I walked into the OR- along with the team of doctors and nurses who would be working on me AND the baby . There were a LOT of people. A neonatologist, a respiratory therapist, two NICU nurses, a neonatologist PA. There was my doctor, a nurse midwife, a nurse, a surgical assistant, an anesthesiologist and a nurse anesthetist - maybe even more that I can't remember. Immediately they had me sit on the table and they started putting the spinal in. Todd was with me since he has seen so many spirals- I was getting very nervous, it was freezing cold, and I was starting to shake.
They laid me down, put the drape up, and immediately started using the hand-held Doppler to listen to the baby"s heart rate. It was probably 10:08 at this point. Then I heard the doctor say, "quick prep," and the anesthesiologist starting urgently poking me and asking me what I felt. The baby's heart rate was dropping and the doctor wanted to get the baby out. Immediately.
Todd was so calm- especially considering he knew EXACTLY what was going on- he used to scrub in for c-sections at a previous job. It seemed to get very tense and frantic- but honestly I was shaking, and so nervous, and scared- that I could have misinterpreted that.
The next thing I knew I heard the baby screaming- it was such a welcome sound after a day of bad news. Quinn Maxine (after my grandma Dorothy Maxine), was born at 10:15 PM on Wednesday June 12, 2013. They told us she weighed 3 pounds and 6 ounces- two ounces higher than the ultrasound had estimated. She was feisty as ever with Apgar scores of 8 and 9- not bad for being 7 weeks and 2 days early! As they wheeled her out of the room they stopped and let me look at her, and then Todd went with the baby.
Having a baby pretty much makes you lose all modesty, and I will admit right here- I asked the anesthesiologist to hold my hand. They got me some warm blankets, and the next 45 minutes flew by as I was getting stitched up. I finally stopped shaking as much and was eventually moved to the recovery room where my mom, sister, cousin, and then finally Todd joined me. Everyone was showing me pictures of my baby as the feeling in my toes slowly returned. Finally, I stopped shaking.
Besides having the fabulous delivery nurse that I loved, my friend Amy who is a scrub tech in the birthing center helped on my surgery as well. After I was considered "recovered"- I guess, Amy and my nurse wheeled my bed into the NICU and I got to see my baby for the first time.
She also was hooked up to a heart rate monitor, a pulse oxymeter, and she had an umbilical IV. These were to monitor her breathing, heart rate and oxygen levels as well as give her fluids and other medicines if needed.
I was still really scared and overwhelmed, but to see that she was alive and breathing was comforting- and I knew she needed to be here- she had told me all day it was time.
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