We welcomed our sweet little Lincoln into the world on Thursday, April 13th at 7:59 AM, weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19 inches long. Our beautiful baby boy was born through a scheduled c-section, so our birth experience this time around was the exact opposite of our 'granola' birth we had with Isla.
After multiple attempts to get Lincoln to rotate, including scheduling an unsuccessful aversion with my doctor at 39 weeks, he was still in the breech position. He was perfectly content where he was, head up in my ribs and legs/feet at the lowest spot possible right over my cervix. That left us little choice as to what our birth experience would be, but I found it easier to accept (having a c-section) because there was no other choice. Plus, I find it interesting to see both sides of the spectrum, regarding birthing.
Throughout my pregnancy with Lincoln, we were constantly keeping an eye on him. Initially we'd been watching him for growth, since Isla was born early and on the small side. Then, as I hit the 3rd trimester, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I didn't know that much about GD before, but basically the placenta blocks my ability to produce the amount of insulin needed during pregnancy (which is around 3 times more than usual). I failed the 1-hour test so badly (my sugar levels were at 180, 1 hour after fasting - ouch!) that I didn't even get to take the 3 hour test, I just had GD. It honestly wasn't the worst thing, I was able to regulate my blood sugars through diet and exercise and did not need any insulin shots. Now, pricking my finger/testing my blood sugar 5 times a day wasn't that great, I'm not going to lie. The main thing that I did was removed almost all carbs, including fruits, and made sure to eat 5 smaller meals a day. I must say, I saw a difference in my weight once I started the diet. In the last trimester, I basically stayed the same weight. All that said, I think it's funny that I had GD (main concern for this is having a 'fat' baby) and yet Lincoln was always measuring small.
As the weeks passed, we kept watching him for movement/breathing/weight and overall growth. Once I heard he was termed 'breech', I just knew he wasn't going to flip. I tried to be positive, as mentioned above. We did all sorts of things to get him to rotate - Chiropractor using the Webster method, doing flips/diving motion in the swimming pool, laying with legs up, bouncing, walking, you name it. However, he (both babes really) just stayed in that one position. I never had a full rotation movement of my belly with either of my kids. It wasn't until after the aversion, where the doctor and nurse literally tried to push on my belly and rotate him, that I started to wrap my mind around what the c-section would be like. I did the aversion on a Thursday and then the following Tuesday, I had one last appointment to make sure the babe was doing okay. We did a full sonogram, followed by a motion/heart rate test before finalizing that our appointment would be that Thursday.
So on the morning of the 13th, we arrived at Seton Northwest to check in to Labor and Delivery at 5:30 AM. I wasn't nervous, but the anticipation left me with only 4 hours of sleep the night leading up to his birth. I was thankful for the early time frame, since I wasn't able to eat or drink anything after midnight. After gathering our paperwork, I was wheeled up to Labor and Delivery and we were checked into our room. Since I had done the aversion the week before, the process was very similar - put on the sexy hospital gown, IV, fluids, blood drawn and they did one more sonogram to verify that he was indeed still breech.
Once everything was completed by the nurse, the anesthesiologist came in and talked to me about the spinal epidural. He was kind, communicative and overall amazing. I'm so thankful for doctors that will take the time to walk you through the process and ensure that you feel comfortable and confident in what is going to be happening to your body. I also loved my nurse that was with us in the OR and for the first few hours after he was born. Having a great team really makes a world of difference in these situations! Shortly after he left, my OB stopped by as well and went through everything on her end with me.
Shortly after 7 AM, they were walking me into the OR to get settled. I find it comical that they have you literally stroll in to the operating room and just hop up on the table, like it's NBD. Darrell wasn't able to actually go into the OR until I was given the spinal and the surgery had already begun. As you can imagine, the room was cold and sterile, not overly welcoming, but the doctors and nurses helped soften the atmosphere. Did I mentioned that the room was freezing, like an ice box - holy cow!
Once I was laying on the operating table, the doctor had me lay on my right side, tucking my legs and head to my chest. The nurse helped me get into position and hold me there, while the doctor talked me through the process one more time. When he put in the first numbing shot, my left muscle contracted and made my back move. Both the doctor and nurse were like, um yeah, don't do that... not that I could help it. Once that settled in, I couldn't feel (thankfully) the spinal at all and had no issues with movement when he placed that shot. Immediately I started to feel the tingly, heavy, warm feeling in my lower body. The doctor informed me that I should be numb from the breasts down. They quickly had me adjust myself to where I was laying on my back. I remember joking that I felt like I was in a spa, with the warm blankets they placed on my chest and arms and the compression wraps massaging my calves. I was surprised that I could still move my toes for the first few minutes, but within 5 minutes my lower half was numb. I thought it was rather surreal that before they get started, the nurse gets everyone to be silenced. They read your name, the date, time and state the goal of the operation. Being awake during this, it almost feels like you are supposed to answer/confirm that statement, like yes, all is correct, please proceed.
It's the funniest sensation to not be able to feel your body, although I could definitely tell that things were happening to me. This is the part that I thought would bother me the most. I tried to focus on the end goal and other things, like the lights on the ceiling and the warm blankets in the moments that no one was talking to me. The drape was put up in front of me, and to start, they sterilized the area and had to wait 3 minutes to get started. Through it all, I stayed pretty calm. I was nervous going into the operation that I'd start to panic. I adore my OB, so while we waited, we talked about her upcoming party she was throwing her daughter and the vendors she was using.
Of course, I really didn't know when they exactly started, but things moved pretty quickly. Shortly after they began, I heard my OB say, we better get the dad in the OR. The nurse went to get D in the room and within a few short minutes I heard the sweetest little cry from my baby boy. I immediately had a smile and tears running down my face, even before seeing him. I didn't necessarily feel him come out, but I do remember feeling the relief/ability to breath easier once his little head was out from my ribs. The nurse was holding him up and she brought him around the curtain for us to see. I got a few moments with him before they took him to be examined. I remember thinking he's the most perfect little breech baby! I didn't hear what he weighed, so I kept asking as we were guessing before he arrived. I said 6.5 and D said 6.8, which we both were pretty close!
D stayed with Lincoln, while I lay there with a smile stuck on my face just absorbing how amazing that moment was and how his little cry was the sweetest noise I had ever heard. My doctor took some time to see why she wasn't able to flip him, but essentially my placenta was placed mainly on my right side. She also was having issues seeing my left ovary, apparently I only have one. We had a conversation about how when I had my appendix removed, they mentioned only being able to see one in my CAT scan that we did. During that microscopic surgery, they actually made a note to take a photo, which I need to bring to my OB on my next visit. I'm not sure if it was the right or left they took a photo of, but she said she would be able to tell just by looking at it. The back end of the surgery definitely took the longest. After Lincoln was cleared and things looked good on his end, D carried him back over to me while they finished the surgery. I didn't get to see these first few minutes of Lincoln's life, so I am in love with all the images Jenny captured!
Once I was put back together, they moved me from the OR table to a bed, where I got to hold Lincoln for the first time. Heaven, pure heaven.
Thinking back, I don't remember as much from the hours we were in the room. I do know the nurse did a wonderful job helping me get him to latch for the first time. I appreciate that she got all up in there to guide me. We stayed in that room for a few hours before we went up to the mother-baby floor. Lincoln was a little cold at one point, so he was placed under the heating element. He also got a bath and his first shot while we were in that room. It was closer to 12:30 PM when we were finally settled with our beautiful baby boy!
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