Ada's arrival: Part IV

Complete Breech
Originally uploaded by All's Wells.

My doctor began talking to me about the baby being breech and too high to deliver. I was trying to concentrate on what he was saying but the contractions were so close together and the pain was so intense I had trouble doing so.

Even though I was dilated 10 centimeters I hadn't felt the urge to push because the baby hadn't moved down at all. The doctor asked me to push a few times anyway to see if I could get the baby moving. Despite my best efforts with three hard pushes nothing happened although I can say that pushing during the contractions definitely helped the pain. After that my doctor told me that he was going to have to take me in for surgery. It was 8:30am.

A gurney was wheeled into the L&D suite and I had to scoot from the bed I was onto the gurney. I heard people in the room saying that my pediatrician was stuck in traffic and that it was going to be at least 20 minutes before he got to the hospital. My doctor told the midwife to get the pediatrician that was on call - we couldn't wait 20 minutes. The midwife finally, finally gave me more of the epidural meds and they started wheeling me to the operating room. I was still feeling painful contractions as we were passing through the nurses station. The anesthesiologist met Melbourne and I outside of the operating room and asked if I'd been given any more medicine. Melbourne and I both told him that I had just been "topped off".

I heard someone ask Melbourne if he wanted to come in with me and he said yes. They told him they'd have to get him scrubbed and gowned. I was whisked away from him and the anesthesiologist accompanied me. He gave me another injection and then I was moved onto the operating table. They put up the sheet so I couldn't see anything that was happening. I realized that I couldn't move my legs at all and I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I heard the anesthesiologist chastising the midwife about the dose of meds she had given me. It turns out she had given me a double dose which he had followed up with a single dose so I was medicated to the gills. She told him I had been screaming for it. I wanted to protest but then I supposed it was close enough to the truth.

I remember my doctor coming in and being able to see his face above the curtain but the next thing I remember after that is Melbourne telling me that we had a baby girl. I don't even remember him coming into the operating room but there he was pointing out our daughter to me.

"Are you sure? Are you sure it's a girl?" I asked him repeatedly.

I heard someone saying 9-10 over and over again.

"What's that? Are those her scores?" I asked Melbourne.

"No, that's the time," he answered.

9:10am.

I looked over to see Ada for the first time. She was so beautiful. One of the nurses brought her to me and I kissed her sweet little face. Melbourne snapped a picture of the two of us together, my daughter and me.