He was born on August 28, 2014 at 12:14 a.m. He weighed 5 llbs 3 oz and measured 18 inches long. Here's his birth story... (it's kind of long, because you need some background info)
Around week 32, my blood pressure started to creep up at the doctor's office. It would go down to normal after spending time sitting down in the exam room, so my doctors weren't too concerned. I continued to eat a ton of protein.Oh and I should probably mention that my baby had a marginal cord insertion, when the cord inserts on the edge of the placenta. I'd been having growth scans to check his growth because low birthweight can be caused by this.
At my 35 week check up, BP was high again, so they checked again. The doctor (I have four) decided to send me to the hospital to be monitored. They hooked me up. Baby was good, BP came down and they sent me home.The following week, at baby's growth scan his blood flow in his cord was highish so they checked my BP and it was normal.
At my 37 week appointment, my BP shot up to 156/103, the highest it's ever been. They rechecked it, and once again off to L and D i went. This time, it went down, but not enough, so they had me do a 24 hour protein test. My doctors took me out of work at this time too.
The next day, I turned it in and went to my work to check on things for my sub. I didn't hear anything for a few hours, so I thought we were in the clear. Not so fast! My doctor calls me to let me know I had protein in my urine and that since baby was 37 weeks, our best bet was to induce the next day. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia.
SO the next day. J and I trekked to the hospital. They checked me and I was dilated so at 8 a.m. they started me on the lowest dose of pitocin. They only increased it in increments. They were really manageable. My nurse even allowed me to move around at first, but then they would lose baby's heartbeat. I ended up sitting in a chair for a good portion of these contractions. The nurse seemed impressed at how I was handling the pain. Honestly, they felt no worse than my menstrual cramps.
My doctor came in to check me out. I was dilated 3 cm, so they decided to break my water. (This was the worst part so far!) I labored with Pitocin/water breaking contractions for almost an hour. They were AWFUL. I literally felt like someone was just twisting my insides over and over. Jimmy did an amazing job trying to keep me as calm as possible. But I finally had to ask for some medication. My nurse told me that I did great, and that if I had gone into labor naturally, I probably wouldn't have needed any medication.
The anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural. Didn't feel a thing but the pinch of numbing. Right side numbed right away... left side... not so much! He had to do it over again. Let's just say that my back killed me for the next few days.
After that labor progressed really well. At 9, I as 9 cm. They were really hopeful he'd be here in an hour, because he was so small. But I had a cervical lip (nurse was impressed I knew what that meant and that I knew positions to use :)) because baby was OP (i.e. face up). Seemed everytime he pressed down on my cervix, his face made it not want to dilate.
Here's where I get hazy. Doctor kept trying to maneuver baby to rotate, I remember the contraction monitor not working, so I had to tell them when I was having a contraction. (Which let me tell you, not so easy when you are completely num Finally it was time to push. HIs heartrate kept dropping and then coming back. Doctor asked if she could use a vaccuum, because she really wanted to deliver him vaginally. We did BRAINS and agreed. After some tough pushes, Samuel was born at 12:14 a.m.
He scored 8 and 9 on his Apgar. He weighed 5 lbs 3 oz, which was exciting because it meant he could stay with us. He was perfect!
I on the other hand, was not. My BP had gone all over the place, so they placed me on a magnesium drip. I was finally able to move around the next day at 2 (and eat real food too!!!) My nurse came in right at 2 (bless her!) and my parents showed up right after with my Subway sandwich and a Cherry Coke.
My birth didn't go as I wanted it to, but at the end of the day, I was healthy and baby was healthy. And that's all that matters isn't it?
