Bas' birth story

Sorry the posting is a month late, but better now than never!

Although I had really hoped to go into labour naturally and have a "V-BAC" (vaginal birth after c-section) with Bas, it was not meant to be. After my birthday, January 15th, which was my due-date, came and went, and I was checked every couple of days by my doctor, I had to admit defeat: not even a single cramp to let me know the baby wanted to join us. So I asked for and was scheduled for a c-section on January 23rd.

The surgery went well - the small hiccup being that my heart rate plummeted to 15 beats a minute as soon as I had the spinal. (The anesthesiologist cheerily told Sven and I in the middle of the surgery that was why I had felt so woozy right after the needle was removed. She mentioned that I hadn't been getting much oxygen to my brain!).

During the surgery, the anesthesiologist remembered that we didn't want the surgeon to announce the baby's sex, and she lowered the sheet so that Sven could see the birth. As I lay there waiting for my turn to see the baby, all I heard Sven say was, "Oooh, that's interesting". I tried to figure out if that meant boy or girl, but just then, the surgeon walked around the table with the baby, holding its legs closed. As she got up close to me, she stopped, opened the legs and cried out, "Ta-da!" and lo and behold, I saw that I had another boy!

I have to say I was shocked. I had really started to believe it was a girl!. Another shock: unlike super bald, then white-blond Johan, this little guy had a head full of dark brown hair.

As the surgery finished, they kept our little Bastiaan on a warming tray close to me, and weighed him there so I could watch the whole time. I was very grateful for this setup, as last time, Sven told me we'd had a boy and then they carried him off to a corner and I only saw him a bit later, when he was all wrapped in blankets.

All in all, it was a great experience and I will always cherish being able to discover Bas' identity for myself.

Andrea