MyMaine Birth

111. MyMaine Birth: JulieAnne returns to share her second birth story, a Journey Through Surprise C-Section

• Angela Laferriere • Season 3 • Episode 111

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Are you a soon to be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth?  You’re in the right place! 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Cesarean birth at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor,  Maine
  • Navigating pregnancy care when your hospital of choice closes
  • Obstetric Care in Maine 
  • ….and a whole lot more!

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Julie-Anne:

So I get in there and she starts ultrasounding me. She goes, oh well, she's turned. And I'm like, oh good, the right way. And she goes. Well, you know, I'll just do a few more things, let's check her breathing. And then she's like I don't like her heart rate it's a little bit high. She's like I'm going to go check on something. She's like I'll be right back and I'm just like, okay. Then she's gone for like five or six minutes and then she comes back in. She's like alright, so I talked to everybody from Portland and from downstairs. She's like I'm going to check the heart rate a few more times. And I was like, okay. So she goes and has me move around a little bit and she's like, yeah, the heart rate's all fine. She's like however, she's turned all the way upside down and is now breech, going to come out with her feet. So your head's also like she stood up, so like her head's in your heart. So we're going to have you go downstairs. I was like OK.

Julie-Anne:

Then I had to go downstairs to OB and be like hey, they just want me to come downstairs. So like, oh yeah, they move a whole bunch of people around in the computer, like you can see her dragging things around, but I can't see it. But like she's moving everything and she puts me right in, has me sign something and has me go sit in the waiting room. And then I'm there and I took a nap, I think, for like 30 minutes or so, and then I get in a room and then I've been there for like another 30 minutes and I'm like starting to mildly panic now, yeah. And then panic now yeah.

Julie-Anne:

And then the doctor comes in and goes all right, did you call everybody? And I was like no, I don't know what's happening. And she's like oh well, we got you in the system, you're going to be having your baby today in c-section. And I was like, oh, she's like yeah, you should call everybody and I'm just sitting there going, okay. She's like did anyone tell you? And I was like no, you just did, I haven't seen anybody yet. And she's like oh well, we tell you. And I was like no, you just did, I haven't seen anybody yet. And she's like oh well, we're having a baby today, so I've got all the paperwork in. She's like we're going to take you right over to the hospital side of it. She's like get you all checked in. She's like you should call everybody because you're going to have this baby in a couple hours.

Angela:

I'm Angela and your host here on the my Maine Birth podcast. This is a space where we share the real-life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine, from our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births. Every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated. Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you. Welcome back. You are listening to episode 111.

Angela:

Today's birth story guest is Julianne. Julianne shared her first birth story in episode 102 of the podcast, so go check that out to hear the first part of her story. In addition to sharing all about her first birth story back in episode 102, julianne also shares with us a little bit about her current pregnancy journey and the struggle of finding out that the hospital that you're planning on birthing at is about to close before your due date and the challenge of navigating new care in that situation. And today she's here to share the full story of her second pregnancy and birth. All right, hey, julianne, welcome to my Main Birth, hello. So for anyone that hasn't heard your first birth story back in episode 102, would you start by sharing a little bit about you and your family?

Julie-Anne:

So I have a four and a half year old son. We actually have our pre-k not pre-k our kindergarten screening tomorrow, so not ready for it. And then I just have my daughter, and she's five and a half weeks. We're almost to six weeks, so. And then we have my husband just the four of us, and we're all done having kids.

Angela:

Since I'm older-ish, so if anyone wants to hear your first birth story, you can check out episode 102. And now to get into the birth story of your daughter, would you start by telling a little bit about how you found out you were pregnant and what your thoughts were in choosing your care the second time around?

Julie-Anne:

We'd been trying for two years. Apparently, it takes us two years to get pregnant with the other kid. So like we were super excited and really surprised because we were about to give up again and we'd been going to. Well, I had been going to Waterville for all of my pre-pregnancy care and they were going to have me do all of my pregnancy care there. But I go to Bangor three times a week because I live in Newport. So I was like you know, I'd rather do my care in Bangor.

Julie-Anne:

So for the first three months we played back and forth with Bangor and Waterville over who was going to do my care. And finally Bangor just said you know, we don't have enough doctors, you're going to have to do it at Waterville. I was like, fine, I would have liked an answer, you know like, rather than go back and forth for three months. Like that was not cool. And then we were doing our care in Waterville but I was so high risk because I had diabetes well, gestational diabetes and then I'm older-ish, because 35 is apparently very old and I'm overweight. So they were like, yeah, you're super high risk, you're going to have to bounce between us and Portland. So I got to go bounce between Portland and Waterville and I was like this is why Bangor would have been so much easier.

Julie-Anne:

And then of course everyone knows that Inland was shut down in let's see month seven and a half of my pregnancy and then of course they were like you can pick Bangor or Portland and I was like I'm picking Bangor. So luckily Bangor got me in, so I had the most amazing doctor in Bangor and it was. I loved her a lot and had really great care with her. Of course it didn't last long because my babies like to come early.

Angela:

Yeah, you were saying so. Who did you connect with in Bangor? Do you mind sharing?

Julie-Anne:

Um, I am going to butcher her name, paula Reginald, with them hyphenated. She's a little tiny Italian lady and she's adorable.

Angela:

She did an amazing job, awesome, yeah, so that kind of picks. It brings us back to where we left off the last time we had talked, which was, I think, when you're like 35 weeks, like just when you were switched, had switched to Bangor. Yeah. So how did things look once you switched? What's your appointments like?

Julie-Anne:

Great Bangor's ultrasounds were like way superior to Waterville's, which was awesome, and even for, to some degree, portland.

Julie-Anne:

But Portland's ultrasounds were very specific ones when I went down, so I didn't get to see everything, but the Bangor ones were really cool. The only thing I did not like about Bangor and I didn't get to see everything, but the Bangor ones were really cool. The only thing I did not like about Bangor and I didn't know before I switched to Bangor is they do not allow children. So I had to find a babysitter every single time I went to an appointment. So then it didn't even matter if we went to Bangor for Evan's appointments, because I still had to find a babysitter because he couldn't go with me, whereas I was taking him and whatever children I was babysitting at that time to all of my appointments in Waterville and Portland. So like Evan got to go to every single ultrasound up until 35 weeks and then he was very mad that he didn't get to see his sister anymore because he'd been watching her this entire time and talking to all the nurses and doctors about her.

Angela:

He was very mad that he had to sit in the car with whichever babysitter I had to have for him and the kids in the car for my appointments. So that's really hard. So was it just with the ultrasound appointments?

Julie-Anne:

or was he not allowed in any of the appointments, just the ultrasound appointments? Like they wouldn't even let you into the waiting room if you had kids, like they didn't leave in at all? Um, he could go to the appointments, but they really only wanted one kid with you and I always have more than one kid. So slightly frustrating, but luckily, you know, it was only for a couple weeks because she decided to be stubborn oh yeah, how.

Angela:

So how did that go? What were, like those kind of final weeks looking like leading up to when your labor started?

Julie-Anne:

so she'd been head down the entire pregnancy like really far down. Like every time I went to my ultrasound appointments, all the ultrasound tech people would be like, yeah, her head's really far down, it's looking really great. And then I'd go downstairs and they would check me and to be like, oh, her head's not that far down, but her head's like right there. And I was like, yeah, I can feel it. You know, her feet are kicking my ribs. Well, um, for we tried to get her to come at week 36 but she was not having it. It didn't. The texas roadhouse trick didn't work. This time she's very stubborn, but she was still head down. And then for saint patrick Day weekend I finally had cake, because my dad's a baker and we had like so much food for St Patrick's Day and he made this amazing cake. And of course you know I ate the cake and it was a lot of sugar but I compensated for it for my insulin, for eating it and it was fine. I didn't go over my sugars but I had cake. Well, apparently she must have got too excited because it was week 37 and a half and she turned. They're not supposed to turn past 36 weeks, but she turned, she went transverse. Her head was up by my lungs and her feet were down by whatever is down on the left part of my lower stomach and she was just hanging out there. So the the ultrasound tech was like, oh well, that's not normal. I was like all right, so we go downstairs and talk to the ob and she's like, yeah, normally they don't turn past 38 weeks, so they don't have enough fluid or room. And she's like you have plenty of fluid. So I guess she decided to turn them. I had cake this weekend and she must have got too excited. So they were like lie on your side, sleep. This position only do all these things to get her to turn back. You know, try having cake again. So of course I did that and tried to get her to turn. And she's not having it at all. So we were like okay, and then th 38 weeks on the dot.

Julie-Anne:

I go in for my ultrasound after Evan's speech appointment and I'm in there at 11 and luckily that was the one and only time I did not have kids in the car with me. Um, evan, I can't remember. You know he had school. I had driven him home from speech to drop him off at his grandparents house so they could take him to school, because my ultrasound appointment was when he was supposed to be at school. So I had to drive all the way back from Bangor and drop him off, to drive all the way back to Bangor for my ultrasound appointment.

Julie-Anne:

So I get in there and she starts ultrasounding me. She goes oh well, she well, she's turned. And I'm like, oh good, the right way. And she goes well, you know, I'll just do a few more things. Let's check her breathing. And then she's like I don't like her heart rate. It's a little bit high. She's like I'm going to go check on something. She's like I'll be right back and I'm just like okay, okay. Then she's gone for like five or six minutes and then she comes back in. She's like alright.

Julie-Anne:

So I talked to everybody from Portland and from downstairs. She's like I'm gonna check the heart rate a few more times. And I was like okay, so she goes and has me move around a little bit and she's like yeah, the heart rate's all fine. She's like, however, she's turned all the way upside down and is now breech gonna come out with her feet. She's like her head's also like she stood up, so like her head's in your heart, so we're gonna have you go downstairs. I was like, okay. Then I had to go downstairs to ob and be like, hey, they just want me to come downstairs. So like, oh yeah, they move a whole bunch of people around in the computer, like you can see her dragging things around but I can't see it, but like she's moving everything and she puts me right in, has me sign something and has me go sit in the waiting room. And then I'm there and I took a nap, I think for like 30 minutes or so, and then I get in a room and then I'm in there for like another 30 minutes and I'm like starting to mildly panic now, yep.

Julie-Anne:

And then the doctor comes in and goes all right, did you call everybody? And I was like no, I don't know what's happening. And she's like oh well, we got you in the system. You're going to be having your baby today in C-section. And I was like, oh, she's like, yeah, you should call everybody. And I'm just sitting there going, oh, ok. She's like did anyone tell you? Okay? She's like did anyone tell you? And I was like, no, you just did. I haven't seen anybody yet. And she's like oh well, we're having a baby today, so I've got all the paperwork in. She's like we're going to take you right over to the hospital side of it. She's like get you all checked in. She's like you should call everybody because you're going to have this baby in a couple hours. And I'm just like stood up in there and she's like and now your fluid's disappearing, so baby must be in some distress, because the baby controls the amount of fluid, so I guess she had enough fluid to turn around, but now she doesn't have enough fluid to turn back around, so like she's stuck there. So I was like great. So then of course, you know I start crying and bawling. And she left me there while she called like so I can call everybody, and then she sends me to the hospital.

Julie-Anne:

I have to like wander into the hospital and be like I'm supposed to be in labor and delivery. And then they register me and then they dragged me upstairs and I had to call my dad because I needed someone to work for me and he had to work for me. And then I had to call somebody to get my son from school. And then I'm also calling my husband because he doesn't drive, so he has to find a ride to get to me. And I'm also calling my husband because he doesn't drive, so he has to find a ride to get to me. And I'm like, doing all of that while I'm sitting there trying to process the fact that I'm now having a C-section and it's not what I wanted, and ew, I don't do needles, I don't like needles and I didn't want it. Bet she wouldn't turn around. So then I get up there and I get into the room and I get all stripped down into the hospital gowns and everything. And of course my dad thinks of everything. So he had called my sister who works in Bangor. So she appeared because he said I needed someone to be there with me until my husband got there, because I wasn't processing anything.

Julie-Anne:

So I think I was in the hospital room like maybe five, six minutes before she showed up. She's like are you OK? And I was like I'm. So they got me all but the IV and the really nice nurse. Um, because I told her I had the last one I had was in my hand and I didn't like it. And she's like yeah, why would you put it in your hand? I'm like I don't know. But she did and she's like must have been a newbie. And she puts it way up in my arm, above my elbow, and she's like that's the best place to have it so you can still do everything and it's not going to hurt your hand with your delicate little veins you have down on the hands. And I was like cool, so that was actually. I like that part and I didn't feel the needle near as much as I did when it was in my hand. But then, but then again, I didn't move as much this time Cause I got to move the whole time. I had my son because I did it naturally.

Julie-Anne:

And then of course they have the anesthesiologist come in and they're talking all of the needles, all of the possible ways to have her like do I want the epidural, do I want the spinal? Of course I said which? Everyone has the smallest needle, and they were like the spinal and I was like we're doing that one, everyone has the smallest needle. And they were like the spinal and I was like we're doing that one and they were like yeah, you know, if you had done the epidural, she's like if something went wrong, the next one would be a spinal, so you'd have to have another needle in your spine and I was like no, I want the smallest needle, like don't, no. And then like the other option is to putting you to sleep. But that's a last resort, because they want moms to be able to see their babies when they have them. They don't like them to be asleep, because it's a bonding thing. If you don't want your baby to come out, did you really have her?

Julie-Anne:

So all that talk, and then, of course, my husband shows up and my sister stayed for a little while while he processed everything too, and then they were discussing all of this and we were getting ready to head in in a couple hours. They had to wait a tiny bit because I didn't think I was having the baby. So you know, I had breakfast and they were like when did you eat last? I was like around eight and they're like five o'clock is gonna be when you have it. Then, because you had food and I was like it wasn't a lot of food, it's a little bit of food. They're like, still, you had food and I was like, well, of course I didn't know I was gonna be having a baby. So that happened, and then we got bumped like an hour because someone started to have twins so of course they get to go first. So we had to wait a little bit longer.

Julie-Anne:

And then of course that process, the shift change from five. So all the anesthesiologists and people we had already met to talk to everybody, all the new ones came in to go over everything again to make sure that we knew, because it was a shift change. And I was like stop telling me and just do it. And then they called the outfit. My husband had to put on for the surgery a bunny suit, and they walked him how to put it on and he botched the first one. It was hilarious, he, because you put it on and he botched the first one. It was hilarious, he, because you put it on like a onesie, like a toddler onesie, but he wasn't thought processing because it's been five years since we put our son in onesies. Like that, it's a onesie. So like you ripped the first one and I laughed so hard. It was hilarious.

Julie-Anne:

And my doctor came in because she really didn't want to give me a C-section. She wanted the baby to turn. So right before we went into the ultrasound she came. Right before we went into the surgery she came in to do another ultrasound on me in the hopes that, you know, the baby had turned enough that she could do the maneuver where they push your tummy and force the baby to turn, where they push your tummy and force the baby to turn. She was hoping she would turn enough that she could do that and finish her turning so that we could just induce me super quick and have the baby naturally.

Julie-Anne:

But she went to go do the ultrasound and, if anything, she crawled up a little bit higher into my rib cage and lungs. So she's like are you having trouble breathing? And I was like I don't think so, but I'm like mildly panicking. I was like I don't think so, but I'm like mildly panicking. So like I don't know. And she's like oh, she's a little bit higher up there. And I was like so.

Julie-Anne:

So I laughed hysterically while my husband ripped the first bunny suit and they had to have the nurse come in and like show him how to get in it and put it on properly and everything. It was hilarious. I laughed so hard. It was really funny because my whole belly was like shaking. It was really funny. My husband's like what she's gonna turn? I'm like don't say that they already did the ultrasound. They're gonna make me do this, and then the twin lady had delivered really quickly, I guess. Because they come in and all of a sudden they're like we're going, and it was like six o'clock, it wasn't the seven they had said it was gonna be.

Julie-Anne:

So like we go in and they have my husband sitting a chair outside the room while they do the spinal needle and all of that stuff. So I'm in there by myself in a completely sterile arm with like 15 people milling around me, and then the anesthesiologist is like telling me how to do my posture to stab my spine with the needle. He's like you're going to have horrible posture for a minute. I'm like what are you talking about? He's like you're going to make a C with your spine and like curl into a ball. And he's like do it like this. And I was like all right, so I did it. He's like that. He's like all right, that's perfect. He's like now that's what I want you to do when I'm going to do the spine, I'll tap. And I was like okay.

Julie-Anne:

He's like it's going to hurt a little bit. I'm like really Okay. And then, of course, he doesn't warn me. He's like all right, and I'm just going to start numbing your back. Holy cow, those four little needles that they used to numb your back, that hurt so much.

Julie-Anne:

I was unprepared for that and I was like, oh my God, he's like you're doing great, you're doing great. I'm like I don't feel like I'm doing great. He's like you're fine and I'm like okay, he's like all right, now you're going to do the imperfect thing, like crunch right over, crunch right over, bend right over. I'm like all right. So I start bending over and like you can, it's numb, it's supposed to be numb, like it slightly feels numb, but like you still feel the whole needle going in you and I'm like I wanted to cry. It hurts so bad. And then the nurse is like here, hold me, and I was like, yeah, okay, I would really like to be holding my husband, but sterile environment, so he's still outside. It was like the worst thing ever. And then, of course, you feel weird and lightheaded and like warm feeling, like you're peeing yourself, but you're not. It's weird. And then they have you lie down and they strap your arms down on the table and like a weird so like you're a tee, it was weird. And they get the whole curtain up and everything and I'm just like not ready. And then they ask you if you're not like a nauseous and I was like I really am. So he's like all right, I got you and they did whatever they gave me to make me not nauseous and I was like, okay, I'm good now they're like all right.

Julie-Anne:

And then they have my husband come in because they're all ready and my ob was hilarious. She was so short, she had to have a little stool to stand on because she's on one side and the other OB for backups on the other side. And it was funny because she needed a stool and she asked if I was ready to do this and I was like yep, and they had to wait for the five or six minutes for the spinal to completely work, so I couldn't feel like everything. And then they give you the catheter, so Nate's sitting next to me and they're like you can look or not look, and he's like I'm not looking. I was like I don't want to look either. I mean, I probably would if it was somebody else. I watch enough medical shows. But he was like nope, and I'm like I don't want to either. Nope, and I'm like I don't want to either. So they said we're ready to go and I was like sure, and then they just started doing all that and I think it took about like five minutes to get through all the layers and like this was the weirdly gnarly part, because she was so high up. It was weird.

Julie-Anne:

The other ob was a male and he was really really tall and he, like my ob, asks him if he's ready and he goes yep, and she gets her hand down by the incision and the guy puts his arms up like this, like all the way up to his shoulders, and he's holding them like this and he's like are you ready? She's like yeah, he's like here. And he pushes down as hard as he can with his full body weight on the upper part of my stomach, where the like my chest and, uh, chest area was, and he pushed down there with a big full body weight and all I feel is the pressure of his entire body like crushing me and her hand goes in and like rips the baby out when he pushes down the heart and all you hear is my daughter crying and screaming, because babies cry. But like I felt like one of the cows sat on me, because I grew up on a farm and like sometimes they'll step on you or like sit on you and like that's what that felt like, like he just pushed so hard and like she pulled her right out. And then they're screaming and they're taking her over to the table and they're all like watch, like five of them went with her to go check her at the table. And then I'm like poke. Well, I want to say I'm poking my husband, but I can't do anything because my arms are striped down. So I'm like go with her, go with her, go with her.

Julie-Anne:

So my husband leaves me to go walk across the room to go to Ravenna and, um, he comes back and his face is as white as a sheet and he goes I shouldn't have looked, but I looked, I looked and I shouldn't have looked. He's like that was. I looked and I was like I'm sorry. So he brings my daughter back to me, but I don't have any arms so I can't hold her. So I was like, well, put her on my chest so I can do the skin-to-skin thing, and then he moves her around so that she can start nursing. And she actually started nursing right away. They unstrapped my arms so I could kind of hold her but everything feels weird. So I'm kind of holding her on my chest and I'm tilted and I'm kind of holding her but my husband's also helping hold her and she latched on and was nursing. I moved my arm so that I could hold her and I was kind of going like it was pushing on the curtain.

Julie-Anne:

So my doctor was starting to get ready to stitch me up and she's like what, what is this? And I'm like I think that's my elbow. She's like why is your elbow there? And I'm like I'm holding her on, she's nursing and then my little ob peeks over the counter, not the counter, the curtain was like oh, look at her, she's extra dawn, she's such a good girl. She's like way to go. And I was like yay. And she's like all right, we're're going to get ready to stitch you back up. She's like you're going to feel weird pressure, but it's OK.

Julie-Anne:

And I was like all right, and the, the operating table, the T that they strap you to, they had like turned it, so like I wasn't even level anymore, I was like sideways towards her and then I was also put down a little, so like another reason my husband was helping hold her on was because I my head was down closer to the ground, so he's like keeping her on my chest because it was weirdly tilted. But then they started to like sew me back up. And it was weird because they were counting all the lap pads and like all the stuff they use between each layer and I was thinking like half the time like I've watched enough doctor shows that I don't feel like they should have used that many lap pads when they're counting them out to each other and I'm just like how much bleeding did I bleed? But then they stitched me back up and it was weird because as they were doing it, they were turning the table towards the OB, so like she can make sure that everything was like super tight and whatever. And it didn't feel like it took very long at all, like maybe a half hour.

Julie-Anne:

I was in the operating room, um, from start to finish it was very quick. And when the doctor I almost forgot this part when the doctor cut me open and went to go like make sure she could see the baby before she pulled her out. Apparently, all my laughing when my husband ripped the bunny suit had made her turn a tiny bit, but it was enough that the doctor felt like she could have forced her to keep moving and she was so mad about it that the baby decided to move at the last minute. But she was up so far by my heart that they really didn't want her to keep messing with that either. But all in all she came out and she was perfect. There was nothing wrong with her. When she came out she was actually quite bigger than my son by a whole pound, so that was cool.

Julie-Anne:

The one thing I didn't like is that the spinal made her very tired. So, like for the first two weeks, she was very sleepy baby. She still is quite actually a sleepy baby, but I don't have to work as hard to wake her up for feeding anymore. But then we went back to the room and we decided to only stay for one night. Well, technically it was two nights because we had her at seven o'clock at night, but like I count that as a day, we were only there for two nights and a half, so it wasn't that long and they were all like you can stay for another night I was like I have a toddler at home and I was like I do not want to stay. The first night I didn't have any orange juice and the second night, second day, I had like a whole bunch of orange juice and we couldn't figure out why she was having hard primes and I was like I had orange juice but I didn't have orange juice the first night. So we found out very quickly I cannot have orange juice. So that was interesting.

Julie-Anne:

But they did a very good job with all of the checking on her and I. For the first 24 hours they apparently they do it with some c-sections and some ob's don't. They put the giant bandages over my c-section so like I wasn't gonna shower at the hospital because I didn't with my son, because I like to do the whole bonding scent thing from the first week or so for the baby and the mom. But, um, after 24 hours apparently they want to take those bandages off over the c-section scar and I was like all right, and they're looking at me and the nurse was like you're gonna want to shower and soak those as much as possible before we rip them off and I was like what? Which is why some doctors don't do it because you take them off within 24 hours anyway. So, like, why bother?

Julie-Anne:

So they kept it sterile for the first 24 hours and then we had to go rip those bandages off, which still really hurt after. I showered for 40 minutes with the water just directly on the bandages, because their shower in the aftercare room had one of the nozzles that comes down, so like I just held it on the bandages in the hopes that it would peel off, but it still hurt and then I couldn't see where it was over the scar. So I didn't want to do it and like have a rip the stitches because I didn't know. There was a clear gauze down there over the scar and part of it, so I had to have a nurse help me do it and it was horrible.

Julie-Anne:

But we also we just stayed for the little bit now. So I'm kind of glad we left when we did, because the I loved the nurses up until the last rotation right before we left, and I was kind of glad we were leaving because I didn't like that shift. And then they kept asking if I wanted her to go to the nursery and I was like, no, I do not. And then the next shift in the morning was like it's a good thing you didn't. They had 15 babies overnight in the nursery with the one poor nurse watching them, and I was like, yeah, no she's not leaving.

Angela:

Wow, fifteen babies with one nurse.

Julie-Anne:

Yeah, but I had very good care.

Angela:

It was just very fast and overwhelming. Yeah, and that's really interesting that when your doctor went in to do the C-section she commented on how your daughter was starting to turn a little bit. Were you having any other issues come up that afternoon at your appointment?

Julie-Anne:

My heart rate was like a little bit fast but I was also like mildly panicking. But I guess they were also worried more about how much fluid she was losing because she was in control of the fluid, which means the placenta wasn't working. There's also a lot more of like what if she could change that much to move when she's not supposed to be able to move at all? What is she gonna do to me and her if she doesn't get out now, if she loses more fluid? Plus, they also could not find a reason where in the placenta or the cord that she would have lost that much fluid between Monday and Thursday but also still be moving. So that was very interesting. She was either hiding it or just not doing what she needed to be doing. They said her heart rate was like OK, but it kept going up and going down and they didn't like that. It's such a mystery. Yes, yes it is.

Julie-Anne:

I mean, they can tell a lot, like their ultrasounds are way better than Waterville's, but like they also can't hundred percent know why the baby is doing that or doing this, or why the baby feels that way at all.

Angela:

So how has your postpartum been going?

Julie-Anne:

Really good. She had me do a five week checkup instead of a six week checkup and apparently I heal very fast because she said, oh my God, your incision is almost gone and I was like cool, but my husband also has made sure that I not have to do anything. I was told I couldn't lift more than her. So I couldn't lift over a gallon of milk this last six weeks.

Julie-Anne:

I may have done it a few times because I picked up my son, who's like almost 40 pounds, every once in a while without thinking of course it's so hard not to do that, just instinctually right right, yeah, um, but he made sure that I followed the doctor's instructions, like the no driving thing up to six weeks, but like she's like the minimum you can start driving is three weeks, and I was like, oh my god, I made it three weeks, but like being sick at home was not cool and I'm like why can't I drive? And course you forget how many muscles in your abdomen are related to your foot, and like breaking times and whatnot. So like that makes sense. That's very annoying. Walking was hard. We went for a few walks, but I'm great for like the first half of the walk, and then you're like, oh, there are a lot of tummy muscles involved in walking. Like I just want to go sit down, but I didn. Then you're like, oh, there are a lot of tummy muscles involved. You're walking like I just want to go sit down, but didn't do that very often. But, yeah, coughing, though, or blowing your nose or anything like no, laughing hurt a lot. So like you forget about all the things that involve your tummy muscles until you can't do a single thing with them. Like I had to sneeze and I thought I was gonna die and all you could do is like they're just like hold a pillow to your stomach if you, until you can't do a single thing with them. Like I had to sneeze and I thought I was going to die and all you could do is like they're just like hold a pillow to your stomach if you have to sneeze, cough or blow your nose, and I'm like, well, if I'm blowing my nose, I'm using two hands, and they're like have someone else hold the pillow to your stomach and I'm just like, cool, don't always have a person with me.

Julie-Anne:

And then, of course, the hospital made because we checked out sooner than they would have wanted, but they said we could go home. They made us come back like the next two days to do weight checks for her and she didn't gain weight as fast as they wanted her to and they were trying to get me to supplement with formula and I was like I don't want to, but she's a very sleepy baby, so we're having a hard time nursing because I have to wake her up. So then they gave me all the tips and tricks for like forcing her to wake up by blowing on her nose, blowing on her face, changing her, playing with her ears, things like that. So I was different, because my son never had that problem. But apparently c-section babies because they don't get like straightened out in the birth canal when they come out are very gassy and colicky and all that like she had so much gas and burping. Like I've never had to burp my son, so I'm very rusty on burping colicky babies. So that was interesting.

Julie-Anne:

We've had taken her to the chiropractor. She went when she was four weeks old, so now she's less gassy and burpy, which is good, but it took a few days, but it she's a lot less than she, less air trapped than she had been having. We'll probably go again in a month or so but that helped a lot because oh, she'd be fine. Then all of a sudden she'd be like farting, all of this like she just screamed because she had so much air trapped and you're trying all the different ways to try to get out and it was like I'm so sorry, I can't help you. That was rough but it hasn't been bad at all, excited to go back to work. I have one more week and then I can go back to work Because I could technically be working. But I do packages every few days or so and those are not less than eight pounds.

Angela:

So I'm not going back yet.

Julie-Anne:

So how are you sitting with the way that all of this happened? Luckily there are no complications for me. I got to do both sides of it. I would definitely do an unmedicated vaginal birth, again over a C-section. I feel like the recovery was much faster, but like they're not slicing through the seven layers of your skin either and, lord, I think I stopped bleeding way sooner with having my son vaginally than I did with the c-section because like your body doesn't know if you've had them or not, so they just keep bleeding.

Julie-Anne:

And my friend was like you had a c-section. Why are you still bleeding? And I'm like because like I had the whole dilation, like my body was ready to have her naturally, and then it doesn't and then, even though they took her out, there's still like all the blood and stuff in there of like shedding and everything. So like I'm still bleeding because of all that like and it kept going and I'd be done for a day and I'd be like, yeah, and then it'd start up the next day. It's like I think it's finally stopped.

Julie-Anne:

But it took almost five weeks and with my son I was done by like day five because it was just like all was naturally ready to come out and I didn't experience with my son the what is it? The pushing on your uterus to get the placenta to come out, for it to shrink back. They didn't do that with my son because I had him naturally. Oh, my god, I know what all my friends have been talking about when they say they come in to do the afterbirth pushes the fundal massage, should they call it yeah?

Julie-Anne:

not do that with my son, but they did it with her and I think I would rather have him unmedicated again than have them do that to me because, oh my god, I was like, what are you doing? They're like we're like getting your uterus to contract and to go back down to its normal size because it would do it naturally after you had the baby, but you had a c-section, so it's trauma on it and it needs to like force itself to think it back to going small. Like I was on the oxycodone or whatever it was for the first 12, 24 hours after I had the c-section, so like I didn't really feel the pitocin they were giving me. But apparently they were giving me pitocin for the first almost 24 hours to make the uterus contract so that I would think that I went through labor, so that I would shrink, which is why they were pushing on my stomach. And they did that to my friends after they had their vaginal births because they didn't deliver the placenta really well where my placenta came out with my son on my first birth.

Julie-Anne:

So like they never had to do that to me, but like, oh my God, they did it on this one and now I know what everyone else is talking about. And that was horrible. Like know what everyone else is talking about. And that was horrible. Like sure, you're explaining to me why you're doing this, but like you're not telling me how much it's actually going to hurt me. Like I'm on an oxy and you're it really hurts. You're still doing it and I can feel all of it. I'm like I shouldn't feel anything and I feel all of it and it was horrible.

Angela:

That was not like that part yeah, it's not not much of a massage it's.

Julie-Anne:

I'm gonna sit on your stomach and make it small again.

Angela:

Well, you're through to the other side. It's been such a pleasure chatting with you before, like during your pregnancy, and hearing the birth story of your son and, yeah, now getting together again and hearing the birth story of your daughter. If you were to give advice I know I asked this in the first episode, but now, after your second birth experience and six weeks later, if you were to give advice to someone who's expecting, or even new parents, what's the biggest thing you'd want to share at this point in time?

Julie-Anne:

Well, I think last time I said was advocate for yourself, but this time it'd be like ask as many questions and be as informed as you could be. Like I asked for the smallest needle but they also walked me through. Like you know, if we did the epidural first, it'd be like half your body, but like that's a bigger needle, but then if that didn't work, we'd have to poke you again and go for the smaller needle, for the spinal that's higher up, like, and then if that didn't work, we'd go the anesthesia. Because I'm like asking what would make it happen to each one of those things to happen. Like, if I did get the epidural, what would make you have to go to the spinal, or is it better to just go to the spinal?

Julie-Anne:

Like asking all the questions you can like, why are we doing this to me? You know, can I go home right now? And they, yeah, but we wouldn't recommend it and be like why not? Because you said I could go home? Why do you want me to stay? They're like oh, just so you get another night of being taken care of and be like I can take care of myself at home, if that's the only reason you want me to stay like I am all set on that. Um, asking why you're giving you the medications that they are. I got Tylenol and Oxy while I was in the hospital and then they gave me some to go home but also just said to really rely on Tylenol. So it is true, they just give women Tylenol after a C-section where they cut you open for seven layers Just Tylenol, a little bit of Oxy, which I didn't take when I got home because I wanted to try to power through it, because I wanted to heal faster except for when it's hard.

Angela:

Yeah, because you've got your baby and you're like trying to focus on taking care of your baby, but you also need to focus on healing yourself, which, like you said like, might require some more stronger pain medicines because of the extent of the surgery, and finding that balance yeah, I did take it a few times because I had my son, of course, brought home a cold, so she got it a little bit and then I got it a little bit.

Julie-Anne:

So then when you're like sneezing or coughing, I was like, nope, I'm gonna go take like a tiny little bit extra stuff, like I can't handle the coughing. Yeah, and it was funny, they didn't they allow children or siblings into the hospital room, but only for like a half hour. I think it was an hour at a time. But my dad brought my son in and he's very quiet, so we actually got away with him being in there for three hours with us holding a sister most of the whole time. And then he left and he was like showing off the toy his sister got him for her birthday because you know she needed to give him something when she showed up. So he got a maui hook, because that's all the rage right now. So when he left he was showing off every single nurse. He saw that he got a maui hook from his sister and they were all like, oh, her brother came in.

Julie-Anne:

I was like, yeah, he's been here for the last three hours. And like he was here for three hours. I was like, yeah, I know he's quiet, isn't? He didn't even know. It was really funny. So we kind of got away with that. It was great. But like, also, going home was a good thing, because he didn't want us to be there, he wanted us at home and he wanted to see his sister and he was very mad that he had to do his first sleepover with his grandparents, for you know her birth. He was just very unhappy about that. Yeah, ask lots of questions. Ask everything you possibly can make them tell you what it is they're doing and why. Lots of questions.

Angela:

Yeah, ask the questions, totally agree. It's so important to know. You know what you're, what's happening, the whole step away. Like you said, they were doing all this stuff and put you through. And then the doctor came in like okay, we're having a baby today, and, like you're, like I had no clue, you know, and you're, like you said, you're getting getting a little worried and you, you should know what's going on with your care the whole step of the way and ask questions if they're whispering in the corner.

Julie-Anne:

Right, oh yeah. And then I learned about the surgeon stitch. Did not know about that. So, like when they ripped that band-aid off me like the massive layers of covering up the wound or whatever um, I was like why on earth does one side hurt more than the other? And they were like that's the surgeon stitch. And I was like what is what does that? When she started sewing, she started sewing on the other side of me, away from her, and then as she sews across my stomach and gets closer and closer to her, the stitching gets tighter. So they call it a surgeon stitch because it's looser, farther away from them. But as they get closer to where they are, it gets tighter and more put together. So that side was like way like tighter than the other side. And they're like yeah, it's the surgeon's stitch, you can tell whatever side the surgeon operated on, because that side is way tighter than the other side. And I was like I can tell. So that was different.

Angela:

Whoa, that's interesting. Well, thank you so much, Julianne, for taking the time to chat with me and share your second birth story today. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Julianne, for taking the time to chat with me and share your second birth story today.

Julie-Anne:

Absolutely, thank you.

Angela:

Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a ton of resources for pregnancy and birth. If you're pregnant, whether you're a first time mom or if this is your fifth baby, I want you to check out the show notes, because I have some free trainings and free downloads that you can sign up for, as well as the link to access my labor of love, a comprehensive, self-paced online childbirth education course. I created this course specifically for moms who don't want to be told what to do, regardless of where you're birthing or who you're birthing with, and I'd honestly love to teach you everything that I know so that you can prepare for an autonomous birth experience and prepare to step into your role as the leader of your birth journey. So click to the show notes, check out all of those links and, if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at mymainbirth over on Instagram.