My birth story….finally! Warning: Very, very, VERY long!
It started on Thurs (1/31) when I saw my doctor and found that I was already 3 almost 4cm, 70% effaced and had a bulging bag of water. My doctor asked if I was having contractions and I said no. Occasionally yes but I’m talking 2-3 a day and maybe 6ish on a “bad” day. I wasn’t sure if she was going to let me go home and I asked if I could have at least one more day because I had nothing packed! She sent me home with instructions to get to the hospital if I had ANY timeable contractions and to not wait until I was huffing and puffing through them. She was worried that if I got to almost 4 without feeling anything, I could possible hit 8 or more with just some mild contractions. So I headed home to pack my bag and then to the store to get a few things. I had a few contractions while walking around so I went home to rest because I wasn’t ready.
On Friday, I started having some contractions. Nothing really timeable though. Every 20 mins, then 30 mins, then maybe a 15, etc. I started getting regular late that night and went to bed to rest. They were hitting every 5-7 mins. I wanted to wait until they stuck around at least an hour or so. I know that’s not what my doc wanted but I had 3 or 4 false almarms with both boys. I ended up falling asleep and woke up the next morning with nothing. So now its Saturday and as soon as I’m up and moving, the contractions start hitting again. 10 or so mins, then they’d spread out and then get real close. My DH wanted to go to his best friend’s house for his birthday that night and I actually let him go as long as he only stayed around an hour. The contractions had spread out again so I wasn’t feeling like this was it. My DH got home in time to help put the boys to bed and as I was laying down with Sam, they started coming every 5 mins. When Sam was asleep, I sat at the computer and they stuck for another hour. They were every 5 with an occasional 4 and 7 tossed in. I went to bed at this point and told DH that they weren’t letting up just yet. He went right back to sleep. They lasted about another hour but then I fell asleep.
I woke up around 8am on Super Bowl Sunday with a fairly strong contraction. They immediately went back to every 5 mins. Around 9ish, I called my mom to get dressed and head over just in case. By 10 we were packing the boys up to spend the day with my brother and by 10:30 we were off to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 11 and I told the nurse what was going on and what my doc’s instructions were. So they got me in a room and checked me and I hadn’t changed at all. They let me sit about an hour and I was definitely having contractions every 3-5mins but they weren’t strong. I said that mine are never strong until my water broke. So now it was noon. The nurse didn’t think I was in labor but the on call doctor was heading in soon. So they had me walk for about 45mins. During this time, the contractions seemed to hit every min or 2 and I started having major back pain. Of course, I thought it was because I was walking without a bra on.
I was hooked back up to the machines around 12:45 and the contractions were hitting every min and my back was throbbing. I expected this to stop once I was back in bed. Somewhere around 1ish, the on call doctor showed up. I was dying to see my mom’s reaction because this guy is very, very attractive! LOL! He checked me and I was still 4ish, maybe 90% but definitely still had a bulging bag. The entire time he was checking me and talking to me about what my doctor instructed (they share an office) he was staring at the screen showing the contractions. He then felt my tummy and said she was a good 8lbs already. He then said I had 3 options. He could have me walk a bit more. He could break my water. Or, I could go home and see what happened. At this point, I started to freak. I didn’t want to make that decision. Part of me wanted the baby now but part didn’t. So we talked a bit more. We didn’t think walking would change anything since my water was still intact. Going home was risky especially since the contractions were hitting every minute. So, we broke my water. As soon as he broke my water, I immediately hit 5cm. This was maybe around 1:15/1:30ish. All I really know is I was officially admitted by 2pm.
I was planning on not having the epidural if things didn’t seem so bad after 2 not so great experiences. Plus, the anesthesiologist that did Cameron’s (my “bad” one) was there that day so I was really nervous about getting it. I think I made it about an hour before the back pain got the best of me. I had another sunny side up baby! I asked to be checked and was only at a 6. I debated another 15 or so mins and decided that I couldn’t make it without some help. So now I’m a nervous wreck and trying not to cry because I really didn’t want this epidural. The guy shows up fairly quickly and is trying to reassure me that it will be just fine this time. So, I’m rolled on my side (which freaks me out more since that’s how I was when I had the bad one) and the guy is taking forever. I get prepped but he is taking way too long. He’s trying to chit chat with my DH who is getting angry. At this point, massive pain hits me. To the point that I’m moaning and groaning and starting to cry. The nurse is getting pissed and yelling at the guy to focus and get the epidural in. He’s still taking his time and I start bearing down occasionally. The nurse freaks and starts yelling, “are you pushing?!?!”. I couldn’t help it. I truly had no control. So now she is yelling at the guy to get the epi in before I deliver the baby! He finally gets it in and my legs go totally numb. I start having flash backs. Thankfully, my spinal column wasn’t punctured this time. He just does the epi at a higher spot than most. The shakes hit me hard too. I couldn’t stop shaking. The nurse checks me and I’m now 8! Figures! The massive pain was a blend of transition and the baby turning face down. Unfortunately, the epidural once again didn’t work too well. I was still in pain but at least the edge was gone. I was very upset that my legs were totally numb again but at least they weren’t paralyzed. The doctor came back in a little before 4pm to check me. All he said was, “I can’t find your cervix” and I totally didn’t get it! LOL! The baby was still a bit high so since I wasn’t in massive pain, he said to just call him when I felt I had to push. That didn’t last too long. I would say that by 4:15 I wanted to push and had the Super Bowl turned off and the doctor called. It took a few minutes for them to break the bed down and get everything set up. Pushing wasn’t as easy as it was with Sam who practically flew out. I know I didn’t push for more than 5 mins but didn’t think I was going to get my little girl out. I was whining and crying and saying it hurt and totally angry at myself for it. LOL! I hate whining.
Baby girl finally arrived at 4:26pm right during half time of the Super Bowl! She was 8lbs, 2oz and 21 inches. Not bad for 18 days early! So glad she didn’t go to term because she could have 9.5-10lbs! We turned the TV back on in time to watch Tom Petty! We felt Free Falling was an appropriate song for a birth! Everyone was asking her name and I couldn’t decide! I had just a couple days before decided I was just going to go with Kayleigh (then name I had picked for years) when my DH said he really wanted another name but was fine with either of the 2 and it was totally my decision. I still had the massive shakes and numb legs so I was covered in warm blankets. Around 5, dinner was brought in and the shakes finally went away.
By later that night, Baby Girl was known as Maybe Megan to the nurses. My DH went home because the boys wanted him and my mom stayed with me. Maybe Megan had nursed around 5:30 and didn’t eat again until 12:30am. We just couldn’t get her to wake up. Then, she wanted to eat constantly. She had a few issues with choking/spitting up and it coming out her nose. The next day she started having episodes where she would choke and not be able to catch her breath. Little did we know that this mixed with the blue around her mouth would send her to the NICU for a couple days!
She was having episodes where she seemed to choke or spit up and then would stop breathing. She had one just before the ped came to check her out and another when the ped had her and 2 more when she was sent to the nursery for observation. At that point, one of the NICU nurses came over and looked at her and took one look at her and rushed her to the NICU. Of course, during all this, I'm in my room not knowing what is going on. All I knew at this point was that the ped didn't like the episode she had and wanted her in the reg nursery for observation.
Megan was very blue around her mouth after birth. We were told by one of my nurses not to worry because it was just a bruise and showed us that the inside of her mouth was pink. The NICU nurse was furious that we ignored the blue because it was a sign she wasn't getting enough oxygen. Needless to say, the other nurse was in a bit of trouble. Blood tests and cultures were run on her and the blood tests came back normal or very slightly "bad" but not enough to truly be concerned. She had a few more episodes in the NICU and the most concerning part is that they weren't always related to feedings.
No one knows what was going on or why. The best they could tell us is she might have a reflux issue or just simply immaturity. Her stomach was also full of amniotic fluid and they said that could have been part of the problem but they pumped her twice by Mon afternoon. By Tues early afternoon, she had not had any more episodes so the NICU nurse told us that she might get released on Wed depending on how she did the rest of the day and night. At that point the nurse walked away to check on her other baby (a 28 weeker!) and Megan just stopped breathing. It had been almost 3 hrs since her last feed and she didn't choke or anything. She just stopped trying to take in air. The strange thing is that her oxygen saturation never got all that low (down to 83% I think) and she wasn't fighting or struggling, she was just laying there staring at us. The nurse was giving her oxygen and trying to get her to take a breath. She finally started choking and fighting and spit up mucus out her noise and mouth so the nurse then had to suction her. She ended up putting some tubes down her nose and then her throat and sucked quite a bit of mucus out of her stomach.
After that, she was fine. No more issues. At this point, they are just going with she was a preemie/borderline preemie and not coordinated enough to breath, eat, swallow, etc at the same time. She did great the rest of Tues and Tues night. On Wed morning, when I went back to feed her (because I had to check out on Tues), the neonatal dr asked if we were comfortable enough to take her home. We told him that yes, we were comfortable with her but that if there was any doubt in his mind, we didn't want to take her home just yet. He seemed to like that answer and a few hours later, we got to bring our baby home!
We did have to take her Friday morning to have her bilirubin levels tested (she was a bit high but not enough for them to keep her) and then into her ped. She only weighed 7lbs, 3 oz which worried me a lot. I was hoping for a baby in the 7lb range but right from the start not from losing! That means she lost almost 1 full pound in 5 days. I asked if a lot of that loss could have been from having her stomach pumped twice and her ped did think that was possible. She also only measured 20inches (I measured her after the nurse left just to be sure). Her levels were still a bit high (18.3) on Friday so we had to go back on Sat for another draw. That afternoon, the on-call ped called to let us know that her numbers went UP to 19.1 so she had to go again on Sunday. Unfortunately, most labs aren’t open on Sunday so I had to take her to the hospital and deal with admitting and insurance and all that fun stuff for another blood draw. The on call ped called us again that afternoon with great news! Her numbers went down to 16.7! YAY! No more blood draws for now and she doesn’t have to go back to the ped until Thurs!
So, that’s everything up to now! Megan is doing GREAT! She eats like a champ and is a really good sleeper too. Of course, I’m terrified to leave her anywhere for more than a minute just in case but I’m hoping if we get through this week with no more episodes that I’ll relax a bit more and maybe attempt to go to the bathroom without taking her in with me! LOL!
Here are some pictures (password-cameron):
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...view=slideshow
My birth story!
Threaded Mode
