Way back at the first of April we found out our new little addition would be here on (or around) December 2nd. When I got farther along I always had this feeling that I was not going to make it to my actual due date. My guess was around November 18, about 2 weeks early but still full term. I never thought that I would have a premature baby. I think that if there were no problems she would still have came early but definitely not 4 weeks early.
Thinking about today made me want to relive and tell the story of the day Adilene Jules was born.
Wednesday November 6th was a very busy day. It started out by going to the pediatrician's office so I could meet with the doctor. This was a waste of time because the doctor's schedule had changed and I never got a call to change my appointment. Then Blaiden and I had to run to the store, then go let a friends dog out: all before nap time. During nap time I did a few things around the house, ate lunch, and relaxed a little before getting ready to go to Akron Children's Hospital for our ultrasound.
I had to wake Blaiden up from his nap and load him up in the car. Fred got home just in time to get in the car and leave. We stopped by McDonald's to get Blaiden some lunch then started the 20 minute drive to Akron. I was not nervous at all for this appointment, things had been looking great and nothing new had come up in weeks. However, I was very happy to have this appointment because in the past 2 days I had noticed that she wasn't moving much. This was weird because she was always very very very active. I also wanted to see how much she had gained because everything I had read about babies with Down Syndrome was most had a low birth weight.
Everything about these appointments had become so routine and this one was no different. Throughout this pregnancy I have learned so much about what to look for in an ultrasound and I think if I was given a picture I could figure out what they were looking at. I had running check list of things to look for: First thing I noticed was she was head down. Then the tech started looking for my fluid pockets to measure them. She looked around for a quick minute but moved on to start measuring our baby girl. She took the measurements of the arms, legs, head, and stomach. All looked okay from what I could see as the readings came up on the screen. Then she started trying to make her move so she could get a better view of the fluid pockets. She wouldn't move and this is when I could tell that she thought that something was wrong. She took a few measurements of the fluid that she could find and said she was going to get the doctor. I asked how much she was weighing and she said about 5 pounds 11 ounces. This was only 1 ounce more than our last appointment 2 weeks ago.
As soon as she left Fred and I looked at each other and we both knew that something was wrong. We could tell that there was not enough fluid and then when she wouldn't move it confirmed our feelings. Fred said we would be having her that day. The doctor came in and looked around for about 60 seconds and said that she "recommends" that I deliver. Recommends is a funny word. With Fred as my go to doctor I sometimes feel I have no choice in my care. Not that this is a problem, I am so happy that someone I trust so much is there and can understand the entire situation but I also feel very lost sometimes.
Wait, WHAT!! Talk about a shock, I couldn't help the tears from falling. She wasn't ready, she was too small, she needed more time. I wasn't ready, I had another month to get ready, my bag wasn't packed, I didn't have arrangements for Blaiden, I needed more time. WE needed more time!
Once I got over that then the fear started. Was she okay, was she going to be okay. Was her GI track fully developed, her lungs, heart, her tone. I had a million thoughts running through my mind I could hardly hear what the doctor said after her "recommendation." I am not sure if Fred had asked any other questions or the doctor said anything else but we were cleaning off my stomach so I could go get a stress test, still with tears in my eyes. We wanted to deliver at a hospital close to home with my regular OB but we had to make sure that we had time to drive the 20 minutes back to the hospital. I was hooked up to some machines for about 20 minutes and then the doctor said we could go but to go straight to the hospital!
On the ride back I called my mom, Fred called a friend to meet us so he could take Blaiden, and we drove quickly to the hospital. Fred dropped me off at the door I said goodbye to Blaiden and headed up to the maternity floor. My doctor had been called and all my paperwork was there so check in was easy. I was in my gown and getting hooked up to the machines by the time Fred got there.
It was just before 4pm when they started me on pitocin and antibiotics. Now I'm not going to go into detail about the whole labor part. I ended up getting an epidural when I was about 4cm. I knew that there was a good chance of a C-section happening and so I knew I wanted an epidural. The contractions were just starting to hurt at this point. I figured that I was going to have an epidural so why wait. After I got it, baby girls heart rate dropped a little and I was getting light headed. I never do good with strong meds, so I was put on oxygen for a while.
While all of this was happening Fred couldn't be in there so he went home to put Blaiden to bed. We had a different friend come over to spend the night with him.
Labor went on and for about the next 5 hours it was pretty quiet. Baby girls heart rate was low but stable and she was handling the contractions pretty well. At about 3am I noticed that during the contractions the heart rate was dipping really low and wasn't coming back up. After about 15-20 minutes of this I woke Fred up and we called the nurse in. I am not sure why the nurse didn't come in before but I was put back on oxygen and the doctor was called. I also told the nurse that I could tell it was getting close because I could feel a lot of pressure like she was ready to come. I was right and now we just needed to wait for all the doctors to get there.
There was quite a few people getting ready in our room. There was a special care nurse, respiratory nurse, another person I am not sure what she was, and then my doctor and nurse and we were waiting for neonatologist to get there before I started pushing. My doctor decided I should try pushing 1 time to see how it would go, baby girl did not like this at all. This is when I got my little pep talk by Fred and my doctor. I needed to push hard and get this done quickly, she needed to get out as fast as she could. She did not recover from the practice push and so even though the neonatoligist was not there I needed to have her. As we were waiting for the next contraction the doctor came in. I only had to push for 2 contractions and she was here. At 3:53am she started crying and so did I. After Fred cut her cord she was taken to the other side of the room. I sat there waiting and waiting and waiting to hear if she was okay. Fred went over there to see her. It seemed like forever before I heard anyone say anything, finally I got the okay that everything was fine. Again it seemed like it took forever before they brought her back to me but finally I was holding my baby, she was breathing and healthy, she even tried to nurse a little.
It was a stressful delivery and afterward my nurse said she had everything ready to head to the OR because she was sure it was going that way. I can not say enough good things about my OB, she handled the situation wonderfully. She knew when it was time and knew what our baby could handle.
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