"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~Lin Yutang

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

P.S. I forgot to mention the IV part!!!

Part of my birth plan wishes was the request for no IV or hep-lock.  
My OB wasn't sure if they'd let me, because it's a safety precaution just in case something happens, it's already in place.  It stresses me out though.  I look like I have great veins, but for whatever reason, they are a tease!  After I passed 40 weeks gestation, I started rethinking the request... Just in case.
At the hospital, they asked and explained why it's important and I said, "I'd been rethinking that anyway.  How about if you can easily get it in me, I'll be alright with it."  
The reply was, "sure!  We do this all day every day.  We'll get it in, no problem."  
First try, no go.  Second try, (different nurse), no go.  Third try, (two different nurses tried) nope.  
Then they suggest we try it without the numbing medicine because apparently it was making my veins run from the needle.  I looked at her and said, "I think we should forget it.  That was a good effort though."  
They said that was fine.  

What an awesome experience!!!  Even with procedure, I was able to forego precautionary measures!  And everything went fine!  
The best part about not having an IV in me, was that I didn't have to be pumped with fluids or be given pitocin (also now given as standard practice as a precautionary measure) immediately following the delivery.  I think it's a ridiculous practice that results in unnecessary heightened pain and retained fluids.  Our bodies heal naturally so much better!!!
This recovery after turbo's birth has been amazingly easier than all my others!  And he was the largest I've had!!!!  Almost 0 pain, just a minor back ache for a few days.  No swollen body parts besides the perineum the first night (just one night!).  I was up on my feet almost immediately after his birth.  Seriously nothing to complain about!  I felt great!  
Buttercup's birth is the only other birth I've had without pitocin needed to help the contractions keep up and when I asked the nurse why my feet were so swollen and my bladder was so full all the time after her birth, and she said so casually, "it's the pitocin."  I was happy to tell her that I hadn't needed pitocin this time.  I, then became IRATE to hear her explain that I was put on pitocin for recovery to help the uterus contract quicker and stop the bleeding faster.  It doesn't matter that I don't have a history of hemorrhaging or ANY complications in recovery.  It IS a known fact that afterbirth pains are sharper and stronger with subsequent births which naturally result in quicker recoveries (uterus shrinking and bleeding stopping sooner).  It is absolutely absurd that pitocin is standard practice for ANY REASON!!!!  

But anyway... all of this to exclaim how happy I was to get all of my birth wishes respected.  What a dream! 😀

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