*DISCLAIMER** THIS IS A VERY LONG POST BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY LONG LONG EXPERIENCE
I've taken a little blog break, and have been dying to blog about our birth story, and how Max came to be in this world at 2:55AM, on Tuesday, April 26th.
After 3 hours of pushing, he was born weighing 8lb 9oz, 22 1/4 inches long and screaming his head off. So where should I being to document this memorable experience....
I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday the 24th at 6AM, for a Monday morning induction. I started on a medication to expedite the process that evening and started contracting immediately. They were small, relatively painless contractions, but started coming every minute or so, which was too quick for comfort, so I was not able take the full dosage that was needed for my body to be prepared to start the Pitocin the next morning.
The next morning they started a very low dose of Pitocin, but again, my contractions were too close together so they were never able to up the dosage in order for me to dilate and get things going. I had to make the decision if I wanted them to break my water, or go home and attempt the process all over again in a few days. I had NO idea what to do because my chance of a c-section was almost guaranteed if I let them break my water without being dilated, and not responding well to the medication. Anyway, Cody and I talked about it, and decided we had been at this for over 12 hours, and were committed to having our baby that day. So at noon my doctor broke my water and discovered that the baby was meconium (had a bowl movement in the womb) and said we had made the right decision.
I started worrying about the baby because I knew this could potentially be a serious condition, and we wouldn't know if he was okay until he was born. OOOOH this was just the beginning of my worrying.
To speed this story up, they stopped the Pitocin, and I started contracting on my own. I got an epidural, and was finally ready to push at midnight that night (thank goodness no c-section). So we had officially been at this for over 24 hours, and Max was born screaming 3 hours later-luckily the crying meant that he didn't need to go to the NICU and I was SOOOO happy and relieved.
I had a great deal of blood loss during the labor, and almost passed out afterwards and was put on oxygen. This was too bad because I was so delirious that I have a foggy memory of the moments right after his birth. After a few hours of putting me back together I was finally ready to go to the recovery room, and then meet Cody and Max in the nursery.
The moment I was wheeled past the nursery I could tell something was wrong from the look on Cody's face. Max was laying in the warmer, and Cody was talking to a nurse (a nurse that we ended up really disliking). She told Cody that there was something wrong with the baby's heart, and when I asked her to elaborate, she informed me I could speak with another nurse because her shift was over, and she had already stayed 15 minutes late....REALLY!? So another long story short, they called the Cardiologist who was going to meet us in a few hours to listen to the irregular heartbeat, and let us know what was going on. I had now been awake for about 2 days, without anything to eat. They told me I should try and nurse the baby, and before I knew it I had passed out on the bathroom floor of my room, Cody had pulled the emergency cord and I woke up to about 10 nurse and Cody hovered over my bed. SCARY. Poor Cody didn't know what to do, and felt like he had to choose between taking care of me and Max. He did a great job staying calm, and making me feel relaxed.
When I woke up Max was next to my bed hooked up the the EKG machine, and the cardiologist informed me that she wasn't really concerned, and that it was VERY common for newborns to have small murmurs and that we needed to follow up in a few days. I was still worried, but relieved that she wasn't too concerned. Poor baby.
The next couple days were okay, and I was starting to feel better. Max had a few boughs of low blood sugar so they had to feed him formula which I was not thrilled about, but at this point was just SO ready for someone to tell me he was normal and healthy, and I didn't need to worry about his. Not to mention that every emotion is heightened when you're sleep deprived.
We were finally allowed the be discharged within in the normal 48 hours, and headed home on Thursday afternoon. I started to feel a little shaky, and feverish that night, however, brushed it off as my body just regulating itself. When I woke up for my first feeding I could not move from the couch, and felt like a truck ran over me. I had poor Cody feed Max formula from a tube taped to his finger, until I look my temperature around 4AM, which was over 103 degrees after drinking a huge glass of water....back to the ER we went.
I had held it together up until this point, but after a few excruciating procedures that should NEVER be done on a women who just had a baby, and getting the news that I would be transferred to a floor that was not recommended for babies I broke down. I refused to leave the ER until I was transferred to the labor and delivery floor so Max could stay with me. Who in their right mind would accept being separated from their 2 day old baby. My doctor (who I'm pretty sure thinks I am crazy) called me on her cell phone and told me she would do what she could to get me to labor and delivery. Another looong story short, I was wheeled back in, watched some of the Royal Wedding, had a few pass out scares, and convulsive shakes before Cody and my Mom showed up at the hospital with Max strapped down to what is called a Bili Bed because apparently he was VERY jaundice, and nobody caught it in the hospital. Oh my. I could not hold him unless I was feeding him, and he was forced to lay down in the bed all other hours of the day. I could hold his bed on my lap, which is what I spent most of my time doing. Poor baby.
The next few days were a blur, and I was so blessed to have constant help from my parents, Cody, and his Mom. I was not allowed to be in the room alone with the baby because I was so sick, so somebody had to be there around the clock to help me feed Max through a tube (not a feeding tube, but one connected to a bottle) so he didn't get used to a bottle, but my infection delayed my milk production, so this was no easy task. I was pretty stressed, because the only way to get rid of the jaundice is to get their bellies full so they can poop the stuff out. STRESSED! At one point that day I asked Cody why there were spiders crawling all over the walls, and that surely that was not safe for the babies! I was SO tired.
Cody was unbelievable, and took Max to the pediatrician and cardiologist everyday, took obsessive notes, and was overall a lifesaver. He was in tuned to every detail, and I am so thankful for him. His biliruben levels went down, and he was able to come off the bed the day they let me come home. I was so sad to not be there with them at all the appointments, but thankful I felt comfortable with Cody taking care of him
Since we've been home, things have been great! The doctor listened to his heart yesterday and didn't even hear the irregular beat. He told me that what the nurse heard, he would not have even alerted parent's about. That would have been nice. His biliruben levels are on the decline, and he is gaining weight each visit!
We are so blessed to have this sweet baby, and I would go through it all again a million times. For those of you who have made it to the end of this post are troopers. I really just wanted to document the experience so I would not forget. Now for what people really want. Pictures!!
I've taken a little blog break, and have been dying to blog about our birth story, and how Max came to be in this world at 2:55AM, on Tuesday, April 26th.
After 3 hours of pushing, he was born weighing 8lb 9oz, 22 1/4 inches long and screaming his head off. So where should I being to document this memorable experience....
I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday the 24th at 6AM, for a Monday morning induction. I started on a medication to expedite the process that evening and started contracting immediately. They were small, relatively painless contractions, but started coming every minute or so, which was too quick for comfort, so I was not able take the full dosage that was needed for my body to be prepared to start the Pitocin the next morning.
The next morning they started a very low dose of Pitocin, but again, my contractions were too close together so they were never able to up the dosage in order for me to dilate and get things going. I had to make the decision if I wanted them to break my water, or go home and attempt the process all over again in a few days. I had NO idea what to do because my chance of a c-section was almost guaranteed if I let them break my water without being dilated, and not responding well to the medication. Anyway, Cody and I talked about it, and decided we had been at this for over 12 hours, and were committed to having our baby that day. So at noon my doctor broke my water and discovered that the baby was meconium (had a bowl movement in the womb) and said we had made the right decision.
I started worrying about the baby because I knew this could potentially be a serious condition, and we wouldn't know if he was okay until he was born. OOOOH this was just the beginning of my worrying.
To speed this story up, they stopped the Pitocin, and I started contracting on my own. I got an epidural, and was finally ready to push at midnight that night (thank goodness no c-section). So we had officially been at this for over 24 hours, and Max was born screaming 3 hours later-luckily the crying meant that he didn't need to go to the NICU and I was SOOOO happy and relieved.
I had a great deal of blood loss during the labor, and almost passed out afterwards and was put on oxygen. This was too bad because I was so delirious that I have a foggy memory of the moments right after his birth. After a few hours of putting me back together I was finally ready to go to the recovery room, and then meet Cody and Max in the nursery.
The moment I was wheeled past the nursery I could tell something was wrong from the look on Cody's face. Max was laying in the warmer, and Cody was talking to a nurse (a nurse that we ended up really disliking). She told Cody that there was something wrong with the baby's heart, and when I asked her to elaborate, she informed me I could speak with another nurse because her shift was over, and she had already stayed 15 minutes late....REALLY!? So another long story short, they called the Cardiologist who was going to meet us in a few hours to listen to the irregular heartbeat, and let us know what was going on. I had now been awake for about 2 days, without anything to eat. They told me I should try and nurse the baby, and before I knew it I had passed out on the bathroom floor of my room, Cody had pulled the emergency cord and I woke up to about 10 nurse and Cody hovered over my bed. SCARY. Poor Cody didn't know what to do, and felt like he had to choose between taking care of me and Max. He did a great job staying calm, and making me feel relaxed.
When I woke up Max was next to my bed hooked up the the EKG machine, and the cardiologist informed me that she wasn't really concerned, and that it was VERY common for newborns to have small murmurs and that we needed to follow up in a few days. I was still worried, but relieved that she wasn't too concerned. Poor baby.
The next couple days were okay, and I was starting to feel better. Max had a few boughs of low blood sugar so they had to feed him formula which I was not thrilled about, but at this point was just SO ready for someone to tell me he was normal and healthy, and I didn't need to worry about his. Not to mention that every emotion is heightened when you're sleep deprived.
We were finally allowed the be discharged within in the normal 48 hours, and headed home on Thursday afternoon. I started to feel a little shaky, and feverish that night, however, brushed it off as my body just regulating itself. When I woke up for my first feeding I could not move from the couch, and felt like a truck ran over me. I had poor Cody feed Max formula from a tube taped to his finger, until I look my temperature around 4AM, which was over 103 degrees after drinking a huge glass of water....back to the ER we went.
I had held it together up until this point, but after a few excruciating procedures that should NEVER be done on a women who just had a baby, and getting the news that I would be transferred to a floor that was not recommended for babies I broke down. I refused to leave the ER until I was transferred to the labor and delivery floor so Max could stay with me. Who in their right mind would accept being separated from their 2 day old baby. My doctor (who I'm pretty sure thinks I am crazy) called me on her cell phone and told me she would do what she could to get me to labor and delivery. Another looong story short, I was wheeled back in, watched some of the Royal Wedding, had a few pass out scares, and convulsive shakes before Cody and my Mom showed up at the hospital with Max strapped down to what is called a Bili Bed because apparently he was VERY jaundice, and nobody caught it in the hospital. Oh my. I could not hold him unless I was feeding him, and he was forced to lay down in the bed all other hours of the day. I could hold his bed on my lap, which is what I spent most of my time doing. Poor baby.
The next few days were a blur, and I was so blessed to have constant help from my parents, Cody, and his Mom. I was not allowed to be in the room alone with the baby because I was so sick, so somebody had to be there around the clock to help me feed Max through a tube (not a feeding tube, but one connected to a bottle) so he didn't get used to a bottle, but my infection delayed my milk production, so this was no easy task. I was pretty stressed, because the only way to get rid of the jaundice is to get their bellies full so they can poop the stuff out. STRESSED! At one point that day I asked Cody why there were spiders crawling all over the walls, and that surely that was not safe for the babies! I was SO tired.
Cody was unbelievable, and took Max to the pediatrician and cardiologist everyday, took obsessive notes, and was overall a lifesaver. He was in tuned to every detail, and I am so thankful for him. His biliruben levels went down, and he was able to come off the bed the day they let me come home. I was so sad to not be there with them at all the appointments, but thankful I felt comfortable with Cody taking care of him
Since we've been home, things have been great! The doctor listened to his heart yesterday and didn't even hear the irregular beat. He told me that what the nurse heard, he would not have even alerted parent's about. That would have been nice. His biliruben levels are on the decline, and he is gaining weight each visit!
We are so blessed to have this sweet baby, and I would go through it all again a million times. For those of you who have made it to the end of this post are troopers. I really just wanted to document the experience so I would not forget. Now for what people really want. Pictures!!
6 comments:
Oh Bethany! I am so sorry your first days as a family of three were so long and stressful! I'm so glad everything and everyone is ok and healthy! He is such a precious miracle! Congratulations!!
So sweet!! I'm sorry you all had to go through so much. I know things are on the upswing and will become so much easier as you get into the routine. LOVE your blog!!
Oh my goodness...what a whirlwind of a few days. Well, I'm very, very thankful you are all healthy and home! Happy Mother's Day!
Bethany - you are such a trooper! I am so proud of you!! I can't wait to hold that sweet baby!
ps- just added you to my reader. can't wait for updates!
OH MY WORD!!!! Bethany, it will be so much better next time. You did all the hard stuff the first time around. That doesn't sound like an ideal birth story by any means. Glad it is all behind you and you guys are enjoying your sweet boy. I have a feeling you will be one of those Mommies who thinks people who deliver at home are CRAZY!! I had some scary moments with Annie's delivery too and there is no way in the world I would have had Spencer at home. It is nice to be where you can get the care you need. Sorry about the stinky nurse. Grrrrr.
I sure love seeing pictures of that sweet boy. : ) I am sure you are loving it all.
Post a Comment