I went in for my normally scheduled NST appointment on Monday morning. Her heart rate looked good, as did my blood pressure. There were also no major contractions. So, we figured we were good to go for a little while longer.
Later that day, I started to feel funny. I had a headache that wouldn't go away, I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, and my legs started to hurt and looked swollen. My parents have a blood pressure cuff, so I started checking my BP around 3. It was elevated, so I though I'd check it again in about an hour. After an hour, it was still slightly high. I started to wonder if I should call my doctor, but I thought maybe if I laid down, it would drop. After checking 2 more times in the next few hours, I finally decided to call my doctor around 6:15. My OB was out of town that week, so I called my on-call doc, a perinatologist. He wanted me to go to labor and delivery to be monitored. As soon, as Jeff arrived home from work, we said goodbye to Nicholas and headed to the hospital. I was hooked up as soon as we arrived (around 7), and we noticed I was actually having pretty regular contractions at that point. They weren't particularly strong, but were coming more regularly. My blood pressure was also rising at the hospital and they did detect a trace amount of protein in my urine. Around 7:30, the nurse came in and said, "Okay kids, it looks like we're going to have a baby tonight!" With my history of pre-eclampsia, the doctor felt like it was better to deliver the baby, instead of waiting a few days to see if my blood pressure would regulate on its own. Since 37 weeks is considered full term, he felt comfortable that this was best for me and the baby. You can imagine our shock...we thought we were just going in for monitoring.
After that, it was a whirlwind of signing papers, getting IVs, talking to anesthesiologists, and suiting up for the big event. Luckily, I had my overnight bag in the car, so Jeff was able to run out and get our camera. By 8:30, I was wheeled into the OR for the spinal block. I was nervous about the sting, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I tried to remain calm as I was prepped...it was all happening so fast. The c-section began and I just remember feeling a lot of pressure. After it was all done, the doctor told us that he had a hard time getting Alexis out. Her head was not in a favorable position and I had a lot of built up scar tissue from my c-section with Nicholas. There was A LOT of pushing on my stomach, as well as the use of forceps and, finally, the vacuum to get our girl out. By 9:05, she made her appearance and was whisked away for testing. I was wheeled to the recovery room, until about 11 o'clock. My parents had arrived at this point and were able to stay with me in recovery while Jeff tended to Alexis. We were finally settled into our hospital room by midnight and I got to properly meet Alexis shortly after that.
It was a wild and crazy ride to get Alexis here. Many doctor's appointments, a whole lot of diabetes management, and a very active older brother to wrangle. Now that she's here, it's hard to imagine that there was a time she wasn't. Enjoy some pics of the birth night, as well as a video of the c-section (WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE BLOOD, DON'T WATCH!)
Right before we left for the OR...I was a bit nervous
No comments:
Post a Comment