Just keep breathing.
Life is OK here in leafy corner. I missed Husband's last 6 hrs or so before he jetted south for a coupla weeks. I was paged to a birth which was notable for the comedy of errors which marked it's early bit (we forgot some gear due to a car dosey-do which confused us both and had to drive 45mins back to get it again), and perhaps the lowest 1 minute APGAR I've seen so far (5). Poor dear had a rapid decent, and then tangled himself up with a hand/elbow and cord once his head was out. Took a little maneuvering to squiggle him free. Poor dear was a bit shell shocked I think.
Babe didn't need anything other than his mom and dad puffing air in his face and us rubbing him up before he promptly decided to make an effort to land on the planet properly - his 5 min was 8 and he was a 9 by 10mins.
As low as his numbers initially looked on paper he could have been a 3, but this was not a baby who was absent from us (and they sometimes do feel that way) - we could feel him there, his HR was peachy and he had some spontaneous motion. That he wasn't down with the breathing thing for a bit, and was super floppy, and his color was awful at the end of the day made little difference.
When we left he was nursing beautifully his 8.5-odd lbs of luscious chubbiness topped with some pretty spectacular facial bruising which I fully expect will be gone or almost gone when I pop back to do a PP visit this afternoon.
I then completely chickened out with the first aggressively (actively) managed third stage (hx of PP hemorrhage) of my student career. I could have sworn I felt the cord "giving" when I started some CCT (controlled cord traction) to deliver the placenta, and stepped back to let my MW take over. The placenta delivered intact with only the tiniest little "something" on one side of the insertion. Was that what I felt? Who knows. I left my preceptor that afternoon with instructions not to let me wimp out like that again, at least not without a very good reason.
Happy days. Only one more July birth to go while Husband is away. We may yet survive!
Babe didn't need anything other than his mom and dad puffing air in his face and us rubbing him up before he promptly decided to make an effort to land on the planet properly - his 5 min was 8 and he was a 9 by 10mins.
As low as his numbers initially looked on paper he could have been a 3, but this was not a baby who was absent from us (and they sometimes do feel that way) - we could feel him there, his HR was peachy and he had some spontaneous motion. That he wasn't down with the breathing thing for a bit, and was super floppy, and his color was awful at the end of the day made little difference.
When we left he was nursing beautifully his 8.5-odd lbs of luscious chubbiness topped with some pretty spectacular facial bruising which I fully expect will be gone or almost gone when I pop back to do a PP visit this afternoon.
I then completely chickened out with the first aggressively (actively) managed third stage (hx of PP hemorrhage) of my student career. I could have sworn I felt the cord "giving" when I started some CCT (controlled cord traction) to deliver the placenta, and stepped back to let my MW take over. The placenta delivered intact with only the tiniest little "something" on one side of the insertion. Was that what I felt? Who knows. I left my preceptor that afternoon with instructions not to let me wimp out like that again, at least not without a very good reason.
Happy days. Only one more July birth to go while Husband is away. We may yet survive!
posted by Louisa at 8:49 AM
1 Comments:
This hit me. My wee girlie had a very rapid decent as well. Cord grew around her neck from early on, so it was flat... then to top it off she was awarded an apgar at birth.
Yes, that isn't a typo. An apgar.
Heartrate in the 40's.
I can only image the terror that must rush through midwives veins when this happens. I still have flashes of her an absent is a good description... shudders and counts blessings.
Here is wishing for a serene quiet end to July.
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