C- Section

I've been thinking a lot about "having" my next baby.  It will be a c-section baby.  I am happy about this.  I can not tell you how THRILLED I was to hear my doctor tell me during my 20+ hour labor with Kohen that the time had come to do a c-section.  He actually told me BEFORE I was induced that he may prefer to do a c-section since Kohen was so big.  I insisted that I at least get to try to have him naturally.  Yeah, well, I'm completely over the "natural" labor thing now!  I can't wait to schedule my c-section and then 20 minutes later have my baby!  I'm sure my family who is waiting at the hospital will like this too!

Although I'm happy about the c-section, there are some things I'm NOT looking forward to and I'm even scared about some things.  I was sent an email from a parenting website that listed 10 things people don't realize about a c-section.  I want to share 6 of these things with you and my experience with those 6 things.... **pretty graphic...

1.  There will still be hands on your tootie.  I'm not really sure what to expect this time since I tried the natural birth thing last time and it was all hands on deck then...  so it will be interesting to see what happens with this! lol

2.  You'll probably get the shakes.  I definitely got the shakes last time.  In fact, I thought I couldn't breathe.  I was in pure panic mode.  The damn "sheet" was hanging 2 inches from my face, my arms were strapped down to the operating table, my husband was more interested in watching the c-section than sitting beside my face,  I could feel the pressure of the scalpel cutting a 10 inch vertical incision (that's a whole other story) into a previous scar,  and yes, I had the shakes.

3.  You will probably be freezing during delivery.  Yes.  Freezing.  I remember sitting there naked, as the male nurse anesthetist (sp?) gave me not one, but TWO spinal epidurals (1st one didn't work).  I also remember my teeth chattering when I spoke to my baby for the first time.

4.  Stool softeners = your new best friend.  It sucks to poop after a c-section.  It's hard to do....  Not only is it hard to do because your abdomen is extremely tender and sore, but the nurse(s) would stand there and wait for me to poop!  Those of you who know me, know that I can't even pee in public, much less poop!

5.  There will be blood.  NOBODY told me that there would be postpartum blood with a c-section.  I mean... the baby didn't even come outta there!  This was the single most surprising thing to me after my c-section.  And, the nurses lie.  It is not "light" blood...  and it lasts for weeks!!!

6.  That scar might freak you out.  So, for those of you who haven't quit reading yet...this may make you stop.  I had a previous scar from an emergency surgery I had back in 2002.  I can not even begin to tell you how painful this was during my pregnancy.  The scar goes from my "tootie" all the way up to my belly button.  As my belly got bigger with my pregnancy, so did the scar.  I don't know how many times I told my mom that it felt like someone built a "campfire" underneath that scar.  I don't know how many times I told Jason we needed to go to the ER because I felt like it was going to rip open.  I just about DIED when my doctor told me that he was going to cut into that same scar to get my baby out.  So, instead of the normal 4-6 inch horizontal incision,  I had a 10 inch vertical incision.  (I do have to say  that the scar DID heal better than it looked before my c-section.  My doctor was able to remove lots of scar tissue from the first surgery and I haven't had pain in my scar since).

So there you have it.  My c-section experience.  I am scared, BUT, I witnessed my sister having a baby naturally and I have to say that I would prefer a c-section!  HA!

10 weeks & sick as a dog

I went to the doctor last Wednesday.  I was sitting in the waiting room just crying.  They called me back and I sat there getting my blood pressure taken, just crying.  The poor nurse gave me a hug.  I told her "I just feel so sick".  I was happy Jason was with me.  Dr. Cole did an ultrasound and I immediately saw the heartbeat.  Jason grabbed my hand and squeezed it.  He knew I had been nervous about seeing/not seeing the heartbeat.

I'm 10 weeks pregnant in this picture.  Tomorrow I will be 11 weeks.  My due date is September 5, 2011.  Dr. Cole said he would take the baby via c-section about 7-10 days early.  So looks like Baby Smith will be born in August (maybe even on my mom's bday!).

Here's Kohen looking at the ultrasound picture...

He's giving it kisses :)

Saying I've been sick the last week is an understatement.  I've had fever every single day for over a week.  I've also had lots of other issues that I will save you the mental pictures and not discuss.  Jason left for Scottsdale, AZ for a "golf" trip last Thursday.  When he told me bye, I had 101.4 degree temp.  He would be gone for 4 days.  Let me just say, this was the worst weekend of my life.  I was sick the entire time.  Mom and Dad came up (in the snow) on Friday to take care of me and Kohen.  Jason ended up flying home a day early because I was so sick.  I thought yesterday that I was getting better, but I still feel horrible today :(

While Jason was gone.  I needed something to entertain Kohen so I could basically lay on my deathbed (the couch) and watch him play.  So I bought him a few things....

Here's his new favorite toy...  A Geo Trax train set.

Some old school blocks

and a tricycle...  My mom told me I was out of control and he was going to grow up to be a spoiled brat. I didn't care at this point.  Anything to keep him busy while I ran back and forth to the bathroom (if you know what I mean).

It snowed while Jason was gone....

This is way off the blog subject, but as I was loading pictures, I came across these.  These pictures are so funny to me (sorry Jason) because poor Jason is on the far left doing yard work, while having to watch men play golf (far right).  I'm SURE he would have rather been playing golf!

**I wrote this post yesterday.  Last night I ended up having to go to the ER for continuous throwing up and I had the worst headache I've ever had in my life.  The doctor wanted to do a spinal tap and a CT scan but I was worried about the baby being exposed to radiation.  We decided to wait to see if the 2 bags of IV fluids and the morphine would help.  Around 3 a.m. we decided to wait on the spinal & CT scan.  I was feeling more hydrated and my headache was down to a pain level "4".  We left the hospital and went to Sherri's house to get Kohen.  I didn't go to sleep until around 6:30a.m.  Jason called his office manager and had her move some patients around so he could stay home with me this morning.  He's at work now and I'm not feeling "horrible" but I'm still not great.  The ER doctor told me to come back if I started having neck pain or my headache came back.  I think he's worried about Viral Meningitis.  Jason and I both think that I'm just extremely dehydrated.  I know it sounds simple to "just drink a lot of water" but when I have liquid coming out of both ends constantly and zero appetite... it's HARD to stay hydrated!  Today I'm drinking a little water at a time to try and keep it from coming back up.  I'm SOOOO ready to start feeling better! :(