but you know what? It's my blog. So there.

On December 27, 2006 I went for a routine prenatal appointment. At previous visits, I had been told that the baby was head down and ready to go; however, at this one my doctor noticed something odd as he prodded my belly. He immediately did an ultrasound and found that Abby was in the breech position. I don't know how long she'd been like that. I'd always felt kicks in the bladder (fun!), so I think she'd been that way for a while.

At any rate, he gave me the option to do what's called an external cephalic version (ECV), where they manually rotate the baby from the outside. It's painful and rarely works, so I opted not to do it. He also said I could just wait to go into labor and see what happened. That wasn't appealing to me at all, as I was living by myself with little support around. The thought of going into labor alone in the middle of the night terrified me. The final option was a scheduled c-section. I didn't love the idea of going through surgery, and part of me really wanted to experience childbirth (ha!), but I decided it was the best option for me. We scheduled the operation for one week later, January 3. Abby's original due date was the 14th, so we were going a bit early, but no big deal.

My parents came down on January 2. I was a nervous wreck. The morning of Abby's birth, my mom and I drove to the hospital in the dark. We got there at 5:30am, and everything just became a blur. Before I knew it, I was heading to the operating room.

They did the spinal, which really didn't hurt one bit. Once the anesthesia kicked in, I started feeling really.... weird. It was scary. I was alone - my mother couldn't be there for this part, and if it weren't for a really awesome nurse named Rachel, I think I might have lost it. I calmed down a bit, Mom came in, and the doctor made the first incision.

I was terrified. I'd done my research and talked to people who'd had c-sections, but nobody warned me about the smell. They cauterize the wound, and I have to say I was not prepared for the smell of burning flesh. I didn't have long to think about it, though, because suddenly there was a baby! Just like that! Plucked from my belly. I couldn't see or hear her, and those few seconds waiting for her to cry were endless. I remember saying over and over again, "Is she really a girl? Is it a girl!?" It was. Abigail Grace came into the world at 7:54am. She cried. I was relieved.


The anesthesia was giving me the shakes, but I wanted to hold my baby girl. The nurses were hesitant to give her to me, but I knew it would be fine. They put her in my arms and I looked into her eyes. It was the most incredible moment.

I held her for a few minutes while they stitched me up, then they took her away to weigh her and assess the Apgar scores (9/9). She was a little thing, only 5lbs, 10oz and 19.75 inches long. I didn't want to be away from her for even a minute, but they had to take her to the nursery for a bath and whatever else they do to newborn babies while I went to recovery. Mom went with Abby.

I spent a long hour in recovery, unable to move my legs. I couldn't wait to see Abby again. I was on some serious drugs, so the rest is a little hazy, but I do remember finally getting back to my hospital room. They brought a fresh, clean Abby in, and I immediately put her to my breast for the first time. It was amazing how she just knew what to do. She latched on like she'd been doing it forever, and I was in love.

I insisted on keeping Abby in the room with me at all times. I know some mothers opt to send their babies to the nursery so they can get some sleep, but I couldn't do it. She stayed with me almost 24/7 until we went home 2 days later (yeah, 2 days after major abdominal surgery). I was a little scared to go home. What if something happened? I had no "Call" button next to my bed. Without my mother there during those first few days, I don't know what I would have done.