Mein Baby ist hier!

Hello all,

No doubt you guys have been wondering why I’ve disappeared for so long. Well, baby is out! His birth was scheduled for 20th Feb but my little one came out a month early on 23rd Jan. And… his name is, coincidentally, Jan.

My mother flew over to help out for a month and things have been a crazy mess. We thought we still had time to prepare so quite a few things had to be rushed. Here’s the story, if you’d like to read it…

My water broke at 0430hrs on 22nd Jan. I was in denial at first because it was way to early, wasn’t it? Further internet searches on how to recognise water breaking confirmed that I was indeed leaking the real stuff and not pee. Google also showed me forum posts of women whose waters had broken but were sent home to await a better time (like weeks later) to give birth so I assumed my case would be much the same. I showered, tried to nap, then woke my husband up for a second opinion. I finally called the hospital about an hour later and the nurse on duty said, “You go here, Klinik, now, ok?”

Well, ok. I got dressed in warm clothing and grabbed whatever I thought I needed. The hospital admittance forms had only arrived in the mail hours ago so I barely had any time to bumble through it with my terrible German. We were in too much of a panic to remember how to call for a taxi. We headed downstairs to see if any taxis happened to be driving by. Nope. Maybe the main road will have one? My husband and I walked slowly through the snow and lo and behold! The buses were running! Yes, I took a bus to the hospital. Public transport is great in Zurich. The pad couldn’t hold all the water from the journey to the hospital so when I got off the bus, my pants were wet and my butt was freezing as I walked to the hospital.

When we got to the Privatklinik, we were led to the birth room where the nurse checked my condition, hooked me up to antibiotics and asked for my spottily-filled-in paperwork. She asked us to wait, then disappeared for a while. I lay there, still half-expecting to be sent home after the checks. Nope. When the nurse appeared again, we were led to my room to be warded and begin THE WAIT.

Breakfast was served shortly on fine china. This place had great food! I chose what I wanted from a menu and the waitress brought it straight to my room from the restaurant downstairs. I lay in bed for a bit browsing TV channels, then it was lunch time. After lunch, we decided to get out of the room and explore our surroundings. I felt some squeezes but they weren’t bad. Initial contractions felt like mild stomach pains… which gradually got worse… and worse. Dinner rolled around and I could still eat, but the pains were getting more intense and moving lower down. It finally got to the point where it felt like my pelvic bones were being crushed slowly.

At about 0400hrs, I threw in the towel. I’d been getting by on willpower alone. No painkillers till that point. I buzzed for the midwife/nurse on duty and asked for an epidural and this was what she said… “Oh, but you do so good! Breathe! Breathe! Sehr gut!” and went off. I swear if I had the strength I’d kick her in the face. I buzzed and got her again. This time, she offered to bring a heat pack to help soothe the pain. Yeah, right. Like a heat pack would make a difference. I buzzed a third time and that woman came AGAIN. I made sure to yell extra loud and be all ARGH IT HURTS and she went off, still saying I’m doing a good job and can get through it with no epidural. According to my husband’s timing, the contractions were lasting about 90 seconds, with a 5 to 6 minute break in between and I could feel my temperature spiking at the peak of the contractions. I sipped some warm cocoa between the contractions to keep myself hydrated and have some sugar/energy boost. I buzzed for a midwife/nurse one more time and a different one finally breezed into the room. You want an epidural? Of course, come with me!

So I walked to the birthing room. Yes, I walked. It wasn’t far but I was seeing double by the time I got to the right doorway. I had another form to sign, then the anaesthetist came in and performed the procedure. The pain was gone at last, but I could still feel the pressure. 10 mins later, everything under my ribcage area was numb. My obstetrician came soon after and presented me with upsetting news. According to the partogram, my baby was not very active and might not be able to wiggle out on his own. I would have to go for an emergency C-section. At the words “emergency C-section”, my fingers started trembling. I recalled that my sister had an emergency C-section months earlier. She did not react well to the drugs/procedure and her intestines shut down. She lived, of course, but her complexion matched the white hospital sheets for a week. I asked for some more time to coax my baby into activity. The doctor agreed and I had half an hour to get my little one moving. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t active enough. My little boy was just too tired. The surgical gurney was rolled in and I was whisked off to the operation room. My trembling got worse and worse. I was speaking calmly but my body was shaking from the waist up. Waist down was all numb. My husband held my right hand and the anaesthetist held my left hand. She talked to me throughout the surgery to keep me occupied and maybe to calm me down. I couldn’t see because the doctors had a sheet pulled up and blocking my view but I could feel the pressure of their cutting and pulling. I made sure to ask my husband to take pictures of my operation.

Then, I heard my son cry for the first time. He has such strong lungs! My husband let go of my hand and went to cut the umbilical cord before the paediatrician did the standard checks. The doctors stitched me back up and stapled my skin together before slapping a huge plaster over the incision. Real metal staples. Plus, the incision was about 15cm long. I held my baby boy in my arms for about 30 seconds before he was brought to the baby room to be cleaned and put into clothes. I was then brought back to my room where my baby and husband were waiting for me. My trembling went away right after the surgery was done. No more panic. My baby was fine.

 

What came next was settling into new routines and figuring out how to handle a little human. I’ll try to update chapters when I can but for now, Jan is my number one priority.