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Carlyn’s birth story

At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31st my water broke.  I didn’t think much of it, I actually thought my bladder was leaking, but after emptying my bladder at 4 p.m. and standing up to more fluid, I was pretty sure my water had broken so I called my doctor.

The doctor instructed us to go to the emergency room, where they would get me registered and send me up to labor and delivery where we would proceed with the c-section which was originally scheduled for August 1st.  Chancellor was just minutes from getting home, and since I had to wait 8 hours from my last meal , we took our time getting to the hospital.

Upon arrival at Providence Southfield, I was promptly admitted and taken to a triage room in the labor and delivery where I waited and waited and waited.  We arrived at about 5 p.m. and since my last meal was 1 p.m. they wanted to wait until 9 p.m. for the surgery.  I was put on an external monitor (for baby’s heartbeat and contractions) and IV, although this was my third child, it was the first time I had experienced anything similar to contractions.  The slow leaking of fluid was quite annoying, but there was nothing we could do.  Every time I got up to use the bathroom I left a trail of fluid.

 
9 p.m. came and went, and at about 9:15 p.m. someone came in and informed us that we would be bumped to 11 p.m. since there was an emergency c-section taking place.  My parents came in to visit while we were waiting, which was really nice to help pass the time.  The anesthesiologist, Dr. D.L., came in for a bit to talk to me about the procedure, followed by my Obstetrician, Dr. Prezzato.

A little after 11 p.m. I was moved to the operating room.  I was introduced to the staff in the room.  Everyone was fantastic.  Nancy was the anesthesiologist’s assistant and was right there to answer all of my questions.  The anesthesiologist, Dr. DL, pressed on my back a few times to find a good place to place the spinal and just the pressure from his finger hurt a little and surprised me.  I completely lost my composure, since this was the one thing I had feared about the surgery.  My Dr. held my shoulder and calmed me down and told the anesthesiologist I would be okay.  I was shaking and I really didn’t settle down until after I got the shot, which wasn’t even that bad this time.  I started to become numb and the surgery started.  I had asked for a mirror so that I could see Carlyn being born, which was provided.  Watching the operation was the most interesting experience.

Carlyn was born at 11:45 p.m.  It was neat to see her being born.  She expelled the fluid from her lungs and began crying loudly straight away and didn’t stop.  Carlyn was 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 inches long.  My husband, Chancellor, got to hold her after a few minutes and I cuddled, touched and kissed her as much as I could.  The anesthesiologist’s assistant, Nancy, was fantastic.  After Carlyn was born she asked if she could take a few photographs for us.  Simply amazing!!!

I was stitched up and stapled with no issues and sent off to recovery with Jill, my nurse, who was very attentive, caring and had a great personality.  Carlyn and I got some time to bond while she nursed for the first time.  It was great to cuddle with her during the recovery.  Just 3 years ago when I had Rosa, that did not happen.

After recovery, I was moved to my room.  The rooms at Providence are private, which was very nice and they have a rooming in policy, so Carlyn spent all of her time in my room except for a short time when they did newborn testing and gave her an immunization.

My daytime nurse, Tonisha, was fantastic.  I was really worried that I would have to push to get up and moving and discharged, but she was very happy to help me get moving around, get my catheter and IV out and I happily took a shower on Wednesday.

That evening I was able to get plenty of sleep, however, despite the fact that I told my pm nurse I wanted to keep ahead of my pain by taking the meds on schedule, she neglected to wake me, and when I woke in the morning I was in a tremendous amount of pain and tears welled up in my eyes as I hobbled to the bathroom. It took a couple of hours for the meds to kick in, and by lunch I was feeling much better.  I was discharged after dinner.

After discharge I went back to get my staples out.  My blood pressure was running rather high, and I was still retaining a ton of water weight.  Dr. Prezzato told me to monitor my blood pressure twice daily and give him a call on Friday to talk about the results.  My blood pressure and weight slowly went down over the week, I’m thrilled to report that I am below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I need to keep an eye on my blood pressure.

Carlyn is doing really well.  She is gaining weight, feeding well and sleeps a ton.  We all love her so much  and she is getting a ton of hugs, kisses and cuddles. Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

If you are looking for an obstetrician, I highly recommend Dr. Joseph Prezzato.  My overall experience with him and the ladies in his office was fantastic.  Everyone was so helpful, kind, caring and cheery.

Looking for a hospital to deliver?  I was very happy with Providence Southfield.  You might also consider the Alternative Birthing Center within their facility that allows for a natural birth with minimum medical intervention and maximum family involvement.

Amber Louchart
Author: Amber Louchart

Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment.  She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.