DAY ZERO:
I received call at 700 am Monady September 21st . having just finished a night shift, I was waiting to renew an ID card at Balboa hospital, where often I get no reception. I was up next in line so I texted Yasmin that I couldnt talk and asked that she text back. This is what I saw: "my water just broke". Anxious and excited I called home as I walked to the car quickly and said I would be home in 20 minutes. Please set out the bags we had prepared. I drove home (quickly, but not too recklessly) , opened the door. Yas was doing ok, and in her usual fastidious fashion had focused on getting the wet sheets and liner into the washing machine (water broke apon turning over when awakening) so I took a quick shower, packed the car and we were off. Today our babies are coming. Yas started to have contractions in the car .
I parked in front of Mary Birch and asked for a wheelchair. They were very calm and told me to leave the car while I took Yasmin upstairs. By now she was moaning and not too happy to fill out paperwork they handed her on arrival at triage. She thrust the papers to me to fill in. When I handed them in, the nurse said that I shouldnt do it because there was a question about abuse asked. I yelled across the floor: " Yasmin, am I beating you?" She said no and the case was closed.
We were taken fairly quickly to a birthing room. The nurse checked Yasmin and she was 2 cm dilated. An epidural was offered which Yasmin accepted because she didnt want to be exhausted if there was long delay between babies being born (nothing to do with the excruciating pain, Im sure). Our OB doctor Rowena Reagan came and checked and said it could be hours til delivery.
The epidural kicked in and Yasmin sent me to eat. I leisurely went to the cafeteria while texting my Dad and Yasmin's "chain" (Yas asked me to give her the necklace that was made for her to keep it close) .
When I arrived back in the room about 45 minutes later the anesthesiologist was leaving the room. Apparently the epidural catheter had become disconnected from the fentanyl and so Yas had gone almost the whole time w/out the drugs, in severe pain because Siennas head was lodged very deep relative to the level of dilation.
She was feeling better and I put the food down to eat later. I watched the monitor and Siennas heart rate dip (a decel) . The nurse came in to check that the leads were in place. The heart rate didnt budge. She yelled out : 2 minutes" . Another nurse came in. " Three minutes". Someone else came in. " Four minutes".
Then a blurr of activity as Yasmin was taken for a crash C-section to prevent Sienna from having distress. The nurse told me to wait and someone would get me while Yasmin was prepped. I demandingly said "NO!, Im going with her!" The nurse held my shoulder, seeing my fear, and brought me to a waiting area outside the OR. I could see people coming and going from the OR. I was pacing . There was a Chinese gentleman waiting quietly. I paced some more. I HATE WAITING!
Dr Reagan stopped to tell me that Siennas heart rate had come up but Sedonas had now dropped and the babies had to come out NOW and a couple minutes later someone brought me in to the OR. I sat next to Yasmin behind the drape shielding us ftom the activities below. I held Yasmins hand. Then I heard a cry and my
baby Sienna was shown to us. I cried as she was whisked away for routine resuscitation. It seemed like a half our later, with some difficulty, but in reality a couple minutes, that Sedona was delivered. She was blue and not crying, so went right to resusc area. About 30 seconds later we heard her cry. I broke down in tears again.
Soon after we were brought our babies to hold briefly.
I waited a few minutes in recovery until Yasmin joined me. She couldnt feel the lower 2/3 of her body because of epidural , but was otherwise doing well. Sienna and Sedona were brought to us and I watched them be weighed and measured : 4 lbs 11 oz and 5 lbs 13 oz respectively- much smaller than projected by prenatal ultrasound.
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