Saturday – Part Two

At this point my anesthesiologist enters the room. I remember he had a name tag, but I cannot remember his name. He introduces himself and we chat for a bit. I can’t remember what we discussed but I do remember that he was pretty cool. He and the second nurse – Patti – help me move to the operating table.

By the way, why are those tables so narrow? I’m thinking I’m going to fall off . . .

I sit on the side of the table and hold onto Patti while my new cool friend starts to work on the epidural. It takes a while – a long while. It starts to get very uncomfortable so we take a break. Cool dude informs me that the space between my vertebrae is quite small, so he’s having some challenges positioning the needle. I think it would be nice if something else was small – like my butt or something. We chat for a while and then we go again. It gets bad again so we take another break and chat some more. I can’t believe how patient this guy is being. This is a completely different experience that my first go round.

We try again. This time it takes and I feel my toes go blissfully numb. Cool. Within seconds I can no longer feel my legs. A few seconds later and I now longer feel my bum. Patti says I can lie down. I ask for help. She and cool dude help me lie down. Cool dude gives me some oxygen. I lie there for a while and try to only look at the ceiling. All the medical equipment and sharp objects freak me out. Right before they put up the curtain I see Patti write 21:17 on the white board. “Here we go,” I think.

A parade of people start coming into the room. It seems like 10 people come into the room one by one.

“Hi. My name is Such-n-Such and I’ll be your whatever today,” they all say.

I'm thinking hey, I don’t know anyone in here so the more the merrier . . . especially if they have drugs.

Vince hasn’t shown up yet.

A lot more prep work goes on, but I’m sort of out of it. It’s like I know that something is being done to me and that discussions are being held, but I’m trying so hard to tune everything out. I’m focusing on my new daughter. I’m thinking about all the cute clothes she has. Will she have hair? I hope so, because I have a TON of bows.

Around 21:45 Vince comes into the room.

“Where ya been?” I ask.

“I think they forgot me,” he says.

He sits down next to my head and we start talking. I can only see his eyes and am having a hard time focusing on what he is saying.

I feel something on my belly. It almost feels like they are drawing pictures on my belly and reminds me of the game that Jake and I play. I’ll “draw” a picture on his back and he’ll guess what it is. Then he takes a turn.

After a while the doc pokes his head over the sheet and asks if we are ready. I said no.

I start singing a tune to help me relax. I’m still shaking. I look up at cool dude who’s standing at my head with his arms crossed. I can only see his eyes, but I can tell he’s smiling. I guess he likes Korn too.

I feel a bit of pressure and then some water. You know how if you step on the side of a kiddie pool the water will rush out? It felt kind of like that, only I was the pool. I feel a tugging sensation. The doc says something . . . I can’t hear over my singing. My husband says “what?”  The doc repeats what he says. I still can’t hear.

“What did he say,” I ask Vince.

“Nothing, honey. He’s just being funny.”

Great - a doc who tells jokes. Just what I need. 

I hear my baby cry. What a great sound! Our baby came into the world at 21:58. A 7 pound, 19.75 inch long bundle of joy.

The doc asks me if I’m sure I want the tubal. “YES!” my husband shouts.

I hear the nurses working with my new little girl. After a few minutes the nurse comes over and shows me my baby. She tells me the genitalia look a bit ambiguous so they are not sure if I have a girl or boy. I look at my beautiful baby and inform her that, if she is a he, we will just call him Victor Andrew instead of Victoria Ann. I’m always ready with a one-liner.

The nurse asks Vince if he wants to go with her to the NICU. He says yes and leaves. A few minutes later the doc peeks his head over and says, “are you sure you want the tubal? I can stop now.”

“Do it,” I say.

After all, I am 37 and we were not planning to have a second child. There was no way I was up for a third.

The doc finishes the tubal and then stitches me closed. This part takes longer than the birth. All of the sudden it’s over and I’m being moved to a hospital bed. I feel fine. I’m awake and am even helping the nurse hold the doors open as they move me to a recovery room.

Vince and I hang out in recovery for a little while. It seems like it’s only a half hour or so. My mom calls and I talk to her for a few minutes. The nurse comes in and I hand the phone to Vince to finish up the conversation. Mom is flying in the next morning.

The pediatrician on call comes into the room to talk to us. He tells us we have a baby girl that may have adrenal hyperplasia. We talk about treatment. He tells us that she will need surgery to build a vaginal opening and to reduce the size of her clitoris. He also tells us that hormone therapy will be needed. We’re not sure what all of this means. We are just taking in the information at this point. We authorize blood work be done to confirm her condition. The doctor tells us he will be in contact with an endocrinologist at Children’s in the morning.

The time comes to move me to the room that will be my home away from home for the next few days. Patti asks if I want to stop by NICU to see my baby before going to my room. I say yes. They wheel me in there – bed and all. The NICU nurse tells me a little about what they are seeing with the genitalia. Basically it appears that she has an enlarged clitoris and no vaginal opening. I ask her to show me. She removes the diaper and starts pointing things out. It definitely looks different that what I expected. My immediate concern is can she pee? As if she hears my question she pees right then. Okay, that’s cool. At least we don’t have that problem.

The NICU nurse asks me if I want the baby in my room. I tell her yes and we agree that she will arrive at 1:00 a.m. Our date being set, I’m taken to my room. I get ice chips on the way. What a glorious treat.