the Big Day

Lucas Simon Giraldo was born on Tuesday, June 1st 2010 at 2:11pm right on his due date. He weighed 9 lbs even and was 21 inches long. The birth did note quite happen as I imagined, but he was born healthy and that's what's important. My last doctor's appointment before Lucas's due date was on Thursday, May 27th. The week before the ultrasound had estimated the baby to be about 8lbs. With that in mind, I was a little surprised when my final appointment did not include a pelvic exam, ultrasound or even meeting with my doctor! We simply listened to the heart beat and I was asked if I had any questions. I explained that I was concerned about the size of the baby and expected to have an exam and ultrasound done so we could determine if I needed to be induced should baby not make his grand appearance on June 1st. (At that point he was only Baby X as we did not agree on the name Lucas until the day before his birth while we were enjoying a fabulous lunch at a Spanish restaurant with my parents and Andres's mom.) After the ultrasound it was determined that the baby was 9 lbs. Taking into account that an ultrasound can be off by a pound either way would make my baby anywhere between 8 - 10 lbs. at birth. One of the three doctors in the practise met with me and had a serious discussion with me after the ultrasound letting me know about the concerns of shoulder dystocia with large babies advising that I should seriously consider having a Cesarean section. When I asked her directly what she would do in my position, she said that she thought that I could pull off a natural birth giving me the option to be induced on Lucas's due date so that he does not get any bigger than he already is. WIth that said, the doctor told me that she would put in a reservation at Baptist Hospital on June 1st for both a natural birth with induction AND a C-section and that I could call my doctor the next day with my decision. When I spoke with my doctor the next day, Andres and I still had not made up our minds, but wanted to hear what our doctor thought would be the best decision for us. He told us directly how he had just had a baby delivered the week before that was 10 lbs with a shoulder dystocia and additionally the mother had ripped considerably. Andres immediately insisted that a C-section was the best option. I was really upset as this is not a scenario I had invisioned since the baby was not breach and had been facing down for a week or more already. I spoke with my family members and had a long discussion with a good friend of mine that is a doctor. At the end, Andres and I decided that the best decision for our family would be to go ahead an schedule the C-section. After all, if anything at all were to happen to Lucas, I could never live with myself...On the bright side, since we knew when the exact date of the birth would be, we coordinated to not only have Andres's mother at the birth (who was already in town from Colombia) but also my mother and father.

On the morning of June 1st 2010, I woke up at 4 am with the very beginning symptoms of labor. Funny thing that Lucas would have been born on his due date regardless of whether or not a surgery was preformed. What a good boy! This was to be my first time not only staying in a hospital, but having surgery of any kind. Regardless, the only time that I was nervous was when I was being wheeled into the operating room on the gurney. I decided right there and then that it was going to be okay and I wasn't going to panic. It helped that I was allowed to have my Ipod player and had Haydn's Trumpet Concerto playing in the background as Lucas popped out from my belly. As soon as I decided I wasn't going to be nervous, my only other concern was that I was completely numb, which happened minutes after being lifted onto the operating table. I couldn't feel anything from my belly button down. It was an odd feeling indeed! As the surgery was about to begin, Andres entered the room wearing scrubs and a mask. I felt like I was in a scene from "ER". As part of my Birthing Plan, I asked that the screen separating the surgery from my head be lifted as Lucas was emerging from my belly. You can't imagine my surprise when I saw this head full of hair pop out! I could hardly believe that it was my baby..or that it was a baby at all for that matter and not a toddler. After the baby was cleaned and Andres had cut the umbilical cord, they placed the baby next to my head and it seemed so surreal. After the operation I was wheeled to the recovery room and was REALLY anxious to be able to leave so that I could be with my baby. It felt so strange to have just given birth and not be able to be with him. I had also planned on breast feeding right away if it had been a vaginal delivery as I had read that that is best for the baby. They wouldn't let me leave the room until I was able to put my legs upright in a bent position, which took almost an hour. Shortly after that, I was wheeled into my hospital room in the maternity ward where I would remain for the next three nights. The nurse that greeted me in my room told me that it would take about three hours for Lucas to be prepared in the nursery, but my parents that had already been to the nursery to see him said that he already looked ready. When I told the nurse that, she said that she didn't want to bother the nursery as they were very busy. I told her that wasn't acceptable and that someone needed to go check on him right away and bring him to me immediately if he was ready as I didn't want to be apart from him any more time then was necessary. Lucas was put in my arms ten minutes later.