I signed up for a VBAC and all I got was this lousy emergency c-section.

New Years Eve is supposed to be a day of fun and excitement, but for me it was misery.  I felt awful and I was exhausted, even more so than the average 31 week pregnant mama should feel.    This year it fell on a Saturday and during the day we threw a party for my parents who were celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary the following week.  Despite my misery, I put on a happy face because I was throwing the party along with my brothers.  The party went off without a hitch so I decided to go home and take a nap before going out to dinner.  We already had Grandma lined up to babysit, and it’s so rare that I go out, especially with my big brother who lives out of town.  I was really looking forward to it…knowing that baby boy would be arriving in 2 months and my nights out would soon be non-existent. 

So I went out to an expensive dinner with my brothers and ordered a 40 dollar steak that I didn’t touch.  (Damn money wasted!)  My sister-in-law commented that I was turning white and I was in intense pain.  In my heart I knew that something was seriously wrong and I suggested we go home.  My husband was very worried because it is not like me to want to leave a rare night out.  I ended up calling my OB to wish him a Happy New Year and to tell him that I thought I was dying.  I gave him my list of symptoms and he told me that it’s very possible that the baby was turning (he had been transverse) and to rest and come into the office on Tuesday.  I had intense chills and pain and we talked about modifying my diet because I was probably going into a little bit of sugar shock.  The following day I felt better and when I looked in the mirror, the baby was definitely lower so I concluded that he must have turned down, which made me very happy. 

On Tuesday I went into the office and they checked all of my vitals.  My blood pressure (which is normally on the low side) was mildly elevated but within normal limits, there was no protein in my urine (which is what they check for to rule out pre-eclampsia) and I had a sono which showed that baby had turned down.  Yay – I was hopeful that I may get my VBAC , and we concluded that the pain was the baby turning.  I wasn’t dilated or effaced and they gave me a test called a fetal fibronectin test to determine if I was at risk for pre-term labor and it came back negative.  Since I had been feeling better and baby had turned down, I set up my next appointment for 2 weeks down the road.

Within another day or two I was back to being miserable.    I still had chills despite modifying my diet, I had intense pain and tenderness in the abdomen and couldn’t get comfortable or sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time.  My feet were double the size, and I started getting nosebleeds. With my first I became dehydrated which affected my amniotic fluid, so this time around I was very cognizant about drinking lots of water, but I was vomiting, had diarrhea, couldn’t eat and prayed that I would make it through the rest of the pregnancy.  With my next OB visit over a week away, I called to get in on Monday the 9^th and told them that I had to be seen.  I was so sleep deprived that I wrote down a list of all my symptoms because I was so uncomfortable and upset that I broke down into tears and couldn’t even talk the nurse.  They weighted me and I was down 4 pounds from the previous week and they checked my urine which was almost orange and had protein in it this time.  The nurse hooked me up to the blood pressure machine and got my reading and made a funny face.  She commented that the machine must be broken because my blood pressure reading was much too high and she would take it manually instead.  They put me on a non-stress test and baby was hardly moving.  The nurse practitioner called my OB who was already at the hospital said that I should skedaddle right over to labor and delivery.  Still not realizing the severity of the situation, I called my parents and hubby, swung by the preschool to pick up my son (knowing I would otherwise miss dismissal) and headed over to meet my OB.   I was very calm because I was not in labor, so I never for a moment thought that I would be delivering that day.  In my mind, I’d go and get IV fluids because I was very dehydrated, and my biggest fear is that I’d be put on bedrest. 

As we drove I leisurely passed the ferry boats in port Jeff and as I passed the Frigate, Goofball saw the big ice cream cone and asked if we can stop for an ice cream.  I promised him that later today we would get him some when Mommy is done seeing the doctor. 

I was admitted and assumed that they would give me some IV fluids (which they did) and would monitor me for a bit or possibly keep me overnight.  By this time hubby had arrived.  The nurses started drawing blood.  Being a type A personality I had grabbed my phone list for my religious school class and started making calls to tell them that I was going to cancel the class for the night.  I called the first parent and we chatted and I told her that I was being monitored and will call her back later in the week to reschedule the class. 

My OB came to see me and said that based on my liver results they want to give me a c-section that night.  My jaw dropped and my husband and I exchanged scared looks.  I started to cry. My OB left the room and came back within a minute or two holding a paper, shaking his head, and he was accompanied by the anesthesiologist.  He was holding the results of my platelet count which was dangerously low – so low that the nurses began prepping me for a c-section right there and then.  I was in disbelief and immediately I felt like I had no control over my fate.  Knowing that my students would be waiting for me, I told the nurses that I needed 3 minutes to make a phone call.  I picked up the religious school roster and prayed that my supervisor would pick up the phone, which she did.  I starting rolling off a list of names and phone numbers to her and told her to cancel class, all while the nurse is standing there in disbelief saying “Can’t someone else make these calls for you?”

The next 10 minutes were a total blur.  They had the NICU nurse come to see me and tell me that she’ll be in the OR and taking the baby when he comes out.  They brought me forms to sign – still not sure what I signed – maybe a consent for surgery, or a consent to not sue if they kill me, or the deed to my house?  I was so scared that my baby wasn’t ready to come out and I just couldn’t understand why I couldn’t be monitored for the next few hours, days or weeks, but I was too hysterical crying to ask questions, and the nurses were too frantic running around to answer questions.   I was poked and prodded and my parents had just gotten there as they were prepping me.  They grabbed Goofball (whose only concern was whether or not he can have some ice cream) and I kissed hubby and they wheeled me out. 

I was off to the operating room without any warning and without my hubby.  I was knocked out and Baby Mush was born.  He arrived on my parents 40^th anniversary!  No one could top my gift to my parents – their 6^th grandchild!