Anaesthetic Consult

Why, oh why, Holly, when you are feeling so stressed for time, do you proceed to post on your blog 3 consecutive days in a row??

Yesterday and today have actually been 10 times better than expected. There have been hiccups, but a super husband has made up for those, and by and large, life is good.

See, we decided last night that we were so stressed that we wouldn't go to last night's class. We'll catch up on the material (still in the review stages anyway) and just relax for the evening. We went to my in-laws for a little birthday celebration, as it was Rob's 21st birthday. It was delicious and fun, and we sat around talking and playing x-box (well, Matt played x-box) until 9, when we came home and I threw in some laundry, read my scriptures (instantaneous stress-reliever! It's amazing.) and I posted, as you probably know.

We were done work by 11am this morning, as the number of orders that could be shipped at the time were rather small (still waiting for the shipment of products to come in), so I re-did the photo assignment that I had *tried* doing yesterday (MUCH better pictures this time around, thanks to the fact that I wasn't trying to take the pictures during a monsoon of sorts!) and ran some errands. Then I had some delicious lasagna-a-la-Trish, who brought it in for the whole crew, and then I headed to my anaesthetic consult.

I know I seem to worry a lot, but I was a little anxious for today. I was trying to find a delicate balance between keeping an open mind and knowing what I wanted before I went to talk about pain-relief. See, I was fully prepared for the doctor I met with (an anaesthesiologist) to be pro-epidural and to be blunt and rude and tell me I'm being narrow-minded when I say I don't want an epi or a spinal, and so on. I've had some snooty doctors in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised with how nice this man was, and how good I felt being there.

So here are some of the things I learned while talking with him:

- epidural or spinal = completely my choice, not going to pressure me one way or the other (blessed man!) I knew it was my choice, but I felt like he'd tell me I'm foolish, or just don't realize what childbirth is really like. Happy day when he didn't, and actually was very empowering.

- demerol or morphene is administered through a needle to my arm or butt (butt please. I'd rather not see it.) and apparently does not constitute a transfer of care from my midwife to a doctor.

- being knocked out with a general anaesthetic for a C-section is just fine, and will not harm the baby. In fact, the baby will only be minimally affected, as they do all the prep-work on me (hanging the screen, prepping tools, etc) before they knock me out. Then the baby is out in about 5 minutes. I'm only knocked out until about 10 minutes after the procedure is done, rather than for hours like I had thought. The baby is cleaned up and brought to the maternity ward/nursery before I regain consciousness. Matthew is not allowed to be in there for a c-section, but can wait just outside the O.R. and go with the baby. I would have to recover in a recovery room for about an hour, and then I'd get wheeled to the maternity ward too for a happy little reunion/meeting the baby for the first time (sortof. I mean, he's here NOW, but not at the same time.)

That's pretty much it. To me, what helped the most was knowing the procedure, and what specifically will happen in the event of a c-section. That was something I was anxious about, because I really can't predict if I'll need one or not. I'm hoping not for obvious reasons, but I know there are times when it's essential, so I wanted to be prepared for that rather than having to take it all in in the midst of pain, high emotions and the like. I think I'll go on a tour of the hospital with Matt too, so that we're familiar with everything. I feel good about that.

Now I feel like I can breathe a little easier! And hopefully sleep easier too. Now I just have to get my glucose screening out of the way, hopefully tomorrow morning, and then I'll be set for the next little while, with all anxious things under my belt!