by Laura Johnson
I had a fairly uneventful pregnancy except for annoying allergies which clogged up my ears, and constant headaches. I was going to my OB for twice weekly appointments. I went in for my Tues appointment and everything looked great. I had been dilated to about 3-4 centimeters for about 3 weeks and had a few contractions, but no intensive labor. When my Thursday appointment came about, my blood pressure shot up so much as to make my doctor nervous, and after an U/S and consulting with the other OBs, it was decided to induce me the next day. I was exactly 39 weeks along.
I went home, packed my bags, and checked into O’Bleness. After 3 very painful tries, a catheter was placed (this hurt more than anything else the entire time) and a magnesium drip was inserted. A baby monitor was placed on my tummy and I attempted to get some sleep. About 5 the next morning I was awakened to break my water and start the Pitocin. Not too long after that I was given my epidural (making sure I got the anesthesiologist before they were too busy to get to me).
At 2:30, I was dilated to 10 centimeters and the hospital staff was trying like crazy to get a doctor to deliver Savannah. She was practically already here when he finally made it in. After an episiotomy and everything, I had a level 4 laceration. I only pushed for 1 hr and 15 min.
I was so tired, dizzy, eyesight out of focus, and everything after her birth that it took me a day or more before I could really see her features. My labor and delivery with her wasn’t nearly as hard on me as the recovery. I hurt so bad for many weeks. It made me very nervous to even attempt to have a vaginal birth again. She was only 6lbs 5 oz at birth.
After that really difficult recovery after my vaginal birth with my daughter, I was really nervous to attempt to have another vaginal and the possibility of another level 4 laceration or worse. I was relieved when my doctor suggested we do an U/S and see how big my son was going to be and if he looked to be at least a pound bigger than my daughter’s 6lb 5 oz, I could elect to have a c-section. The U/S showed him to be quite a bit bigger. I elected to have the c-section.
I was very nervous about this, because I know that the recovery of a c-section is supposed to be really painful and difficult. I had some people tell me it was no big deal, others it was really hard. My recovery with my daughter was painful and long and I was hoping that having the pain in a different location would make it more bearable for me. With my daughter, it killed me to sit down. I couldn’t get comfortable at all.
Well, at 38 1/2 weeks, I had my elected c-section. Even though I didn’t get to hold Jarron right away, when I did hold him I was not out of it like I was Savannah, and I could enjoy him from the beginning. Even though I had a c-section, my recovery was one million percent easier and I was in far less pain. He was 7lbs 13 oz and I don’t feel for one second that I missed anything choosing to have a c-section. To this day, I know it was the best choice for me.