To C or not to C- That is the question
Five weeks before her due date, my second daughter decided to scare me by giving me contractions that were 7 minutes apart and lasted for about 4 hours before they stopped. We went to the hospital and after another 8 hours, the nurses finally sent me home. But they said I’d probably be back before the weekend was over since I was dilated 4 inches already. Don’t get me wrong- I was more than ready to have the baby- but five weeks early was too darn soon. Who cares if I had the nursery set and the clothes and diapers ready? That was a piece of cake. I had her older sister 16 ½ months earlier so most things had never even been packed up. But five weeks early created problems like worrying that her lungs were not developed or that because she was already weighing in over 7 lbs, she may have insulin issues. I had gestational diabetes with the first child but not with the second; which by the way is extremely rare. Once you have it with one, you’re almost guaranteed to have it again.
So I made the call to my mom and told her she might want to book an earlier flight to Florida since it didn’t appear this baby was going to wait. But then… you guessed it, my daughter decided to just hang out and give me false contractions daily. It got to the point where I just ignored them. And though I found it extremely weird to imagine my birth canal was stretched large enough to fit a grapefruit through, I decided not to dwell on it. I had bi-weekly appointments for monitoring, and discovered that my doctor wanted to measure the baby’s length and width in utero.
Thankfully, I had the same wonderful OBGYN who had delivered my first daughter, Peyton. The Doctor had seen how much pulling and tugging (and tearing) my 7lb 5 oz baby had caused me, and wanted to make sure this time wouldn’t be as traumatic. (We discovered at about 6 weeks of age that Peyton had torticollis. This can happen when they’re packaged too tightly and their neck won’t move so one side of the neck muscles is always in the stretched out state while the other side with muscles is always in a shorter non-flexed state. It’s hard to tell at birth because the baby isn’t strong enough to hold up their heavy head in the first place, but as they get older, you’ll notice. They always turn to one side and their head and ear will lean heavily on one shoulder. It took 6 months of physical therapy, a neck brace, and daily stretching exercises at least 10 times a day to get it corrected. Imagine how you feel with a crick in your neck. Now picture a huge giant twisting it, turning it and pulling it 10 times a day for 20 reps each stretch. I can honestly say I didn’t have a happy child that first year. She was miserable and in constant pain. And every time my husband and I had to perform these stretches I bawled like a baby myself. It’s no wonder my Doctor wanted to see how this new baby was settled in the womb. She delivered my beautiful, but slightly contorted, little girl the first time and knew the terror I felt. If it was preventable, she didn’t want to have it happen again- so that’s why she measured. And we’re glad she did because we saw that my second daughter was already bigger than my first one had been at birth, and this was a month before her due date. She was going to be too wide to fit through my pelvic canal without doing serious damage to her tiny body. I remember my doctor telling me that a C-section should be scheduled because if I tried to deliver naturally I would most likely dislocate her shoulder trying to push her out. Limb paralysis and other scary scenarios were laid out before me so that I could make a choice. There was no choice. In my mind, a C-section was the only way. So, we scheduled a Caesarean the earliest date allowed and that was for about 10 days before her actual due date. Her lungs were expected to be fine. She certainly weighed enough and I finally could prepare for the big day. Right?
Wrong!
My daughter decided that enough was enough and she was ready to see God’s green earth 2 weeks early. I went into labor and we made our way to the hospital. I was already 8 centimeters dilated but it was midnight and the anesthesiologist wasn’t there. And my beloved OBGYN doctor wasn’t on call that night! So, I had to wait, and wait, and wait. I wasn’t allowed an epidural or pain medicine because they knew I was supposed to have a C section, but they couldn’t prep me for that till everyone was in house. I remember yelling- “What if she gets stuck before you can cut her out?” Sorry, but delivering my question in a delicate, ladylike fashion was the least of my worries as I rocked pitifully in pain in my hospital gown waiting for another OBGYN.
Finally, the team arrived and within minutes, I was wheeled into the operating room and presented with a healthy 7 lb 13 oz beautiful baby girl. She was perfect in every way and I can unashamedly say she still is.
It’s funny because many times a pregnancy and the birth can reveal characteristics that will stay with them as they grow. For instance- my first born who stayed cramped in one place, rarely moved in the womb, and was a piece of cake the entire pregnancy; she is still like that. She is calm, patient, easy-going, never in a hurry to go anywhere, and is the laid-back quiet child she appeared to be in the womb. My other daughter, Kendall, is the complete opposite. She is impatient, can’t sit still, loves to be on the go, and reminds me of a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower never satisfied to stay in one spot. So take note of your changing body and how your child reacts during pregnancy. It may be a great indicator of what you’ll be raising the next 18 years!
- Tammy Fitzherbert
P.S. – If you have any questions for me about torticollis, feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll try to answer any questions you may have.
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