Lawrence Allen: Birth Story
Throughout this pregnancy, I said over and over again that I wanted to attempt a VBAC. My doctor was completely supportive and talked with me many times about what that would look like and what would have to happen in order for us to do that. By my 39 week appointment, I was not making any progress, so we scheduled a repeat c-section for March 30th, two days after my due date.
Apparently that was just what we needed. On the 27th, I started to have contractions around 9:30 p.m. They started off about 10 minutes apart, but before an hour had passed, they were 6 minutes. We called my parents and waited for my dad. When he got there, my contractions were alternating 3 minutes, then 6 minutes. By the time we got to the hospital, they were 2-3 minutes apart.
I know most people say that Pitocin contractions are the worst, but I am positive these were much, much more painful than any I had with Lincoln.
Once we were at the hospital, the nurses got everything checked out. The resident came in and checked; I was 5 centimeters. (My mom later pointed out that with contractions so close together and being only halfway dialated, I would have been in for a long night.) As they were checking me in, they saw that I had been scheduled for the c-section and asked what I wanted to do.
I chose a repeat c-section.
To this moment, I'm not sure why, but I know it was the right choice for us, later affirmed by multiple doctors.
They started to move in that direction, calling in the OB on-call, Dr. Craddock, bringing in the anesthesiologist, asking questions to complete my check-in.
Once they were done with that, they wheeled me back to the OR... the same OR where Lincoln was born.
The anesthesiologist was absolutely fantastic. He honestly kept me more calm than anyone else in the room. (I'm going to tell you - the whole thing about not eating for a while before anesthesia is no joke. Because I didn't know I was going in, I had a nice supper... but it didn't stay down.)
As they started the surgery, the anesthesiologist was explaining to me what was happening as the doctor worked.
They got to the part where I was supposed to feel pressure on my chest for about 10 seconds and then Lawrence would be here.
I felt the pressure. I breathed like I was told.
10 seconds passed.
The pressure continued.
More than 10 second passed.
And more.
I'm not sure how many more, but it felt like forever.
After just a little while that somehow felt like an eternity, it became apparent that they were having trouble.
I heard the doctor tell one of the nurses to "page the senior attending." All I let myself think about was breathing. If I'd thought about it, really thought about it, I would have been terrified.
As soon as the doctor gave that order, they started to use suction to get Lawrence out. It took just a few more seconds and he was here.
"Cancel the page."
He was quiet for just a bit as they cleaned fluid, and then he cried.
It may be the best sound I have ever heard.
As they looked him over, the doctor said, "Those are some broad shoulders. He wouldn't have come out the other way."
When Brad saw him for the first time, he said, "Oh, he's built like Frank Mason!" Those words made the doctor laugh and definitely cleared some of the tension from the room.
When they gave him the okay, Brad went over to take some pictures, held Lawrence for the first time, then brought him to me.
A while later, we moved to the recovery room, where I got to nurse him for the first time. We moved to our big room, rested for a while, and when Brad couldn't handle it anymore, we called our parents and siblings.
A little while later, Lincoln woke up to my dad on the living room couch.
"Papa, why are you here?"
"Why do you think I'm here?"
"Baby brother!"
Papa brought Lincoln to the hospital later that day to meet his baby brother for the first time. He was very nervous around me, but so happy to see Lawrence in person!
I lost quite a bit of blood during the delivery (and became anemic), and Lawrence had fairly high bilirubin levelts, so as much as we wanted to come home sooner, we spent the next three nights in the hospital recovering. I've had some emotional moments since that night, mainly when I realize or remember what happened in the OR and how things could have gone. We are both doing well now, but it's taken a bit to get there.
We are so thankful for this boy and cannot imagine our family without him.
Apparently that was just what we needed. On the 27th, I started to have contractions around 9:30 p.m. They started off about 10 minutes apart, but before an hour had passed, they were 6 minutes. We called my parents and waited for my dad. When he got there, my contractions were alternating 3 minutes, then 6 minutes. By the time we got to the hospital, they were 2-3 minutes apart.
I know most people say that Pitocin contractions are the worst, but I am positive these were much, much more painful than any I had with Lincoln.
Once we were at the hospital, the nurses got everything checked out. The resident came in and checked; I was 5 centimeters. (My mom later pointed out that with contractions so close together and being only halfway dialated, I would have been in for a long night.) As they were checking me in, they saw that I had been scheduled for the c-section and asked what I wanted to do.
I chose a repeat c-section.
To this moment, I'm not sure why, but I know it was the right choice for us, later affirmed by multiple doctors.
They started to move in that direction, calling in the OB on-call, Dr. Craddock, bringing in the anesthesiologist, asking questions to complete my check-in.
Once they were done with that, they wheeled me back to the OR... the same OR where Lincoln was born.
The anesthesiologist was absolutely fantastic. He honestly kept me more calm than anyone else in the room. (I'm going to tell you - the whole thing about not eating for a while before anesthesia is no joke. Because I didn't know I was going in, I had a nice supper... but it didn't stay down.)
As they started the surgery, the anesthesiologist was explaining to me what was happening as the doctor worked.
They got to the part where I was supposed to feel pressure on my chest for about 10 seconds and then Lawrence would be here.
I felt the pressure. I breathed like I was told.
10 seconds passed.
The pressure continued.
More than 10 second passed.
And more.
I'm not sure how many more, but it felt like forever.
After just a little while that somehow felt like an eternity, it became apparent that they were having trouble.
I heard the doctor tell one of the nurses to "page the senior attending." All I let myself think about was breathing. If I'd thought about it, really thought about it, I would have been terrified.
As soon as the doctor gave that order, they started to use suction to get Lawrence out. It took just a few more seconds and he was here.
"Cancel the page."
He was quiet for just a bit as they cleaned fluid, and then he cried.
It may be the best sound I have ever heard.
As they looked him over, the doctor said, "Those are some broad shoulders. He wouldn't have come out the other way."
When Brad saw him for the first time, he said, "Oh, he's built like Frank Mason!" Those words made the doctor laugh and definitely cleared some of the tension from the room.
When they gave him the okay, Brad went over to take some pictures, held Lawrence for the first time, then brought him to me.
A while later, we moved to the recovery room, where I got to nurse him for the first time. We moved to our big room, rested for a while, and when Brad couldn't handle it anymore, we called our parents and siblings.
A little while later, Lincoln woke up to my dad on the living room couch.
"Papa, why are you here?"
"Why do you think I'm here?"
"Baby brother!"
Papa brought Lincoln to the hospital later that day to meet his baby brother for the first time. He was very nervous around me, but so happy to see Lawrence in person!
I lost quite a bit of blood during the delivery (and became anemic), and Lawrence had fairly high bilirubin levelts, so as much as we wanted to come home sooner, we spent the next three nights in the hospital recovering. I've had some emotional moments since that night, mainly when I realize or remember what happened in the OR and how things could have gone. We are both doing well now, but it's taken a bit to get there.
We are so thankful for this boy and cannot imagine our family without him.
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