For those of you who haven't read it yet, this is a continuation of my previous entry dated February 28, 2006. You might want to read that before reading this.

It took awhile for the epidural to kick in, but when it did I was so glad I did it. I tried doing things naturally, and I'm glad I tried, but when the epidural was recommended to me not only for my sake but also for my son's I took it. Once my lower half went numb, labor was a lot easier.

Unfortunately, just because it was easier pain wise doesn't mean it did anything productive. Shortly after receiving the epidural, I pretty much stalled out. So, it was time to enduce with the pitocin. Luckily, the epidural was already in place so I didn't go through the roof. The pitocin got my contractions going full force once again. But that still didn't do anything productive. After sixteen and a half hours of labor I was still dilated to 4 and Gabriel was still at -2 station. He was starting to "cap" (his scalp was getting pointy from him trying to hard to move down) and I was starting to get a fever (at one point I was covered in ziplock baggies full of ice) so it was time for the emergency c-section. At this point they knew he wasn't going to fit down the birth canal. This could either be because I'm like my Mom and my hips are fused together and won't open or because he was going to be a huge baby. Either way, it was time to get him out before either of us started going into distress.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention was that during labor I had to have my epidural upped three times. It kept wearing off. I'm usually very sensitive to medications and take the smallest dose possible, but for some reason my body decided to burn through the pain meds as fast as it could. This is a bad thing as you'll see in the discussion of the c-section.

Before taking me to the operating room I was shaved and prepped a small amount. They then wheeled me into the OR for the rest of the prepping. Carmen was allowed in with me, Rob was not. I'm not sure what they were doing because a large blue cloth was placed so I couldn't see what was going on. Morphine was put into my epidural and after "testing" me to see what I could and couldn't feel Rob was let back into the room to sit up by me. I started going into a bit of shock and began shaking. No matter what I tried, I couldn't stop shaking.

The c-section felt kind of weird. At first, I could feel that something was happening and it was kind of uncomfortable, but not painful. That was until my body decided to burn through the meds again. Halfway through being cut open, I started to feel it. They stopped while I was given more meds and started once they kicked in. It seemed to take forever, but from when I was wheeled in to when I was wheeled out it was really only about 45 minutes. Once they got me fully open Dr. Bohn pushed Gabriel out and Dr. Hill brought him out. That was a weird sensation. I could kind of feel something being pushed out of me. Once Gabriel was out Carmen headed over to him and Rob stayed with me because I was going into full on shock. They closed me up (seven layers of stiches, the top layer was stapled, and my incision was 13 inches long since they needed to plan on a possible big baby) and brought me and my baby back into the room I was originally in. I saw him, but I was so out of it that I don't remember much.

While Gabriel was being washed and weighed Carmen was taking care of my shock. I was covered in heat packs and couldn't stop shaking. My vision was blurry and I could barely stay awake.

I don't remember anything at this point until I was in my recovery room. From what I hear, Gabriel weighed in at 7 pounds and 12.5 ounces. He's a normal size baby so that means that I have my Mom's problem and my hips won't open enough to allow a baby out. This means if I ever decide to have another baby, it will be a scheduled c-section. While that sucks, at least I know I won't have to endure any labor. He measured at 19.5 inches long. His blood sugar was normal and he had no jaundice. I did very well with my GD and managed to have it under control enough where it didn't effect him. I'm so relieved about that. His temperature was a bit on the low side so he was put under a warmer in the room while I was being warmed up as well.

Just as Carmen finished up with me, she got a call that another one of her mommies was going into labor. This was five in a row (little did she know there would be even more - she spent a week straight with mommies in labor) and when she was done with me she headed out to her next birth. Eventually Gabriel and I were taken into my recovery room.

Well, once again I've been at this entry for awhile (with baby breaks since Gabriel kept spitting up). My Mom needs a shower and I want to spend some time with my son. So, this will once again be continued the next time I'm online.

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The Liberal
Congratulations! You scored 65%!

You're liberal and at least somewhat proud of it, although you might try to hide it lest you get blasted by Rush Limbaugh. You probably vote Democratic more often than not, though you're somewhat embarrassed by the party's extremists and certainly don't consider yourself a socialist (though Republicans might consider you one.) JFK and FDR are your political idols, and while Bill Clinton wasn't as great, he's certainly better than the guy we have now. You might support a strong defense and an assertive foreign policy, and you might have been duped into supporting the war on Iraq; but that's Bush's fault and not yours for lying to you. Anyway, you might think the Democratic Party is becoming too liberal, but you're probably just saying that because you want it to win elections and not because you think it's getting out of touch with your views.

The Political Test