Week 37 - the delivery

Back to week 37

The delivery

3:45 pm - Erik had donned a sterile outfit in preparation of the delivery. He just put it on, when the anesthesiologist informed us that he felt that an epidural was too risky by now (increased risk of internal bleeding) and that he recommended general anesthesia. That was a little bit of a disappointment, because it also meant that Erik couldn't witness the delivery any more. he had to wait outside the operating theatre; it would take roughly a half hour before our child would be brought outside the room...

3:50 pm - After I was rolled into the operating theatre and didn't know anything else except that I felt so miserable and had severe abdominal pains, was nauseous and wanted ice chips, I knew nothing anymore. Erik later told me that it took indeed about half an hour before the ladies from neonatology walked outside with our son Bram.

4:25 pm - After they told Erik that he was healthy and a boy (which we already knew), they mentioned that there was this other thing about Bram that they had to discuss. Erik of course couldn't help thinking "what is it this time..."

4:50 pm - About 45 minutes after all this I was waking up in the recovery room. But I called suddenly that they couldn't make the incision yet because I could still feel everything; my back and belly hurt! This was of course already after the fact... Funny thing in retrospect that I talked English to everyone (except Erik) and that I understood anything naturally, while I feared beforehand that I would forget how to speak English in the turmoil. It quickly turned out that the whole operation was already completed and the nurse was administering morphine in my IV to ease the pain of the operation, and to let me regain my consciousness. Everybody was really nice all the time, it turned out that a lot of the people there where pretty shocked that instead of getting something against nausea I ended up being rushed into an operating room. Apparently most deliveries in Labor and Delivery take their natural time, so this wasn't exactly routine.

Continued: meeting Bram