Simione Reuben Toelupe

On October 14th, 2011, at 11:31 pm, Simione Reuben Toelupe was born. Alma and I checked in to the hospital the day before at around 11:30 pm. Mom, Alma, and I walked...well, they walked, I wobbled into the ER. The security guard is the first person I see and immediately walks up to me asking if I need any help or need a wheelchair. I tell him we need to go to Labor and Delivery. He suggests I get into the wheelchair. I told him I could walk. He looks at me funny and says, "uh, I think it's a good idea that you use the wheelchair. It's a long walk from here." I get in.

After we check in, a staff member came and wheeled me to L & D. When we arrive, the nurse shows mom and Alma our room and wheels me over to the dreaded scale. DUN, dun, dun.... She gets my weight, and I convince myself the baby weighs 100lbs because that's the only way my weight can be explained. Don't judge me.

After getting settled into my room/bed, an IV is started with my first round of antibiotics. Doctor comes in at some point and decides it's time to get induced. The nurse keeps asking me if I'm feeling any pain, because I'm having contractions. I just tell her I feel a "burning" sensation on my back, but nothing terrible. She smiles and tell me I'm having back contractions. I smile back and say, "grrreat" The contractions weren't terrible at all, they were just uncomfortable. My nurse is amazing. She says, "well, there isn't any sense in you being uncomfortable. Why don't we just get your epidural now?"

The whole epidural process was a weird feeling. When the anasthesiologists inserts the needle into my spine, I feel something. I can't describe it, but I immediately tell her that I can feel it. She tells me to give it a second, it'll pass. It did and man did the drugs help. I was finally able to sleep! that was the best sleep I've had since before I found out I was pregnant!

The induction process to giving birth was such a loooooong time coming. Simione's heart rate kept dropping because of the pitocin. Doctor kept taking me off and then putting me back on the pitocin to see if baby would change. In the middle of all that, he's checking to see if I've dialited. It was really scary hearing the doctor tell us multiple times baby's heart rate keeps dropping with the pitocin and even more scary to see the look on the staff's faces when he heart rate was actually dropping. We were hoping that I would be dialited enough to push during all of this, but no that would be too easy. After what seem to be a lifetime, doctor decides to break my water to help speed up the process. Even after that, I was still not dialiating fast enough. Baby's heart rate continued to drop while on the pitocin and so we decreased the dosage and continued to watch. I FINALLY dialate to 10 cm and was given the okay to push. yay!!!

I'm thinking this is going to go by quickly. At least faster than what we've just been doing, right? OF COURSE NOT! I'm pushing and pushing and pushing and NOTHING. Baby's head is stuck at my cervix and is started to swell. 3 hours into pushing, I'm exhausted and frustrated. Baby is making no progress. He is STILL in the same spot. We decide it's time for a c-section.

The anasthesiologists and I decide to keep my epidural in and use that to numb me up vs. getting a spinal tap. She would just increase my medications. If I could go back to the moment where I said, "yes" I would slap myself in my face. My C-section was so very scary and painful! I could feel the doctor pushing and pulling, but my anasthesiologist would just shoot more drugs into my IV and within a 0.5 seconds the pain would be gone. It was like that during my whole procedure. She really was amazing. Alma was there during my procedure, but truth is I don't really remember him. I just remember the anasthesiologist. She was amazing. Maybe it's because she was the one giving me all the drugs. IDK. ;)

At 11:31 pm, Simione Reuben Toelupe was FINALLY pulled out with a "grabber" (according to Leila). The nurse showed him to me, but I couldn't quite see him through my tears and all the drugs I was on. Alma took baby to another room with the nurses while the docs stuff my insides back in and sew me up. That part seemed to take FOREVER! I could feel the doctor pulling and pushing. It really felt as if he was stepping on my guts! But no worries, my dealer was right there with me, holding my hand with her one hand and pumping me up with drugs with the other. I loved her! haha.

While in the recovery room, Alma comes back out with Simione so I can see him. I was so drugged up, I could barely keep my eyes open. lol. My family came in to see us, but all I could do is mumble some words and fall back asleep. He was finally here. My beautiful baby boy. At least I think was beautiful. I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to focus on him. ;) I can totally understand why people do drugs. lol!