Olivia Kate Vines Birth Story - Part 1 - The C-section

When I first had to start to think about my birth plan, I wanted to have a vaginal birth. When we found out I had placenta previa, that went out the window (or at least part way out the window). For those of you who don’t know what placenta previa is, it is when the placenta blocks the cervix so the baby can’t get out. If it does not move, you need an early c-section to avoid going into labor because it can be bad for the baby and mom. I wasn’t super disappointed because there are pros and cons to each delivery method. I had some hopes early on about the placenta moving but as time went on and it didn’t move, I started to hope the placenta didn’t move.

I was having more trouble sleeping. I had to stop running because my ankle was hurting and slowed down my exercise in general. Work was feeling overwhelming because I was in a limbo state of whether or not I had to work another 3 weeks or not. The littlest things would almost set me in tears. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with finishing baby prep, maternity leave prep for my team and coming to terms that my life was about to really change. Other moms told me they think it may also have to do with nature and our minds and bodies preparing us to give birth and wanting the baby to be out of us. I was definitely feeling mentally and physically ready to have this baby.

I had some bleeding on the Monday of the week of my last ultrasound to check in on the placenta. In my googling (I know - not the best way to get advice) it sounded like it was the “bloody show”. I had a doctor appointment that morning and brought it up. My doctor decided to move my ultrasound planned for Thursday to that day. The placenta didn’t move and they made the call that I’d go in for a planned c-section the upcoming Monday. I was relieved that I had a plan now. They said if anything, the c-section might happen earlier if I had any additional bleeding that was of concern or if I started to have contractions.

Thankfully, there were no other complications. We arrived around 8:45 am on Monday, May 30th at the hospital, checked in and I got into the hospital provided gown and sticky socks. The nurses tried to get IVs in my arms but my veins weren’t cooperating. The first one seemed to take…but it didn’t. I didn’t notice my forearm swelling until the nurse came in to check on me. They not only had to find a new vein on that arm but also find a spot on my other arm. Placenta previa put me at risk for more intense bleeding and they needed to have an IV in each arm just in case I needed a blood transfusion during the procedure.

I went into a zone where I was just trying not to cry because it was hurting getting poked and prodded so much. The nurse apologized and I said, “It’s OK.” She responded, “It’s really not.” It actually made me feel good that she said that because I was feeling very distraught. Dave said he noticed the moment where my mood changed and that I wasn’t doing so well. They finally found some veins and I was heading into the operating room (OR) shortly after that. The photo to the right shows the aftermath bruising from the first IV that didn’t take.

I was brought into the OR to get the spinal anesthesia. As I entered the OR, I started to feel nervous. The mechanical engineer in me thought, “Darn! I was hoping for a newer OR with the prefab laminar flow system!”. Some of my more recent projects have had much newer OR’s so I had high expectations but I knew this was an acceptable OR and there was nothing to worry about. I also felt a little overwhelmed with how many support staff were in the room and how hectic it seemed. Everyone was so nice and always checking on me, but it also made it feel even more overwhelming with how many people were checking in on me.

They laid me down and waited for my legs to feel numb after they gave me the anesthesia and inserted the catheter. They put the curtain up and brought Dave in. I started to feel extremely sleepy. I tried my hardest to stay awake but would take a few seconds to rest my eyes every so often. The staff kept asking how I was doing and were talking me through the procedure. They mentioned that I would feel pressure but shouldn’t feel any pain. Later, Dave told me that when they were working on me, they were moving me quite a lot and it made my upper body (that he could see) move around a lot. He was concerned because he wasn’t expecting it, but tried to hide it because he knew I was nervous and feeling uneasy.

The doctors told us that the baby was out. It felt like it was quiet for so long but we eventually heard a cry. They said she was looking great and called Dave over to cut the umbilical cord. They cleaned up the baby and then brought her over to me. Before all of this, I wasn’t sure if I would cry when I got to see her for the first time. I was thinking I would because I already was so emotional about everything. I did not. I think I was so out of it from the anesthesia and just the fact that this small human came out of my belly…I kind of felt like I was in a dream.

The staff took Olivia and told us that Dave and her could go back to the prep and recovery room. I’d join them after they finished putting me back together. Once I got to the room, they started to do some tests on Olivia and Dave learned how to change his first diaper.

All looked good in the tests and after we ordered lunch, we were going to get moved to our postpartum room. I had always thought I could only eat liquids right after the surgery, but it didn’t seem like I had any restrictions. I ordered a burger and fries that I devoured pretty fast…later when we went to order dinner, the kitchen said I was on an all liquid diet. Dave and I laughed because of course I would find a way to sneak in a burger. My stomach wasn’t feeling well probably because I ate too fast and wasn’t supposed to eat solid foods, so I was planning on having liquids for dinner anyways.

Read Part 2 for more!