Birth Story

In honor of her being out as long as she was in, here's her birth story. I started writing it shortly after I got home and I just have been adding to it, but let's face it, I can't remember anything, so I better post it now.

Veronica Lucy Beck, May 14, 2009

I went to my Mom and Dad's and picked up my Dad at like 7:00, he dropped me off at the hospital and I went in by myself. The check in was super easy, I chatted with the woman about the wicked rain and storms the night before. She walked me up to my room and I met the nurse, Erin, who gave me my robe and instructions to get in it. I sat around and watched tv and chatted with her - she was getting married in September and her ring looked a lot like mine. She also went to Purdue, she told me, and I told her that we could just keep that to ourselves once Mike got there. Ha.

So Mike got there and we sat around some more. The anasthesiologist came in and introduced himself, we talked about nausea and fluids. He thought I should get another bag of saline or something, and told the nurse. Then my doctor came in and met Mike (which is so weird because with Anthony, Mike and I went to every single one of my appointments together and this time, he was meeting my doctor for the first time the day the baby was going to be born! Erin gave Mike his surgery clothes including a thing to wear over his glasses so he "didn't get blood in his eyes" - yuk. She gave me a hat and off we went - I just walked across the hall and into the O/R. The doctor gave me my spinal, I had the NICEST nurse help me with it. You have to put your chin to your chest, with your back all the way on the edge of the table, round out your back, and keep your shoulders down and it's tricky to do it all at once. But she was super nice. Then the doctor had to tell me TWICE to lie down - I forgot, they make you lie down right away so you don't fall down. Almost immediately my legs went numb, he asked me if I could lift my legs and I tried and then I said "I guess not?" and he said "nope!" so I guess it worked. Then they let Mike in, I kept thinking of how they almost forgot to get him with Maria, so I was ready to ask for him.

I felt SUPER relaxed, almost like when I had really low blood pressure when I had my first epidural with Anthony. I kept asking Mike "do I look okay?" I felt like I was really pale. The doctor said I was fine, though. It was nice and calm in the O/R, the radio was on. The anasthesiologist told me that my doctor had made the incision and off they went. I kept telling Mike to look at me and then I told him that he could look if he wanted, although - ugh - how gross it must be, all those organs! My doctor said something like "oh, he's turned this way" and they shifted, kind of. I guess the baby's head was sort of sideways and they had to pull it down. Then the anasthesiologist told me "they've got the head out!" and then someone said "oh boy!" and I thought, well, it's a boy, but then my doctor said "it's a beautiful girl!, Joanne!" We really had it in our heads, during all these appointments, that it was a boy, so we were really surprised! Mike and I were so happy and relieved, I thought immediately of that circumcision that I didn't have to order.

Mike had to sit by me for a minute - ha I just remembered, the anasthesiologist asked me, before Mike came in, "is your husband a pretty tough guy? He's not going to faint?" I told him, no he wouldn't faint, he was tough. Ha. But then they let him get up and he took pictures and brought them over and at one point the nurse brought Veronica over to me and showed her to me for what felt like a good amount of time. They stitched me up and then the pediatrician came over and talked to Mike and me about how Veronica's Oxygen saturation wasn't as high as they would like to see it. He said 'his gut' told him she'd be okay but he'd like to take her to the nursery and put her on Oxygen and Mike and I were like "OKAY!" I mean, what would we say?

I don't really remember recovery - I guess they gave me some ice chips? And maybe the doctor came in? I have no idea. I remember going to my room and meeting the nurse, Kris. Maybe it's the morphine? I don't know but I'm not sure about time. Mike made phone calls, I remember. Mike went to see the baby, but I couldn't see her until later. At some point, I went in a wheelchair with my catheter (ew) and IV to go and see her. She looked like a GIANT, especially compared to those wee babes in the nursery, some of whom had been there for weeks.

I had a rough recovery, that morphine made me itch like crazy and and at some point, I scratched my face up pretty good. Early Saturday morning, the nurse took out my catheter - and this is funny, but it's three times I've had this and three times they take it out in the morning. I always meet the new a.m. nurse and then she reaches up inside me and takes out the catheter. I have no pride left AT ALL. Anyways, I forget if I said this on V's blog, but I never could get her to nurse in the hospital until the last night. This excellent, angelic nurse named Jen helped me. She brought V in at like 2:00 in the morning and said she was hungry and we just tried everything - droppers and bottles and formula and breastmilk and EVERYTHING and finally, finally, she just started nursing. It was amazing - I had such a hard time with Anthony and not such a hard time with Maria, but a lot of pain, still, and then with Veronica, it was just perfect. It was the third time and it was a total charm. Like her. :)