David Arthur was born on January 02, 2013 at approximately 1200 HRS. David weighed 8 lbs., 7 oz. and was approximately 20.5" long. Head circumference - 28 cm.
My birth story is relatively 'simple' I suppose in the scheme of things when compared to those ladies who endured natural child birth.
David was born by scheduled c-section. We arrived at the hospital at approximately 0922 hours on 01/02/13. Upon arrival, my husband and I stopped at Registration in the West Entrance of Beaumont Hospital. There I signed last minute paperwork, the registration nurse confirmed my identity and examined the bracelet I was given during pre-op blood work to make sure all of the necessary information was listed. Immediately thereafter, we were advised to make our way to the third floor of the hospital to the Labor and Delivery floor. Once in Labor & Delivery, I presented the paperwork given to me by registration to the nurse at the desk and she pointed to a nurse named Peggy who would be with me for the duration of my surgery and recovery. Peggy escorted my husband and I to the pre-op prep room. There I was advised to get undressed and into a hospital gown so they could begin monitoring me for contractions and the baby's heartbeat checked. I remained in the bed, the nurse administered the IV and went over a few things I could expect as I was being wheeled into the OR and following surgery. Peggy stated that if I had any questions, she would answer all of them to the best of her ability and find out any information needed if she did not have the answer I required.
Following the IV the anesthesiologist came in to discuss my surgery and the 'wild card' (spinal) we had been dreading. The anesthesiologist stated that because of my spine's sensitivity and other health issues, he felt it would be best to place me under general anesthesia rather than attempt a spinal. He felt it would be safest overall and would provide less anxiety for me (because I would not feel the pain), etc. I did not want to have general anesthesia so this posed a real problem for me, I wanted my husband to be in the OR when the baby was born. My husband insisted that I accept the general anesthesia because his priority was my comfort and the baby, if he wasn't allowed in the OR he was okay with that as long as it would be best for me and the baby. Reluctantly I agreed and signed the waiver for general anesthesia.
After the documentation giving consent for general anesthesia and the surgery itself, I was given a very sour tasting drink (something like a sweet tart only worse), which was meant to prevent GI upsets from the anesthesia. They placed a blue cap over my hair and wheeled me towards the OR. Before we went into the OR the doctor stopped the bed and allowed me to hug and kiss my husband one last time, then I was taken in for surgery. Once I entered the OR the nurses assisted me as I made my way from the bed onto the operating table. The doctor then decides to announce to me she is inserting a catheter BEFORE I am sedated (this made me ANGRY). She kept insisting that she wanted to get the baby out immediately and didn't want to waste time on the catheter after I was sedated. The nurses prepped me with a numbing gel that did NOT numb me and then forced the catheter in, which hurt like no other! Following the insertion the area continued to burn for a very long time, until the point I was sedated.
When I awoke in recovery I was advised the size of the baby and the nurse joked that I would be thankful I didn't deliver him naturally given his size and the circumference of his head. My husband told me our son was fine, they had taken him to the NICU to monitor his sugar. The baby's sugar was lower than it should have been because of the Inderal I take for my heart, it's a side effect of the medication. Because of the Vicodin 500 I was on prior to his birth due to the Fibromyalgia, David has been kept in the NICU since birth for withdrawal monitoring. At present he is still there and they're projecting him to remain in the NICU until roughly 01/20/13. The doctors are administering phenobarbital to him every day and checking his blood level every two days to see the progress of weaning him off of the opiate derivative drug.
