19-5-2010 - Michael Jeremiah\'s Birth Story

My mood while writing this blog: Overjoyed

Life has been crazy. My Little Man is here and he is perfect. He was born on May 4^th at 1:45 in the afternoon. He weighed 6 pounds 1 oz and was 18 inches long.

I’m sorry if this is a long but I want to remember every detail so I can share it with my Little Man one day……

On May 3^rd I had one of my routine baby monitoring visits and weekly check up with my OB. When I got to the monitoring visit everything was normal. They hooked me up to the monitor and the baby’s heart rate was good. I know he had not been moving as much but no one seemed concerned because he was running out of room in there. When they did the sonogram fluid check my fluid levels had dropped from 15 to 7. The doctor said that it was still in the normal range but wanted to see me back the next day and to tell my OB when I see him that afternoon.

When I got to the OB’s office they did the routine urine, heart beat, and blood pressure check. My blood pressure was very high. I think it was something like 160 / 100. My doctor was very concerned and told me to go home, pack a bag, and go back to the hospital. They would monitor me again and if my blood pressure was fine they may let me go home but he was fairly sure I was going to get admitted.

My husband and I had heard this getting admitted business so may times before so we really thought that I would end up back home that night but just to be safe I packed a bag and headed back to the hospital. They hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor and started monitoring my BP every five minutes. The blood pressure was a little high but not too bad so I figure they would be sending me home. When they decided to admit me to monitor my BP over night and to do another fluid check the next day I was shocked.

That night in the hospital was pure torture. I did not sleep at all. I had a big plastic blood pressure cuff hooked up to my arm all night and I could not sleep on my side because they would loose the baby’s heart beat. By the time the sun was coming up I was so happy because they would be taking me to get the sonogram fluid check and then I could go home and get some sleep.

They took me for the fluid check and my fluids were back up to 12. I kept thinking that all of this was for nothing. Then the doctor came to talk to me. She had talked to my OB and they decided that it would be in mine and the baby’s best interest to go ahead and do the c section. With my BP not being stable, my fluid dropping, and the decreased fetal movement they did not want to take the chance of me truly becoming pre-eclampsic and something happening to the baby. I was going to have a c-section today. WHAT!!!!! TODAY!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!! DID SHE JUST SAY TODAY!!!!!

By the time I got back to my room my husband had called me several times. He was on his way to the hospital. I called him back and told him that we were going to have the baby today. There was a very long pause on his end of the phone and then he responded with “for real…..today?......like today?. I got off the phone with him and started trying to relax. I later learned that he needed to pull the car over to “get himself together”. He is one of those strong types who only believe it when it is right there in front of him. He obviously knew I was pregnant but it was not real until that very moment.

At 11:00 am they came in and put in the IV for the anesthesiologist and the epidural. That hurt like hell. Having a needle placed in your back is not fun. The IV situation was horrible. I’m a hard stick to begin with and with all the swelling it was literally impossible to get blood drawn much less get an IV in. I left the hospital looking like a bruised pin cushion.

By 12:00 they came in to check the numbness in my legs and to up it a bit. They also began giving me what they referred to as Margaritas ( some sort of sedative in my IV) to relax me. By 12:20 we were being wheeled into the operating room. Everything went real fast after that. They strapped me to the table and began to prep for the c-section. I kept saying that I felt sorry for the baby because he was in there thinking that today was just another day and soon he would be ripped from everything he had known and everything would change form him.

When they put the drape up they laid it over my face for a couple seconds. I’m not sure why but it sent me into a panic attack. I looked at the anesthesiologist and asked her to get it off my face and they began to panic. If my arms were not strapped down I would have sat up and gotten off the table. I told her that I was “freaking out” and began to get short of breath. She gave me a few more margaritas and I calmed down. LOL!!!

The next thing I know they were telling me that they had already made the incision and that Little Michael would be here soon. At 1:45 Little Michael was out and my husband was helping them clean him off and checking every thing.

I did not see him and could not hear him for want felt like an eternity. Since he was a c-section it took him a little while to start crying. When he did it was they best sound I had ever heard. That was when the tears started. They were still stitching me up and all that business when my husband finally got to bring the baby over to me. He was hard to see because I was looking at him above my head but he was beautiful.

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. I only got to see my Little Man for about two minutes in the recovery room. That time was spent with a nurse groping my breast and trying to get him to latch on to me. I did not get to just hold him or look at him until much later. If I could do it differently I would make sure they gave me more time with him before they took him away. I had him at 1:45 and did not get to really hold him until 7:45.

I had to stay in the recover room until I could move my legs. During that time I had my family and friend who came in and out to see me. My husband was in and out but he was so excited and wanted to show Michael off so he was taking everyone to the nursery to see Michael. I asked to see my baby several times but they kept saying he was getting his bath and being evaluated. I would not take any more pain medication in the recovery room because I wanted to be with it and awake when I finally got to hold my baby. This was an issue when they made me get up and sit in a chair after I was placed in the room.

By the time they took me up to my room I had stopped asking to see my baby and began to demand it. My brother, sister in law, and aunt came up to the room to see me. My husband was in and out of the room but each time he came in I sent him back to the nusery to see what was taking so long. I kept asking where my baby was and everyone kept saying he was coming. My poor husband did not know what to do. At 7:30 ish they finally brought him into the room. When I finally got to see him it was over whelming. I could not believe that something that beautiful was possible. I kept looking at my husband and saying that he really is cute. We made a really cute baby. He was perfect in every way and it was such a relief. All of the worrying about his well being from the day I found out that I was pregnant. The thousands of prayers that he would be safe, happy, and healthy had paid off.