After the hg, bleeding, preterm labor, pprom, and multiple meltdowns... they decided to do a section at 33 weeks because it appeared (emphasis on "appeared") that he had not grown on the ultrasound.
They were more or less on-time for the section (not that I had much else to do!) and the spinal was super. My "little" guy was transverse so they were going to try to do a low-transverse (bikini) incision but did mention that it may be necessary to do a classic / inverted "T" incision but they could not tell in advance.
After much manipulation, they could not turn him with the low incision, so did an internal classic... meaning fortunately, it does not show because the skin was still a bikini cut that they just really retracted and stretched.
They still had difficulty turning him
and had to pull him out transverse... he sort of gasped and coughed and his apgars were 6-8-8
I looked over at the warmer and by the size of him knew that the estimates on weight were off. He did great but they took him to the NICU after a quick kiss from Mommy.
There was a lot of bleeding during the c/s... it got a little scary being awake throughout that time. My pressure dropped but responded well to the meds and some fluids; but it is an awful feeling. A dose of gravol combined with the whole ordeal sent me off to la-la land for a few moments and actually took the edge off. I didn't want anything stonger because I didn't want it to drop my pressure... which can happen.
Recovery room and my transfer to the post-partum unit were uneventful... I managed to get down to the NICU to see him at 18hrs old. Digital pics and a breast pump kept me focused until then.
LOL... I was sooooo mad at the docs who put me on a liquid diet until they were sure everything was fine post-op... so dh brought me some real food. And yes, all my foodments were included. In fact, the only thing that turns my stomach now is scrambled eggs, which I lived on throughout the hg. I've never been so thirsty for water... drinking 3 litres a day.
My "big" guy is doing well... he's feeding well, breast and bottles of pumped milk. He's jaundiced but responding well to the lights. Apart from that he does not look preterm but really just a miniaturized term baby. NICU life is weird from this perspective and everyone is being great to us... I think they know how bizarre this whole experience is for me. One of the residents saw me by the isolette taking his temp and fixing the sat probe and tried to give me a verbal order to up the IV fluids... sorry buddy, off duty right now. And the funky outfit is not scrubs, its pyjamas!
The IV was only for 24 hrs to stabilize his sugars... now we're just on a sat monitor, in the incubator and under the lights.
If he gains back the 100g (1/4 lb roughly) that he lost and his bilirubin is down, he could end up spending only 9 days in the NICU!
What a relief... I just want to thank you all for saving my sanity throughout this experience
I could not have done it without you all!
Apart from anemia, fatigue, and major bruising, I am doing well. Advil and Tylenol cover the pain if I take them regularly. All hg and side-effects (reflux, heartburn, etc...) appear gone. No complaints that would not be normal for post-c/s
Even tolerating massive doses of iron!
I almost can't believe that his NICU stay could be only 9 days! That is SUCH good news. 
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