#birthvlog #positivebirth #pregnancyjourney #csectionrecovery #norfolk
We had our beautiful baby girl a few months ago, and I wanted to share our positive birth story in more detail! While I usually feature us exploring different restaurants, bars, and events in Virginia on my channel, one major event that I thought would be great to share was our birth experience at the Sentara Leigh Hospital here in Norfolk.
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0:00 Hi there!
1:02 Why we had a C-section
2:58 ECV thoughts
5:42 Pre-surgery instructions
7:46 Anesthesia
9:54 C-section experience
12:58 Baby's debut!
15:16 Immediate recovery
17:01 Hospital stay
22:02 Leaving the hospital
23:02 Long term recovery
My pregnancy journey was very smooth, but at my 36 week appointment, they conducted a routine ultrasound and found out that my baby was frank breech (upright position). Both my OB and nurse practitioners provided the possible options for her delivery, letting me decide between a planned/scheduled c-section or having an external cephalic version (ECV) in order to have a vaginal birth.
There were several reasons I opted to not do the ECV. My OB informed me that it would have to happen in Week 37, and if anything happened during the procedure that would result in preterm labor, they would have to delivery my baby through an emergency C-section. During that time, I didn't have any of my support people with me yet--my husband was on a detachment and my sister wasn't flying out until closer to my due date. So I didn't want to risk my baby being born too early or while I was on my own. Considering our situation, we decided doing a planned C-section was the best route.
We set the date for October 7, 2022, and we got to the hospital 5:30 AM. I had been instructed to not eat anything past midnight, but I had to drink a liter of Gatorade (blue or yellow, anything but red) before arriving at the hospital. The point of this was to lessen the possibility of dehydration and nausea post-op.
Something else that was really helpful was that a few days prior, a nurse from Sentara Leigh had called me with other need-to-knows such as using only antibacterial soap showering before the surgery, skipping any lotions or oils on the area they would be operating on, making sure we have masks to comply with their covid policies, and also advising we leave our hospital bags in the car until after the surgery so that my husband could go get them and other items once we were set in a recovery room.
About half an hour before the surgery, they had the anesthesiologist come into our waiting room and explain the anesthesia process. I was fully expecting an epidural, but he let me know they would be doing a spinal block which is just one shot that numbs you from the chest down. I was honestly relieved knowing it was going to be just one shot instead of a tube being fed into my spine.
One funny thing I have to share was that every single person that came in to talk to us–anesthesiologist, multiple nurses, the doctor–I kept asking the same question, if the catheter for my bladder would be inserted after being numb. They reassured me that always happens after you’re completely numb. Of all the things you think I’d be scared about with a major procedure, I was more focused on making sure I can’t feel anything getting put into my pee hole (LOL)
Finally it was delivery time! My heart was racing the whole time out of nervousness and excitement. They wheeled me to the operating room and had my husband wait outside while they administered the spinal block. One of the nurses had me sit on the edge of the operating bed and hunch over in order to curve my back, and they gave me the spinal anesthesia. Within minutes I felt the numbness taking effect! After positioning me back onto the table, they brought my husband into the room and sat him beside me. They had a curtain lifted so that we couldn’t see the actual procedure, but I could definitely feel the moving sensations and pressure as they started operating.
I held my breath even as I heard the staff celebrating because I wasn't going to rejoice until I heard her actually cry. Once I did, my heart felt so full! Even more so, when they lifted her above the drape and I saw her precious face for the first time, I was so overwhelmed with joy and my tears started streaming down my face.
They then took her over to a warming area just to make sure all her vitals were good before finally bringing her to me for our first skin-to-skin time. It was absolutely magical! They then wrapped her up and brought us all back to our recovery room, where we stayed for the next two days.
The nurses who took care of us were fantastic and really made us feel comfortable the entire time! Everything from their security protocols to their personable service, it was an incredibly wonderful experience especially with this being our first baby.
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