Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Welcome to the World Jaron Levi

On Thursday February 16th, 2012 Jaron Levi Hadlock made his presence known to the world. If you don't want to read through about the crazy birth story, just skip to the end for pictures. :)

It all started that morning. We had a scheduled induction as has been the case with all our kids. This one was only a couple days early instead of a week since my doctor had been out of town. I was definitely on the countdown with this one. My body was exhausted and so ready to not be pregnant.

We got to the hospital and baby was head down and ready to go, so we broke my water, but lo and behold I was carrying a whole lot of extra water like I had with Tragon. Enough that as we were letting the water out, his little hand went up by his head, not a good thing if we couldn't get him to move it. Then a little later after the contractions started he still had room enough to move around, so much so that he was laying transverse..or horizontal in my belly, and you can't deliver a baby like that unless it's by C-section, which I so did not want.

The doctor had me get the epidural ready so that when he came in to try and manually turn the baby from the outside I would be a little more comfortable. Up to this point Jaron hadn't been tolerating the contractions very well either, his heart rate would really drop when I had one. We were the only person in labor and delivery too, so all the nurses were updated with our condition and our nurse basically stayed in the room with us the whole time monitoring him. Anyway, so about noon ish, maybe more like 12:30 I'm starting to progress more...which at this point we don't want to happen because we're waiting for the doctor to come in and try and flip the baby.

Side note on the epidural...it's never really been an issue and we have done fine, but this was the worst epidural experience of all my kids. The anesthesiologist was used to putting them in while the patient is sitting up, but they had me stay on my side because they didn't want any of the baby to come through the cervix while I sat up. Anyway, after about 5 of the most painful electric shocks running down my legs, and a second shot, he was finally able to get the epidural catheter in and we were ready to go. I count that as most painful part number 1.

So, the doctor comes in and tries to flip my little swimmer and as soon as he tries, his heart rate drops really low. He looks and me and says, it's not going to happen, we need to get the baby out now. So, here we go for a C-section. After Morgan saw how forcefully we'd have to manipulate the baby to turn him agreed and had he known would've just said let's go now.

However, because of the strain from the turn, we are now in an emergency situation and the charge nurser starts hollering and they are all running around getting the O.R. prepped and she's calling out STAT, STAT, get this done, get that done, and really kind of causing a mild panic. I wanted to sit up and say, it's okay, calm down, take a deep breath, it will be okay. They are hurrying so fast that they didn't get all my lines from IV, epdirual, etc all up and as they are going out of the room, one of the nurses had my epi line around her leg and if Morgan hadn't caught her when he did I would have had that thing ripped out of my back, something I'm grateful I don't have to label and most painful part number 2. :)

At this point I can tell Morgan is really nervous and scared and I think he took all my worry from me, because I just knew everything was going to be okay. I was in a lot of pain, but I never worried about our safety. So, we get to the OR and everyone is hastily moving about and I'm getting dosed up a little more before the incision, but not quite soon enough. I could feel the doctor's knife cutting me open. It was more of a burning sensation rather than a sharp pain, but it was also dull enough that I knew it wouldn't really help to stop them. They got me open and got the baby out and he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice, then around a leg and arm and was probably the most tangled up baby anyone had seen. Induction or natural labor, this baby would have come by C-Section. Then after we heard baby cry, they went to town on me getting me all patched up and getting the bleeding to stop....Most painful part number 2 & 3, the actual cutting open and then getting me closed up.

I gave Morgan quite a scare as they were patching my up. I had been giving him the death grip through the whole operation and I felt my blood pressure cuff go off, so I relaxed my arm so they could get a reading and happened to close my eyes at the same time because of the pain, and of course Morgan starts calling my name thinking I went unconscious...sorry babe.

We spent an hour in the recovery room monitoring me and the baby. Jaron was perfect! He was 7 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long. He has some very healthy lungs and perked right up. With all the chaos and confusion, I am so grateful for how things happened and know that we were truly in the Lord's hands and He was watching over us. There couldn't have been a more perfect time to have this happen as far as hospital attention and even though there was a lot of chaos, it all worked out in the end. And had that baby stayed head down, it would have been a lot more critical and life threatening had he been halfway in and out and then noticed the cords around his neck.

The recovery has been nothing like I thought it would be. It's a lot more complicated. Every time I stand up I feel like my guts are falling out. :) I have to move really slow and I basically feel like an invalid. Morgan has been home with me this first week of recovery and has been the best in the whole world. He's got a lot on his plate and he has really stepped up to the occasion. My parents were here to take care of my boys while we were having the baby and it was such a peace of mind to know that they were taken care of too. And Morgan's parents have always been there to help out when we have appointments we need to get to. I love my family and all the support we have had through this. It's definitely been quite the physical and emotional roller coaster and in some ways I still don't feel like this actually happened to me...until I try to stand up. :)

We love our sweet baby boy and the other boys love him too. They have been really good helpers and have done really well with the whole thing. We're just taking it one day at a time and every day it gets better. Until next time....













4 comments:

heidijogoody said...

Oh my goodness what an ordeal. I am so glad that things worked out ok for you and I can totally relate with not loving the c-section. He is a handsome boy so glad he is here and safe and sound.

Jessica said...

Oh my goodness Annie! I'm so happy for you that everything worked out well. How scary! You're so blessed to have so much help. Good luck with your recovery. I hope you heal quickly.

Jessica said...
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Jennie said...

Wow, sounds stressful! I've had two c-sections, one unexpected, and I would do a normal birth any day! I hope you recover quickly. Take it easy and if you need anything let me know. I'll even come vacume for you because it's so painful to do for several months. Let me know. Jaron is SO handsome!