When I was pregnant, a lot of our friends asked us about our birth plan. Epidural? No epidural? Non-chemical induction? Pacifier? There were a million questions. And while we did think about what we'd prefer, we didn't actually end up putting anything in writing. In retrospect, that was a good thing because nothing about our birth process turned out to be anything that we ever anticipated.
That Sunday started off innocently enough. Mr. Beeton and I woke up and went to the Farmers’ Market in Takoma Park to pick up some food for our Memorial Day picnic with Mr. Beeton's parents. Then, we headed off to church. In church, I felt a little woozy, so we decided – even though we had a lot to prep for our company later that day – to have some brunch at one of our favorite spots on Wisconsin Avenue – Café Deluxe (blueberry pancakes for me, in case you were wondering). Then, once fed, we came home, started cleaning like mad, and began making food.
That day was so incredibly hot. We don't have central air, and with the Mr. Beeton's parents and brother all crowded on the screened in porch out back, it was sweltering. I was feeling especially large (and especially sweaty) that day and just plain exhausted. When our company left, we determined we were too tired to do the dishes and headed upstairs to watch our new favorite show – The Killing.
About ten of eleven, I felt a little strange and realized that my water had broken. Yup, just like in the movies. We called the doctor and were told to take our time and head over to the hospital in the next hour or so. I took a shower; we finished packing our bag; and we said good-bye to Ella.
On our drive over to the hospital, we had the realization that since it was Memorial Day weekend our doctor would not be on call. Now, I realize that, in most cases, people deliver their babies with docotrs who aren't necessarily "theirs," but, we had chosen our doctor - Dr. H. - because she practices alone and delivers 80% of all her patients’ babies. However, since Baby Beeton decided to make his debut on a holiday we would have to work with the doctors in her partner practice - none of whom we had met.
In retrospect, the whole experience is kind of a blur, but basically, I experienced every sort of child birthing that you could experience while I was there. To start, I was having contractions, but then they slowed up. So, they decided to give them a kick start with some drugs to induce labor. Then, the contractions started coming fast and furious. I would have preferred not to have an epidural (because the thought of being numb from the waist down scared me... and in thinking back it's a legitimate concern... my upper right thigh is still slightly numb), but about midway through the whole process, I decided I needed one.
Around 10 pm that night (about 24 hours after we had been admitted), they decided I was ready to start pushing – which I did for about 2 hours. Toward the end of that time, I spiked a fever, so the doctor decided to do a C-section. They were concerned about my developing an infection, but they were also concerned about Baby Beeton whose heart was apparently going wonky because of my fever. The one thing that scared me most about the whole labor process was a C-section, but at that point, I didn't have much of a choice. So, off to the operating room we went...
There were some funny moments prior to Baby Beeton's arrival, including my throwing up and Mr. Beeton being worried about throwing up. But, it seemed like in no time Baby Beeton was out and wailing away! I didn't see him when he first came out because he was out of my line of sight, but Mr. Beeton gave me the play-by-play as they cleaned him up. When he was ready to go, the doctors brought him over to Mr. Beeton to hold, and before I knew it, we were being wheeled to the postpartum wing (and everyone along the way was ooo-ing and aah-ing over Baby Beeton's hair).
The three of us were in the hospital for about a week; Ella spent that time with my parents who came down to help out. Because of the timing of our delivery, we could have left Friday or Saturday, but we opted for Saturday.
Thankfully, Baby Beeton has been a wonderful baby because when we got home, we began to experience some pretty serious problems which have hampered my recovery considerably. To start, a few days after we came home, I began feeling some tightness around my incision. One evening, I was working on my computer, and when I sat up, the front of my shirt was covered with fluid and blood. Thinking I had popped a stitch, we rushed to the ER. It turned out that I had developed an infection from the surgery. Apparently, about 5% of all surgery patients develop such infections - lucky me. We left the ER about four in the morning thinking - that with the prescribed antibiotics - all our problems were solved.
But, from there, it only got worse. The first round of antibiotics gave me terrible stomach cramps. The doctor changed the drugs, but the new kind made me even sicker. Around this same time, my parents left to go back to Pennsylvania, so Mr. Beeton and I were left alone to take care of Baby Beeton and Ella. Mr. Beeton's mother was so kind to come out and help us on the afternoons that Mr. Beeton was teaching his summer class (the class began the day that Baby Beeton was born... so Mr. Beeton had been teaching the entire time since Baby Beeton was born). And then, just when we thought we were in the clear, I developed a strange rash all over my body, which resulted in another trip to the ER - this time with Baby Beeton since my parents were no longer around. On this trip, I got a dose of Prednisone to clear up the rash, an IV for dehydration, and a recommendation to start up vitamins since I am anemic. The combination - the doctor on call believed - was what was making me so incredibly sick, weepy, and just all around awful feeling.
Since that visit, I've been doing much better. It makes me sad that I lost those two weeks; I was so out of it that I felt as though I didn't really get a chance to appreciate the wonder that is Baby Beeton. But, I am glad to be on the mend, back to breastfeeding (which we had to put on hold during all the medication), and generally enjoying life once more. And, I'm so thankful to all who helped out during that terrible time - my parents, Mr. Beeton's mom, the consultants from the Breastfeeding Center of D.C. Without all this help, the road would have been even more rocky.
So... that's what's been going on here. A lot of my readers have been writing to say that they wanted details on Baby Beeton's birth, and I apologize for not posting sooner. It's really only been this last week or so that I've felt like I am back in the land of the living. But, there you have it folks. Baby Beeton is here, making a splash, and his momma is finally feeling better.
Now, where did I put that watermelon?
Keep sweeping, Martha
Watching Modern Family.
