The Birth of a Kai Part 2: The OR

As I mentioned, once you are in the OR, there are things to do.  First, you meet the anesthesiologist.  I really liked mine.  She was very nice and personable.  Anesthesiologists will always try to trick you by asking what you had for breakfast.  The correct answer is nothing, so even if you dove face first into bacon the morning of the surgery...make sure to say "nothing."  (Note:  I did not, unfortunately, dive face first into bacon.  I seriously had nothing.  And I was hangry).  The team set me up to receive my spinal.  First, the numbing medicine goes in and it really does feel like a bee sting.  I know because in August a bee flew up my skirt at Harris Teeter and stung my leg.  For realz.  The difference is with a real bee sting you can do the "ow, I got stung by a bee" dance but with a needle in your spine you can only sit still and pray.  Which makes it a bit more uncomfortable, in my opinion.  After the area is numb, the spinal medication is inserted.  I'm not quite sure how it works, but I think they "thread" the medication in with a really long needle?  I definitely felt like a piece of thread was being put in my back...it just kept going deeper and deeper.  It was the strangest sensation.  I don't remember it from Max.

Here is where this c-section started to surprise me:  with Max I felt numb immediately.  As in, I couldn't even move my legs when I laid back down on the table.  The nurses had to move them for me.  This time, I was able to lay down on my own and wiggle my toes.  The spinal took gradually, which is probably what is supposed to happen.  However, it sort of freaked me out.  What if I felt the surgery?  What if I had to be put under?  Not that I'm dramatic or anything.

Anyways, the anestheiologist was really good about checking my pain tolerance with a pokey thing and within minutes she looked at me and said, "Heather, he's started."  Couldn't feel a thing.  :)  Andres came into the room shortly after that and took his place by my head.  Suddenly, Dr. A said, "Uh-oh, that's not supposed to happen."  I don't know what drugs they were pumping through my IV but hearing those words didn't phase me a single bit.  And, as it turns out, they didn't need to because he was referring to the music.  In triage we had a lengthy discussion about my music preferences which were:  no Britney, no angry music, no Ariana Grande, and no "All About that Bass."  Apparently Britney had come on, but I couldn't even hear the music from my position.

Within minutes everyone in the OR was singing "Ice Ice Baby" and someone told Andres to stand up.  Well, they told him to stand up a bit prematurely as he quickly sat back down and told me that he saw more than he wanted to.  "I just saw your guts," were his exact words, if I'm not mistaken.  Seconds later he was told to stand up again and announced, "it's a boy!" while Vanilla Ice played in the background.  Unlike Max, Kai cried right away and of course, I started crying as well.  "I can't believe we have two boys!"  were my first words.  We had really been expecting a girl.

Kai left to get cleaned up and Andres went with him.  Soon they were back and I confirmed with Andres that Kai was indeed a Kai Lucas.  He was.  :)  The nurses put Kai right near my head and even untied one of my arms so I could stroke his head.  I really appreciated being able to touch him.

After a few minutes, Andres and Kai left to do whatever it is they do to newborn babies in a hospital.  Dr. A finished up the c-section and I became horrifically nauseous and anxious.  I had to have an anti-nausea med put in my IV and I think I also got something for anxiety and pain.  I was definitely starting to feel lots of pressure and it made me nervous that the spinal would wear off before Dr. A was finished.  This is the point where things got all loopy:  all of the meds they gave me made me feel REALLY relaxed and totally out of it.  And rendered me unable to read.  I was looking at the nurses badges, trying to read their names to thank them, and I couldn't do it.  "Wow, I can't read," I thought.  There was some sort of acrostic on the OR wall.  I squinted and tried my hardest, but I totally could not read it!  "Hmmm, I hope I'll be able to read again," I thought.  "Although I know that letter is an S."    Looking back the thoughts I was having are really funny!  I was so calm in my head, despite being illiterate.  Just an "oh, look at that, I can't read.  Ho-hum."  I never mentioned that I couldn't read, I guess the anxiety meds made me so relaxed that I didn't even care!

I may not have cared about my newfound illiteracy, but in the PACU there was something I did care about...passionately and vocally.  

To be continued...