The Kid Chronicles: Introducing Elizabeth (Ella) Basia Otto!

Ella’s birthday was quite eventful! With a scheduled C-section, you wouldn’t expect much of a story, but it seems that our Ella wanted a more interesting arrival.

Erich and I woke up Wednesday morning and started getting ready for the big day. Around 9:30 AM, I started getting cramps that felt much like the strong PMS cramps I experienced back when I was in high school. We thought it was strange, but since I was heading to the hospital in a few hours anyway, we weren’t overly concerned. By 10:30, I was getting stronger cramps periodically, but they never completely went away. I started wondering if I was having contractions, but they were nothing as others had described them. I was told that when I went into labor, I would “know”. That contractions would be felt across the whole belly, not just in the lower area where my cramping was, and that between contractions there would be a break without pain to give your body a chance to recover. None of those things were true for me, but as the cramping started getting stronger, and the stronger cramps started coming faster, I realized I may actually be in labor! I called the OB at about 11:05 AM, just a few minutes before we were going to head to the hospital anyway, and they advised that we go straight in.

Erich quickly loaded up the car, and we arrived at the hospital right as scheduled at 11:30. When we went upstairs to the birthplace, the nurses hooked me up to the non-stress test monitor, and sure enough, it showed I was having contractions, and they were less than 5 minutes apart already! One of the nurses checked me and found that I was 3 cm dilated. They called my OB to see if she could come in to do the C-section earlier than the scheduled 1:30, but she was unable to make it any earlier. It also seemed as though my water was leaking, but we’re not sure if that was the case.

I did not look this happy for long...

The non-stress test...

The anesthesiologist arrived and told us that the only real pain management option at the moment was an IV of fentanyl. An epidural was not recommended since the c-section is best performed with a spinal block, and I guess you can’t get both. The fentanyl helped a little with tolerating the pain, although it didn’t diminish the pain itself. It basically gave me a bit of a buzz so that I cared a little less about what was going on! Alas, it did not last long and wore off before it was time to go to the OR.

Our Doula, Bonnie, was there to help me manage the pain with breathing and was great about rubbing my back, gave me a hot compress for my belly and made things so much easier. I was really wishing that Erich and I had practiced the breathing and relaxation techniques that we’d learned in class a little more! Though knowing I was going to have a c-section, I never expected to need them. I figured if I went into labor, the contractions would be far apart, and my OB had said that she’d be able to perform the c-section within an hour, so I thought it would be easy to handle. As it turned out, my labor was fast and furious. My mom and dad both visited in the room as the contractions were going, and all of us were starting to worried that the baby would try to arrive before the surgeons did!

Nurse Kim and my mom offering encouragement...

Finally, it was time for Erich and Bonnie to get suited up for surgery, and I was wheeled to the OR.

Erich suiting up

Some pain management before it was time to go (I'm sitting on an exercise ball.)

My dad, worried and excited all at the same time

Here we go!

The anesthesiologist worked on getting the spinal block in place. Unfortunately, it was no easy task. He wanted me to be sitting upright, hunching forward over my belly and pushing my spine back toward him. This proved to be difficult between the contraction that were now less than a minute apart and my belly that made leaning forward difficult anyway. Thankfully, Bonnie was there to offer much needed support, both physical and emotional. (For whatever reason, they didn’t let Erich in until after the spinal was in place).

After about 4 attempts to get the spinal set up, we started getting nervous that he wouldn’t be able to do it. The anesthesiologist had commented that my vertebrae are very close together and my spine is a bit curved, making placing the spinal block quite challenging. I can’t be sure, but I think he said an epidural would have been even more difficult to place! Miraculously, my contractions completely stopped right then for a couple of minutes, which allowed me to get closer to the position he wanted me in. Bonnie actually thought someone had given me medication to stop them, since they went away completely, but no one had. The anesthesiologist got the needle in the right spot, and immediately my lower half started to get tingly and numb. As the nurses helped swing my legs onto the operating table, the last thing I felt was my water completely breaking!

Erich was brought in as soon as I was on the table, and within minutes I was completely numb -- the surgery was beginning!

I had heard from friends and from the birth class and videos that we had watched, that I would feel a lot of pressure and tugging when the surgeons were working to get the baby out. In fact, I didn’t feel hardly any. It felt a little like my ribs were being pushed back and forth, and when one of the nurses was pushing down on the top of my uterus to help push the baby out, there was a ton of pressure on my sternum and ribs, but at that point Erich said she was practically jumping up and down on me, putting her full weight into it. Otherwise, I felt nothing.

I was grateful too that my arms had not been strapped down. I had been told that they would put my arms out to the side and strap them in place, but they just lay them out and made me promise not to reach down toward my belly. There were nurses stationed at each arm ready to catch me if I tried, but it wasn’t an issue. In less than 10 minutes from when they numbed me, Ella was born!

Erich was able to see her emerge from behind the curve of my belly, and they held her up for me to see over the curtain. They then took her to the side to check her and make sure everything was ok. After they swaddled her they put her on my chest. I had been told that I would only get to see her for a brief moment to give her a kiss before Erich took her to the recovery room, but they actually left her on my chest for quite a while, maybe 5 minutes or more. When Erich left with some of the nurses and Ella, Bonnie stayed behind as I was patched up. That only seemed to take about 20 minutes, and with Bonnie talking with me the whole time, it wasn’t bad at all!

My first glimpse of Ella

Watching Ella get checked and cleaned

Check out that cone head, she was really ready to be born!

Heart sounds good!

First encounter

We didn't realize it at first, but she did get nicked by the scalpel on the cheek. Scary, but she's all healed up now!

Erich taking Ella to the recovery room to wait for me

Erich keeping Ella busy while they wait for me. She seems to know something is not quite right...

Another shot of that crazy cone head...

I was then taken to the recovery room where Ella was placed skin to skin on my chest and nursed for the first time. It was pretty amazing that I could come out of surgery having been conscious the whole time, then get to hold and nurse my baby and remember everything! When she was done nursing, Erich and one of the nurses took her to an area at the side of the room and gave her her first bath.