Grayson Reed Martin is here and arrived at 8:31am on December 16th. My experience this time around having a baby was drastically different in the best way possible. Having a planned c-section and experiencing the different kind of care I got with this new doctor and hospital made me realize how crappy my experience was with Ava and how a lot of things should have been done differently.
I went in for my c section at 6 am on the 16th and was immediately hooked up to the heart monitor machine to make sure the baby was looking good. We just hung out until about 7:45 when they prepped me for the surgery. All of the nurses, doctors and anesthesiologists were so nice and really listened to me about my concerns from my first c section experience and they promised me things would not go that way again.
The anesthesiologist in particular really listened to me about the drugs I felt were an issue that they gave me the first time and how everyone did not help me understand that what I was feeling was normal.
Just a little background on my first c-section……..
After pushing for 4 hours I was then taken in for an emergency c-section. I realize now that I pushed for so long because my doctor was busy, when really, she should have called in another doctor to take me for a c section a lot earlier.
They got my husband dressed to be in the operating room with me, but then left him outside so luckily, he decided to just walk in and saw me already open on the table. After they pulled out Ava no one caught the time. The doctor said “time of birth?” and it was silent, once again good thing my husband had a watch on and caught the time. After they pulled Ava out, I started shaking uncontrollably which freaked me out so the anesthesiologists asked if I wanted something to make me stop and I said yes, I wish I would have said no. What they failed to do was tell me that the shaking was totally normal and would stop soon, since I did not know this, I thought it was going to affect me breastfeeding so I said yes to the drugs.
These drugs they gave me have an amnesia affect so after the drugs I remember nothing. I don’t remember the first time I held Ava or breastfed her or anything until the next morning. During this labor and c-section I felt like an afterthought and neglected and I mentally and physically paid for it for a long time afterwards. Unfortunately, I have learned that these kinds of experiences are very common. This is why I was very honest with my doctor this time around and everyone who was taking care of me. I didn’t care if I sounded like a broken record, I needed a better experience this time and I was going to make sure I got it. You really have to be your own advocate, especially when it comes to your health care.
For my second c-section I explained all of these issues to the doctor and everyone who was involved in the surgery. Interesting enough the anesthesiologists told me that the drugs that the previous hospital used for the shaking they never use at their hospital due to the amnesia effect and let me know that I would remember everything.
Everything went exactly was planned, it was very interesting to be awake and fully aware and not exhausted from labor during the c-section this time. It is a super quick surgery and everyone constantly asked me how I was doing. My husband was there in the beginning this time, not in the middle and I even got skin to skin after the baby was out which I never got with Ava. They also had the baby station up near me so I could see everything going on after he was born. With Ava it was at my feet so I had no idea what they were doing and only saw her for a brief second before they took her to the room. This time, Grayson stayed with me until just about 10 minutes before I went back to the room and he was taken back by my husband.
One month postpartum now and one month postpartum with Ava As far as recovery there was also a DRASTIC difference. I was on pain meds for 10 days with Ava and still after that the recovery was really hard. This time I was off the pain meds by day 4 and my body is already quickly back to almost where it was only 4 weeks later, which is crazy to me because I was so much bigger with Grayson. I really think it is a combination of not having to endure labor beforehand and my body has already been through this recovery before so it wasn't such a foreign experience.
Having an amazing experience, the second time around actually helped me resolve a lot of my anger towards my first c-section because I got to experience fully what it would have been like with Ava. I was so angry with the first one because I felt like I got robbed of a lot of things, but I feel like I got this back and so I am feeling more at peace with Ava’s labor.
Grayson was definitely on the bigger side, he weighed exactly 8lbs and as soon as they took him out I felt immediate release under my ribs. He definitely did a number on my stomach though! I got awful stretch marks around my belly button that are all sorts of colors and are still sore a month later. The bottom one is the one that seems to be lingering and is very dark, this was the one that hurt the most towards the end of pregnancy. Almost felt like my skin was going to rip open at times. I didn’t get any stretch marks with Ava, just an umbilical hernia which is a little worse now.
1 month postpartum and a week before Grayson arrived I was also told my gap between my stomach muscle was a good 3 ½ finger width when with Ava it was a 2-finger width. I could already tell it was bad because my back was hurting from the lack of ab strength. Luckily, I know all the exercises to help heal them as much as possible and I was told that the fact I was able to heal them so well after Ava my muscle memory is probably going to really help. It is very important to work on this ab gap if you have one because it can cause a lot of issues with your lower back. If you have never been checked it is really easy to check for and work on. Click here to read my blog about fixing diastasis recti.
As far as Grayson he is definitely more of a handful than Ava was when it comes to almost everything so I feel like I am learning all over again about the challenges a newborn can
present to you. Ava really likes him and enjoys taking care of her baby doll while I am taking care of him. As soon as he is more like a little person and more active, I know him and Ava are going to have lots of fun together. She loves babies and little kids so I know she will enjoy him more and more the older he gets : ).