8//Advice to the Preggos

" A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all." I couldn't tell you how many blogs and different articles I read online while I was pregnant with Lincoln. So many of the 70 blogs I now follow were added to the list during this time...which means they're mostly all new Momma blogs. I started following women around my age that were pregnant or had just had their babes to read about their experiences. Read about their advice. I read more birth stories than I could count. I knew every birth experience was different, but I figured the more I read, the more of an idea I would have. If I read enough, one of them would end up being pretty close to what I would end up experiencing. Right? Wrong. I had a birth plan written up even, something I never thought I'd do. I had always thought I'd just go into the hospital, do as they said, have my baby, and do as they said. End of story. The more I read, the more I watched [documentaries on Netflix], the more I changed my mind. I didn't want to go as drastic as a home birth and I was still a little too skeptical to go the midwife route [mostly, I think, because I had already established a team of doctors in the hospital]. I did, however, have some things I needed the doctors and nurses to know. ...I didn't want induced. ...I didn't want an epidural. ...I wanted to nurse ASAP. ...I didn't want Lincoln taken out of my room. Ever. I wanted him to be weighed, bathed, everything...right there. ...I wanted to have a natural birth, with the option to change my mind. ...I did not want anyone, anyone, to ask me at any time if I wanted an epidural. During pregnancy I was signed up for a handful of newsletters. Some came daily and some came weekly. The weekly ones always told me what Lincoln was doing and how big he was. Then there were the emails in between. The advice. I received a wide variety of topics. I browsed if not read through them all. I even got an email about c-sections.  "Eh, I don't need to read into that. Everything's going fine and we're getting towards the end."
Ha.  I even read a blog giving the exact same advice I'm about to give to you. Except I didn't listen. If you're a pregnant woman or a woman who anticipates becoming pregnant any time soon...do me a favor. Do as I say, not as I do. Don't ignore my advice. Don't be ignorant. Advice: Learn about c-sections
I had read a blog, even received an email, stating that everyone should learn about c-sections to prepare themselves for the possibility. Even if everything was perfect in your pregnancy, they recommended doing your research about c-sections. You never know, they said. They're right. You never know. On my way to the ER November 1st, never in a million years did I expect to be having a baby at that same hospital stay. Truth be told, I was pretty sure they were gonna kindly laugh at me for coming in and send me home telling me I was fine. I read all of these amazing Momma's posting their babe's birth story. I feel a little bit of jealousy. I don't have a great birth story to tell. That's not what this is about, though. I don't regret anything. I don't dislike how Lincoln came into this world, because in fact, he came into this world. That is all that matters. That is all that matters.
I do wish I had read up on c-sections, procedures, complications, recovery, etc. I hadn't even read a single article or birth story about c-sections. I thought I was invincible. That's not going to happen to me. Not me. Well, it did. It's still all a blur, honestly. One minute we're driving to the ER, the next they're admitting me into a room, then we're waiting on lab results...next thing I know Wes is putting scrubs on. Wait. What?! Yeah,...this is happening! It seemed like such a long night, yet it was all a blur. One minute they're asking me if I could feel the cotton ball they were rubbing down my side [after my spinal] and the next they were rushing my baby away. It happened so quick. They didn't even tell me they were starting the incision [probably wise on their part, honestly]. I was just laying there [shaking like a mad woman] thinking they were prepping behind that big blue curtain and all of a sudden I hear "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"  Then there is recovery. Once I was released, we stayed a mile away at the Ronald McDonald house. After parking in the ramp there was a long walk to see my little Lincoln every day. For most of the first week, Wes insisted on pushing me in a wheelchair. That helped. It was hard to stand up straight - think "old Granny style" walk. Showering. That was special. Before being released they took the protective bandages off to make sure it was all clean and looked good. After that I placed a maxi-pad on top, letting my underwear hold it in place. They said I could let water run over my incision, but not wash it with soap yet. I was a big wuss and wouldn't even face the shower head. No way. That's an open wound! There weren't even staples...it as just glued together with a few [tiny] butterfly bandages.
If you have an emergency c-section [I assume this occurs for more than just HELLP Syndrome patients], you can't see your baby for the first 24 hours because you're on strict bed rest [and they're stuck in the NICU]!!!! That was a complete violation of my birth plan!! I wanted skin-to-skin, nursing...I didn't want him to leave my side. Complications. I had a set back a couple weeks after having Lincoln. My incision opened back up and needed packed. Twice a day. Every day. Quite the ordeal. Not cool. Not cool at all. I definitely didn't even know that was possible. The walk between where Lincoln was and where I had to go to get packed was long. It wasn't fun. In retrospect they think the main reason it opened back up is my platelet count was so low from having HELLP Syndrome that I wasn't able to scab up like I should have. Getting in and out of bed. Sleeping. Difficult. Getting [and staying] comfortable in bed. Difficult. I know I kind of got side tracked with my birth/recovery experience, but I hope someone takes something away from this. Even if this wasn't helpful or informative to you, know that you should look into c-sections regardless. It doesn't matter how healthy you think you are. How perfect your pregnancy is going. How perfect your last pregnancy was. I can happen to you, too!