A good friend had warned me about the “blind spot” during pregnancy and it sounded pretty funny to me at the time. When I first experienced kicking the same object from right under my nose just ‘coz my view was obstructed by the huge belly was pretty hilarious. But as it true with most things it got fairly annoying when this turned into a routine. By the time I was a week later than my due date this was not even remotely funny.
After attending Lamaze classes and taking one look at the forceps, I convinced myself that the best was for the baby to stay in my womb all it’s life ‘coz obviously I wasn’t going to let them bring those forceps anywhere close to me if needed. After cruising through a hassle free nine months of pregnancy, little did I know what was in store for me during labor and delivery.
When I went for what would be my last doctor appointment, I was a week past my due date and the doctor suggested that “stripping” the membrane would help trigger labor. At this point I was so huge and beyond patience that I readily agreed to the doctor’s suggestion. After the procedure she sent me home hoping to see me soon. I was fairly uncomfortable the rest of the day and started contractions just before midnight. I tried in vain for the next couple of hours to get the OH to monitor the time between my contractions. He would be awake when the contraction started but would be fast asleep prior to the start of the next one. After spending the next 4+ hours, the water broke in the wee hours of the morning. Waking the OH & my mom up at the point, we made our way to the hospital. I was checked in soon enough and was told that I was about 2 cms dilated. As I prepared myself for a long labor the nurse mentioned to me that there had also been a slight discharge of meconium. This was right about 5:00 in the morning.
The hours went by in pain but with not much progress in my labor. Four hours later was still right about where I started and since I was in significant pain the doctor recommended that they give me the epidural. By this time I had been in labor for close to 10 hrs and would have taken anything they have to offer to relieve my pain. The OH of course was trying to rest & entertain himself watching the Cleveland Indians competing in the baseball playoffs after a rough night (yeah yeah I was mad & unreasonable by now.)
I had heard horror stories about the needle they used for the epidural but all that seemed to pale in comparison to the pain I was experiencing. When I finally did get the epidural, it was a breeze and I was experiencing no pain for the first time in 10 hrs. I looked at the doctor straight in the eye and told him that he was the best person to walk through the door since 5 that morning and that I loved him. The OH still teases me over about uttering those words to a complete stranger. I stand my ground that he brought me relief versus everyone else who just added to my discomfort.
A few more hours go by, now in the horizontal posture courtesy the epidural and no change yet. Around 4 p.m. I start running a slight fever and am told that they need to monitor the child’s heartbeat ‘coz they want to ensure the baby isn’t stressed. This is followed by a blood sample that is drawn from Meg’s head while she is still in my womb. This was extremely freaky and amazing to me. At this point they decide that it is not safe to keep in in me any longer and the doctor calls for an emergency c-section. It is now 12 hrs since I started labor and anything they would do to get her out was an easily acceptable proposition. After a nightmarish experience with a newbie nurse trying her hand at placing the catheter, I am wheeled in for the surgery.
At this point all I can see are a sea of faces trying to do multitude of tasks around me. The local anesthesia is administered fairly effortlessly through the epidural tube that is still connected. The OH is robed in hospital garb and is by my head waiting for the special moment. The doctor starts the procedure, I feel a lot of moving and shaking and finally Meg’s out. The doctor offers OH the opportunity to cut the cord but he is too overwhelmed at this point to do anything that takes finesse. He politely declines and The doctor then gives us a glimpse of the baby with a full head of hair that is ready for a haircut. Meg is wheeled off to be cleaned and checked while I am being stitched up. The doctor once again offers Meg to OH and the sweetheart that he is chose to wait till I was safely back in my room. This is the person I love just ‘coz that’s who he is – compassionate and selfless.
Our little bundle of joy is almost 9 pounds and the next time I see her, she has this huge bandage on her tiny arms to hold the IV in place. They had to stick a needle in her to make sure she didn’t pick up an infection from me ‘coz of my fever. Of course she used that as a weapon to hurl at me for the next couple of days that she spent in the special care.
If I thought this was my happy ending, I couldn’t have been envisioned what was in store the next month of my life. My fever would just not go away similar to the infection I picked up. I was back in the hospital the next day after my discharge 4 days after Meg’s birth since my fever went over a 100 degrees. This time I was in the orthopedic wing. The infectious diseases specialist was called upon for his expertise. A CT scan and a ultrasound was done to ensure nothing had been left inside me (gauze, surgical equipment and the likes.) When all these scenarios were eliminated, I was given the strongest doze of steroids and antibiotics to kill any remnants of the infection. I was not allowed to nurse Meg for almost a month since the medication I was on was harmful to her. I was instructed to pump and discard for the next 3 weeks just so I could go back to nursing her when I was off the medication. A mild fever persisted for much longer. The OH out of sheer frustration would stick the thermometer in his mouth the reassure himself that it was indeed working. I was told much later that dehydration could cause the fever to persist and all the medication required consumption of large amounts of water. The facts we learn after the fact, are many indeed.
Through all this agony, the one scene that played over and over in my mind was the woman who I shared my room with after Meg was born. She had been in labor for a whopping 4 hrs, delivered a healthy baby normally and was chatting away with her friends after a shower in the morning while I was surviving on ice chips, in pain and watching her chat away. Pain is good is what I told myself. I believe this experience has made me a stronger person today.
