Thursday, May 14, 2015

Leela Jane Has Arrived

The first thing I want to say is that I am sitting here feeding a healthy Leela Jane but she decided to come into the world with a bang. Two weeks ago Thursday  I went into my appointment with the OB.  I was shocked and disappointed to find out that the baby was laying sideways transverse and not to head down. We immediately scheduled to come in to the hospital next day to have her flipped and it was a long day waiting and I was extremely stressed out about it.

So the next day Dick and I came into the hospital not really knowing what to expect. The doctor came in and explained a little bit more about the procedure and that they would be pushing on my stomach in hopes that she will turn and be facedown.  So they began and it was extremely painful and unsuccessful. So they gave me a little break and a shot to relax my uterus. Then they begin pushing again and they pushed and pushed and pushed and finally baby girl turned facedown.  I was so excited that I began crying and felt so much relief because the alternative would be to do a scheduled C-section the following week.  Now we could sit back and wait for labor to begin. So the next week I headed back to work as usual and waited for our next OB appointment.  Nothing unusual really happen that week other than I had begun feeling Braxton Hicks contractions.  Finally Friday rolls around and I was checked at the OB at 3 cm and head down!  The waiting game would continue and I was scheduled to be induced the next Thursday if nothing had happened by then.  Little did I know I was going to be in for a crazy night.

After work I had planned to hang out and spend the night at my friend Beka's house who lives in Fort Atkinson.she has a son who is four months younger than Richard and they also go to the same daycare.  Everything was going great and we gave the boys a bath. Shortly after it was time for bed. An hour in Richard woke up screaming and I ran downstairs to check what was the matter. Poor baby had pooped his pants and needed to be changed. He then went straight back to sleep.

So we continue to relax and hang out when all of a sudden I felt my first contraction around 8:00 PM. I didn't think that much about it because it was extremely light and just felt like a slight cramping feeling. However five minutes went by and I felt another.  It was also extremely light but I decided I should probably start tracking these. So again in another five minutes I had another in it when I'm like this until they started getting strongerso I decided it was time to give Dick a call. He was in Watertown and after chatting he told me I should call him in another half hour if things progressed. Well shortly they began getting stronger and stronger and stayed five minutes apart so I decided to give the hospital a call. They asked if I had tested positive for strep B and I had so they told me to come in immediately.   I began to panicbecause we didn't have anybody to take the boys and we would have to take them with us or wait for Dick to get to FortAtkinson.  So we called our friend Lorrie Who is also Richie's babysitter to see if she was available to come pick me up and take me but she was home alone as well with her kid.  She made a few calls and had someone watch her kids so she could come pick me up.  By the time we got to the hospital Dick was already there waiting for me and they got me in a wheelchair and took me up to the room.  By this time the contractions were fast and furious and I was in a lot of pain when I got to the room they began to monitor me immediately and started the anabiotic for the strep B.  They asked if I wanted to start pain meds as well but I was unsure so I waited a few more contractions and then decided I needed to get an epidural.

By this time I was already 5 cm Head was downand they called in the anesthesiologist.  What seems like a lifetime he finally came in and began to get my epidural started. Through contractions I had to sit still and wait for him to get the epidural in place.  I began to feel relieved but only on half of my body the other half did not take. Shortly later they check me again and I was fully dilated and we heard a pop my water broke.  She went to check me again and began to panic because she could not feel the head or anything else so they call the doctor immediately.  Then I began to panic and cry.  The on-call doctor came in Dr. Dillon and confirmed that she had turned when my water broke and that we would immediately have to do a C-section.  At this point I began to cry hysterically but I knew what we had to do to get a healthy baby.  They immediately begin prepping me for surgery and in what seems like a blur I was laying on the operating table ready to go.  Another lifetime past and suddenly I heard my sweet baby crying and again I began to blubber.  I did not get to see her right away but Dick immediately went over by her and said she is healthy and he cut the cord.  Finally they brought her over to me but after just seconds I felt nauseous and they had to take her because I had to throw up.  They had done a spinal block on me and it must've been too heavy because I could feel a heavy weight on my chest and it felt like I couldn't breathe. They finished the procedure and finally took me to the recovery room and I could finally see my baby.  She began to nurse immediately and I realized I had a pro on my hands.  I had to sit in the recovery room until I could move my toes and it was the strangest feeling looking at my feet but not having them be able to move.  By this time more deliveries were being done at the hospital and the nurses were coming and going.  I had to stay in the recovery room until about five in the morning when I could finally move my toes.   Dick had taken baby back to the room and they were both snoozing peacefully when I arrived.  I went to sleep.

The next day grandma came to come and pick up Richie and my friend Beka brought him up to the hospital to meet his little sister.  He ran around the hospital room a little bit pushing buttons and trying to pull my catheter out. We decided it was time for grandma to take him home.  My brother and his family also visited later that day as well as my coworker Kathleen. We stayed in the hospital until the following Tuesday. She was monitored each night for Bilirubin and they continued to check my incision and everything looked great!

I am happy to say that everyone is happy and healthy and even though a C-section was not what I wanted I am so happy that everything worked out so well.




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