rollermonkey
Strata Poster
On Thursday the 17th, we woke up fashionably late, and got ready to arrive at the hospital at 10 AM.
Lake Forest Hospital is a small, but really nice hospital in an upscale suburb of Chicago. (Seriously, the median house goes for a million dollars, easily.)
The main entrance...
Since this was a scheduled c-section, we drive around to the back side of the hospital to the Women's Health Center...
When you know exactly when the baby's coming, it's a little easier to smile as you walk in the door.
Mayumi simply walked in, told the receptionist her name, and was immediately escorted to a 'triage' room.
I, on the other hand had to show ID, sign in, and get a 'visitor' wristband.
We only spent about an hour in this room, but it still had a tv, room service menu a private bathroom, etc. They monitored the baby for a while to get her baselines, too.
Signing the requisite forms releasing the hospital from all responsibility, etc. (Just kidding.) Permission to give the baby imunizations, and whatnot.
While waiting for the Operating Room to be cleared and cleaned from the day's previous scheduled c-section, all of the OR nurses, the anesthesiologist, Mayumi's doctor and the doctor who will be assisting him swing by one at a time, to introduce themselves.
The smaller band has a alpha-numerical code on it. When baby arrives, she immediately gets matching wristbands, as does daddy. This prevents all that baby swapping stuff that happens in soap operas. They also have a system they refer to as 'baby lo-jack'. If someone brings an infant too close to a door out of the maternity ward, or cuts off the band, then alarms go off, and all the doors lock down.
What a world we live in, eh?
Mayumi's all prepped and ready for surgery, with the baby monitors hooked up.
She says turnabout's fair play.
Before she left, we had a couple minutes alone, I got sappy, but supportive and told her that I loved her, thank you for being my wife and the mother of my baby, that she was strong, and that everything would be just fine. A few moments later the admitting nurse walked her down to the OR to have her anesthesia started (she chose a spinal block instead of an epidural, smart girl) and I finished 'scrubbing up'
All ready.
Not really, I was wreck. Surgery is surgery, and I was definitely nervous.
Wall of text, but the good stuff is in here.
I only took two pictures in the OR. Sorry if you wanted blood and guts. I'm glad I made that decision before going in, especially as things got hairy in there.
When I arrived, the anesthesio... I'm not typing that again. The drug doc let me in the OR and showed me to my seat, right next to Mayumi's head and left arm. I couldn't see over the screen between me and the 'work' going on unless I wanted to, and I did NOT want to see.
I held Mayumi's hand and tried to distract her a bit from the goings on behind the screen. The baby had shifted from frank breech (feet and head up) to transverse. Her head was up, and to Mayumi's left, and the feet were down, and to Mayumi's right.
The two doctors did an external variation. This means they pushed the baby, from the outside, into a vertical orientation, feet down. Even with a spinal block, Mayumi could feel this, and it was NOT a good feeling.
Once the baby was in a more conducive position, the doctors made the first incision, transverse across the lower abdomen, and then the second, vertically on the uterus itself.
A few moments later, the doc popped the amniotic sac, 'fished' out the feet and started to pull the baby out, while the other doctor pushed the baby down from the outside. I'll never forget the doc's first words as he started to extrude our daughter from Mayumi's womb:
"Oh, there she goes pooping and pee-Oh my, what beautiful eyelashes! Um, well we know the pipes all work."
From here, things got scary.
The next words from the doctor were: "The cord is around the neck twice, and around the body once. It's a good thing we brought her out this way."
What felt like an eternity passed, with the doctors suctioning fluid from our daughter's nose and mouth when finally, we heard what every new parent wants and needs to hear: Crying.
Now, I had asked Mayumi druing our tour of the hospital, "if you have to have a c-section, do you want me to stay with you or the baby in the OR?" She said, "Stay with the baby."
When we found out that she was having a scheduled c-section, I asked her again, and she said, "Stay with the baby."
When they brought our daughter across the room for her initial examination, I asked her again, "Should I stay with you, or go with the baby?"
"Stay with me."
So, I held her hand, told her how proud of her I was, that I loved her, and that we had done it, we had finally had a baby.
I was peeking around the doctor, to see the nurse examining our baby, and listening to her cries. I saw more of the insides of my wife than I ever wanted to, as I tried to get a better view of our baby across the room.
About this time, I started to notice the conversation that the two doctors were having. I realized that they kept talking about bleeding, and then I heard one of them say "Call the lab. Get a type and match."
Oh, f*ck.
While I'm peering over the curtain to watch the baby, I noticed a bucket.
It was about the size of one of those Halloween trick-or-treat buckets, except instead of pumpkins and ghouls, this one was scarier.
It had lines.
It was also nearly full of Mayumi's blood.
Right about then, the drug doc says, "Mom, are you ready to meet your daughter?"
Meanwhile, all I'm thinking is "I can't raise this baby alone."
So, the nurse is on her way over when the drug doc pulls the camera out of my pocket, hands it to me and says, "You might want this."
{facepalm}
So yeah, mom's cryin', baby's cryin', I'm cryin'...
But I still managed to snap these:
Yeah. I'm good. I know.
8)
So, after about 60 seconds, they take baby away, finish her exams (Apgar 1min = 8, Apgar 5 minutes = 9, that's my girl! ) and then the nurse says, "Dad, it's time to take your daughter to the recovery room..."
I looked at Mayumi and said, "I'm not allowed to stay now, we'll see you soon."
So, across the hall we go, the nurse pushing Aoi in a hospital crib (AKA clear lucite box on wheels) and into recovery we go.
As I'm leaving the room, I hear the doctor say, "OK, get two units on order..." and the door shuts.
The baby's nurse continues with all the poking and prodding, examining, and giving the state required inoculations.
And we're waiting...
And waiting...
And waiting...
And waiting...
Now, the Doctor told us that a c-section takes 45-60 minutes, plus about an hour in the recovery room.
It's been 2 hours since I went into the OR, and they're still in there. The nurse is totally done with the baby, and she's running out things to keep me occupied.
Finally, 2 hours after I left the OR, Mayumi's out, and into the recovery room.
So, the next phase starts: waiting for Mayumi to stabilize and the anesthesia to wear off.
Obligatory 'first' family photos:
So, as you can see, Aoi is TOTALLY in the Xmas spirit,
With her little santa hat, (insert: OMFG so GD CUTE comments here.)
So, after washing up, the doc comes over congratulates us and says that he'll be at the hospital until Mayumi clears recovery.
6 and a half hours later.
That poor nurse was frazzled. She had to keep changing the pads under Mayumi and weighing them to measure the continuing blood loss.
By the time the flow had reduced to 'normal' levels, Mayumi had recieved no fewer than 5 different coagulants.
So, finally we got to go downstairs to our actual room.
We did OK for sleep that night, I think we got 4 or 5 broken hours. We definitely let the nurses take Aoi to the nursery until feedings though.
Mom was feeling better the next day.
Baby was good.
So was the food.
Time passed.
We watched the dvds they brought us.
Bonded with baby.
Got some balloons...
And finally, after all the blood tests (Mom's) came out fine, they finally told us we could go home.
So, we bundled up our little lady.
Put her in her car seat.
And drove home.
I see you!
And one last picture of the little wonder:
Can you believe they let us take her home with us?
Lake Forest Hospital is a small, but really nice hospital in an upscale suburb of Chicago. (Seriously, the median house goes for a million dollars, easily.)
The main entrance...
Since this was a scheduled c-section, we drive around to the back side of the hospital to the Women's Health Center...
When you know exactly when the baby's coming, it's a little easier to smile as you walk in the door.
Mayumi simply walked in, told the receptionist her name, and was immediately escorted to a 'triage' room.
I, on the other hand had to show ID, sign in, and get a 'visitor' wristband.
We only spent about an hour in this room, but it still had a tv, room service menu a private bathroom, etc. They monitored the baby for a while to get her baselines, too.
Signing the requisite forms releasing the hospital from all responsibility, etc. (Just kidding.) Permission to give the baby imunizations, and whatnot.
While waiting for the Operating Room to be cleared and cleaned from the day's previous scheduled c-section, all of the OR nurses, the anesthesiologist, Mayumi's doctor and the doctor who will be assisting him swing by one at a time, to introduce themselves.
The smaller band has a alpha-numerical code on it. When baby arrives, she immediately gets matching wristbands, as does daddy. This prevents all that baby swapping stuff that happens in soap operas. They also have a system they refer to as 'baby lo-jack'. If someone brings an infant too close to a door out of the maternity ward, or cuts off the band, then alarms go off, and all the doors lock down.
What a world we live in, eh?
Mayumi's all prepped and ready for surgery, with the baby monitors hooked up.
She says turnabout's fair play.
Before she left, we had a couple minutes alone, I got sappy, but supportive and told her that I loved her, thank you for being my wife and the mother of my baby, that she was strong, and that everything would be just fine. A few moments later the admitting nurse walked her down to the OR to have her anesthesia started (she chose a spinal block instead of an epidural, smart girl) and I finished 'scrubbing up'
All ready.
Not really, I was wreck. Surgery is surgery, and I was definitely nervous.
Wall of text, but the good stuff is in here.
I only took two pictures in the OR. Sorry if you wanted blood and guts. I'm glad I made that decision before going in, especially as things got hairy in there.
When I arrived, the anesthesio... I'm not typing that again. The drug doc let me in the OR and showed me to my seat, right next to Mayumi's head and left arm. I couldn't see over the screen between me and the 'work' going on unless I wanted to, and I did NOT want to see.
I held Mayumi's hand and tried to distract her a bit from the goings on behind the screen. The baby had shifted from frank breech (feet and head up) to transverse. Her head was up, and to Mayumi's left, and the feet were down, and to Mayumi's right.
The two doctors did an external variation. This means they pushed the baby, from the outside, into a vertical orientation, feet down. Even with a spinal block, Mayumi could feel this, and it was NOT a good feeling.
Once the baby was in a more conducive position, the doctors made the first incision, transverse across the lower abdomen, and then the second, vertically on the uterus itself.
A few moments later, the doc popped the amniotic sac, 'fished' out the feet and started to pull the baby out, while the other doctor pushed the baby down from the outside. I'll never forget the doc's first words as he started to extrude our daughter from Mayumi's womb:
"Oh, there she goes pooping and pee-Oh my, what beautiful eyelashes! Um, well we know the pipes all work."
From here, things got scary.
The next words from the doctor were: "The cord is around the neck twice, and around the body once. It's a good thing we brought her out this way."
What felt like an eternity passed, with the doctors suctioning fluid from our daughter's nose and mouth when finally, we heard what every new parent wants and needs to hear: Crying.
Now, I had asked Mayumi druing our tour of the hospital, "if you have to have a c-section, do you want me to stay with you or the baby in the OR?" She said, "Stay with the baby."
When we found out that she was having a scheduled c-section, I asked her again, and she said, "Stay with the baby."
When they brought our daughter across the room for her initial examination, I asked her again, "Should I stay with you, or go with the baby?"
"Stay with me."
So, I held her hand, told her how proud of her I was, that I loved her, and that we had done it, we had finally had a baby.
I was peeking around the doctor, to see the nurse examining our baby, and listening to her cries. I saw more of the insides of my wife than I ever wanted to, as I tried to get a better view of our baby across the room.
About this time, I started to notice the conversation that the two doctors were having. I realized that they kept talking about bleeding, and then I heard one of them say "Call the lab. Get a type and match."
Oh, f*ck.
While I'm peering over the curtain to watch the baby, I noticed a bucket.
It was about the size of one of those Halloween trick-or-treat buckets, except instead of pumpkins and ghouls, this one was scarier.
It had lines.
It was also nearly full of Mayumi's blood.
Right about then, the drug doc says, "Mom, are you ready to meet your daughter?"
Meanwhile, all I'm thinking is "I can't raise this baby alone."
So, the nurse is on her way over when the drug doc pulls the camera out of my pocket, hands it to me and says, "You might want this."
{facepalm}
So yeah, mom's cryin', baby's cryin', I'm cryin'...
But I still managed to snap these:
Yeah. I'm good. I know.
8)
So, after about 60 seconds, they take baby away, finish her exams (Apgar 1min = 8, Apgar 5 minutes = 9, that's my girl! ) and then the nurse says, "Dad, it's time to take your daughter to the recovery room..."
I looked at Mayumi and said, "I'm not allowed to stay now, we'll see you soon."
So, across the hall we go, the nurse pushing Aoi in a hospital crib (AKA clear lucite box on wheels) and into recovery we go.
As I'm leaving the room, I hear the doctor say, "OK, get two units on order..." and the door shuts.
The baby's nurse continues with all the poking and prodding, examining, and giving the state required inoculations.
And we're waiting...
And waiting...
And waiting...
And waiting...
Now, the Doctor told us that a c-section takes 45-60 minutes, plus about an hour in the recovery room.
It's been 2 hours since I went into the OR, and they're still in there. The nurse is totally done with the baby, and she's running out things to keep me occupied.
Finally, 2 hours after I left the OR, Mayumi's out, and into the recovery room.
So, the next phase starts: waiting for Mayumi to stabilize and the anesthesia to wear off.
Obligatory 'first' family photos:
So, as you can see, Aoi is TOTALLY in the Xmas spirit,
With her little santa hat, (insert: OMFG so GD CUTE comments here.)
So, after washing up, the doc comes over congratulates us and says that he'll be at the hospital until Mayumi clears recovery.
6 and a half hours later.
That poor nurse was frazzled. She had to keep changing the pads under Mayumi and weighing them to measure the continuing blood loss.
By the time the flow had reduced to 'normal' levels, Mayumi had recieved no fewer than 5 different coagulants.
So, finally we got to go downstairs to our actual room.
We did OK for sleep that night, I think we got 4 or 5 broken hours. We definitely let the nurses take Aoi to the nursery until feedings though.
Mom was feeling better the next day.
Baby was good.
So was the food.
Time passed.
We watched the dvds they brought us.
Bonded with baby.
Got some balloons...
And finally, after all the blood tests (Mom's) came out fine, they finally told us we could go home.
So, we bundled up our little lady.
Put her in her car seat.
And drove home.
I see you!
And one last picture of the little wonder:
Can you believe they let us take her home with us?
