Ok, here we go. I am finding the time to write this as my husband and son snooze happily snuggled on our bed together. I will be honest that seeing them like that turns me into a huge puddle of mushy. Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. If you haven't read my blog about my fertility struggles it is available amongst my other posts (I don't have that many).
Shortly after we found out I was pregnant we traveled to Paris where I got the brilliant idea of taking a photo with a onesie in front of the Eiffel Tower to make an official announcement of my pregnancy. Initially I was reluctant to announce my pregnancy because women with PCOS have a higher chance of miscarriage, but I decided that it was very important for me to focus on being positive and so I decided that all the 'feel good' vibes I would receive from my announcement were going to help me stay positive.
My Dr, here is something else I would like to talk about. Many of you are probably wondering what my experience with my Spanish Dr was. I would like to inform you that other than one small hiccup it was AMAZING. My Dr has his own private practice but delivers baby at Ruber International (a famed Spanish hospital) he swears by them and believes that the hospital is the best. My personal opinion of the hospital is that it's just ok, but it was him who made all the difference.
So during my pregnancy I would visit my Dr at my regular appointments where my husband and I would get to know the funny side of Dr Campillo and I would become more and more confident that I am in the right hands. A unique aspect about my Dr was that he provided me with his cell phone number which he actually answered. Throughout my pregnancy my Dr would always answer my question and add, " Don't worry everything is going to be ok". I wasn't tearily worried but somehow hearing that phrase helped to ease any sliver of concern I may have had.
So, until week 35 of my pregnancy everything was smooth, and then, I fell and sprained my ankle on my way to lunch. I didn't fall on my stomach but managed to twist at the bottom which resulted in tearing all three tendons in my left ankle. Fortunately, I was with a friend who called John and we were able to make our way to our general practitioner to examine my ankle. Now, mind you, getting to the Dr should be another story on it's own but I'll try to cram it here. John walks to work because we live 8 minutes from his job, and I don't drive here because we are conveniently located in the center and everything is at our fingertips. So, when John found out that I had fallen he ran (in his suit and oxfords) all the way from work to get to us. Once John reaches us, he hails a cab, and carries me to the cab and we were on our way to see the Dr. To make a long story short, we had to go to a different location to see an Orthopedic Specialist (having to go to a different location has nothing to do with the health care system in Spain but with the health insurance that I have).
The hospital we chose to go to is the same hospital where my OBGYN contracts, and that day we were lucky enough that he was there. After seeing the orthopedic specialist, a partial scan of my foot and an exam it was determined that I had indeed torn all three tendons in my left ankle. The treatment plan was, bed rest, ice and elevate foot and use a huge black boot to keep my foot in place. I wasn't supposed to walk and was ordered to use crutches when I needed to move around our apartment. Let me tell you how awful it is to use crutches with a giant swollen belly. I was also prescribed shots to avoid blood clots. The orthopedic specialist called my OBGYN to approve the shots before prescribing them. My Dr had just finished a surgery and came down to see us and ensure that everything would be ok and having that extra reassurance really made me feel at ease.
Anyhow, after 3 weeks of bed rest (or house arrest as I liked to call it) I was finally allowed to walk outside of our house with additional contraptions attached to my foot. I went into labor 3 days after being 'let out' of jail. I remember that day clearly as I am sure every mother does. John and I had gone for Mexican, and were walking around when I felt 'something', and just had a feeling as if I would go into labor that day.
At around 9pm I started to feel some contractions, they weren't painful but I knew what they were. John decided to put together our new BBQ just in case this was it. Well, it was 'it', at 12:30 am I was having contractions between 5 and 10 minutes apart. Between 12:30 and 4 am, after having called my Dr, showered and styled my hair I was waddling into the hospital By 8:00 am, Dominick Konstantin Topete made his debut into the world via c-section. My labor progressed quickly, from the start, and it appeared as if I would be able to deliver naturally, however swelling in Dominick's head due to accumulated liquid between the skull and skin prevented him from coming down. So after unsuccessful results from pushing to try and bring Dominick down for a natural birth and the advise of my Dr, I was wheeled into the operating room for a c-secion at 7:30 am. By 8:00 am, our baby born was born, and as it turns out, on top of the liquid accumulated in his head he also had the cord wrapped around his neck three times. According to my Dr, the combination of the swollen head and cord wrapped around his neck would have made it impossible for a vaginal birth.
I am forever grateful to Dr. Campillo for not taking a risk with my son's life, and not making me suffer for hours on end. I am thankful that despite the circumstances, my husband was able to be there for the birth of our son, but mostly, I am glad that our sweet son is a healthy and thriving little boy. For me, the best aspect of my birthing experience here was my Dr's ability to communicate with me, and his ability to make me feel at ease despite the circumstances. I loved that Dr Campillo was with us from start to finish, I didn't worry about having to give birth with a different Dr. I hope that if we are blessed with a sibling with Dominick the birth experience is comparable to the service I have received here.
I wonder how many of you expected a scary and awful birth experience! Does it surprise any of you that I loved my birth experience here so much that I am concerned about what a birth would be like in the U.S?
