Natalie?s Birth Story *LONG*

Jezebell26

This year for Valentine?s Day I asked hubby to take the day off so we could spend the day together. Between his work schedule and preparing for the baby, our alone time was far and few between. We decided to go back to the place that did our elective ultrasound for the do over since baby girl was much bigger now, she should be easy to see. We got some amazing shots of her! Who knew we would see that sweet face so soon after! Then we hit a Buy Buy Baby to pick up some odds and ends and then went home to get ready for dinner. I?m kicking myself for never taking our picture that night! We went out to dinner for 6pm and had a very nice romantic dinner. We went home and relaxed and then (after I checked my sugar) we had some chocolate covered strawberries and it was off to bed. Sadly it was around 9pm.

I woke up around 11pm to use the bathroom. I had started spotting earlier in the week so when I could feel something ?plop? I didn?t think anything of it and was hoping it was the start of something good. Well imagine my surprise when I wiped to find a ton of blood! Cue panic! I attempted to clean myself up and knew I needed to wake my husband. I didn?t know what was happening, what was going to happen or what it meant but I knew we were making a trip to the hospital. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to leave that hospital with a baby! I woke up my husband and we started to get ready and once I explained what was wrong we both had a moment of panic. I went back to the bathroom to prepare myself to make the trip to the hospital and continued to bleed and bleed. Now it started to sink in that something was really wrong. I called the OB and waited for a call back. Got one of my favorite Dr?s who attempted to calm me down and told me to go right to the hospital, she would call ahead and I would be taken right up to Labor and Delivery. So I called my mom to update her and off we went. It was a crazy ride because I was so scared something was wrong but at the same time had no idea what was going on!

We got to the hospital right before midnight and thankfully I already did my pre-admission forms so it was a breeze and I was just waiting for someone to take me up to get evaluated. The first thing the nurse did was hook me up to the monitors and made me focus on her heartbeat. Well thank god she still had one! My blood pressure was very high, go figure, but baby looked great on the monitors. I was still bleeding quite heavily and they needed to find out why. So they cleaned off my cervix and tried to get the clots out. An ultrasound was done to check on the baby?s position and weight and it was determined I would be admitted at least overnight so I could meet with the high risk Dr in the morning. So off to L&D we went. We made it through the night getting whatever sleep we could. Because of my diabetes my sugar was checked every hour and bloodwork was drawn every 6 hours. I was also on a blood pressure machine that took a reading every 15 minutes. Needless to say it was difficult to rest. In the morning with the change of shifts we were moved to a larger room. It seems I was to make myself comfortable. The bleeding had slowed/stopped and I was just waiting to see my OB and the MFM in a few hours. Around 9am my OB came in and we spoke about what was happening. It was thrown around that I had partial placental abruption and she believed the safest thing was for me to deliver. But at this point the OB does not call the shots, the MFM does and the OB just goes along with it. I spoke to my OB about a c-section and told her I was most definitely open to one and just wanted whatever was safest for my daughter. I was checked sometime through the night and was just about 3cm. I was having contractions regularly but was still hanging in there. By mid morning I was being given insulin for my sugars so they could control them, still checking every hour. Around 10:30am the MFM made his rounds and we had a discussion about delivering me. He did a growth scan and estimated baby to be under 6lbs, around 5lb15oz. He wasn?t that far off at all! He explained how the abruption could kill me and my daughter and well that didn?t sound like a great option. So he voted for induction. I was just shy of 37 weeks but was far enough along that he felt comfortable with the induction. It was no longer safe to keep me pregnant. So that was that. I was going to leave this hospital with a baby! I called home to let them know and had a heart to heart with my husband. We were terrified and still couldn?t believe this was happening. We were both running on no sleep!

Around 11am we started pitocin. I was still at 3cm but was contracting regularly and was in pain. I decided it was epidural time so that I could try and get some rest. I labored throughout the morning and was checked again around 3pm to find I was still at 3cm. So they decided to break my water to get things moving along. Sometime in the late afternoon the resident came in to inform me that I had pre-eclampsia. Oh terrific. So at this point I wouldn?t be able to get out of bed and would be on bedrest for 24 hours after delivery. Another line needed to be placed so that I could start another medication, magnesium, to help me. Along with that my vitals were checked every 2 hours, bloodwork every 6 hours, sugars every hour and blood pressure every 15 minutes. Yeah there was no time for sleep. I labored for the rest of the day and was checked around 7pm and was still 3! Man this was frustrating! It was during this check I had another bleed. That worried me tremendously! I really wanted to talk to my OB to get some answers as it was unclear how long I would sit on pitocin for. At this point I was delirious. I was getting no rest and really hadn?t slept since Wednesday. And neither had my husband. I cried and cried to him telling him I legitimately did not have the strength to have this baby. I was done. I wanted this experience over but there wasn?t much we could do.

I continued to be poked and prodded at and got something else for the pain and would rest in 45minute intervals. Thankfully I had wonderful nurses who did whatever they could to let me rest while poking me. We finally were able to get my husband another chair that pulled out so he could get some rest. I continued to ask for my OB but was told I would see her in the morning. I had no idea how I would make it! Around midnight my OB arrived. Man was I so glad to see her! We talked about what was going on and I told her I was not thrilled with having another bleed and she agreed. She wanted to check me and we both had hoped for progress. Everything was looking great on the monitors and the pitocin had been bumped up to the max and they already broke my water 12 hours ago. Low and behold, 4cm. Neither one of us were comfortable with this and she just finally said it was time for me to deliver and that we would be getting ready to do a c-section. This was music to my ears because it meant the roller coaster ride was over, but it also meant I became someone?s Mommy. Was I ready for that? So now cue panic, and I have to have my husband call my parents, clean up our room, change into scrubs and keep calm all the while. Next thing I knew everyone was suited up, anesthesia was numbing me and they were giving me a hat. Holy crap, was this really happening? I was taken into the OR by 1am. At 1:29am Natalie Antoinette was born and I finally heard her beautiful cry. They had warned us that the magnesium would affect her and that she might not cry. My husband followed her to the nursery while they finished with me. When she was cleaned up she was brought over to me so I could ?hold? her and someone took our picture. I was out of it the entire time and could barely keep my eyes open but boy did I perk up when they brought her over to me! It was such an emotional ride for me and my husband but we couldn?t be happier. At this point in time, she still had no name. I really needed to get a better look at her! They came back from the nursery and told me she was 5lb14oz and 18.5 inches long! Before I left the OR I spoke to my OB about how it went and I asked about my placenta. I know that the shape the placenta is in at the time of delivery says a lot about the health of the baby. She told me the placenta was completely detached. Man was I glad we did the section when we did!

I made it to recovery around 2am where my husband and parents were bouncing back and forth between me and the nursery and there were many tears of joy! They said as long as the baby was cleared she could come sit with me in recovery. So my husband brought her out to me and I got to hold her for the first time. It was then we decided her name would be Natalie. It just fit her. I was moved into my own room around 5am and requested the baby come in so that I could do skin to skin with her. That was an amazing moment! I did breastfeed her for a short time before we went to sleep but unfortunately that was the last time. At this point it is 6am on Saturday morning and we were admitted on Thursday! I was stuck on bedrest for 24 hours after birth because of the magnesium. I had horrible side effects and wasn?t able to sit up in bed because of my blood pressure. I couldn?t care for my daughter and just laid in the bed whenever visitors came. It was amazing to see my husband take care of her and spring into action but it stunk not being able to participate. Finally I kicked everyone out because I felt horrible and my blood pressure was still high. By Sunday I was out of bed and walking around, which was very painful. We were given the option to stay until Wednesday but decided to leave on Tuesday instead.

Overall it was a crazy experience but we expected nothing less given our history. My story could have had a different ending so I am very grateful to the hospital and my choice of Drs. I still can?t believe my daughter is here and that I actually got my miracle. I am adjusting to my new life and am still in awe that this perfect little baby is mine anytime I want her! Everything we went through over the past 3 years was totally worth it! I couldn?t be more in love with her!

ETA: Pictures, since you deserve them! These are our hospital photos that I am ridiculously in love with!