Getting to hold Jacob for the first time was one of the most magical moments.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Being Born is Hard Stuff
When Jacob was born, he wasn't breathing. There are a couple of possible reasons, though we can never be sure. But, he was stunned! After living in my warm, fluid-filled womb for 9 months, I can't blame him. This world is a scary place!
I am so grateful for the NICU team at UCLA. They were in our room for the birth because we were concerned that this would happen. They worked on Jacob in the delivery room for 8 minutes with no response and then they took him to the NICU. He was there for only about 5 or 10 minutes and then he started breathing spontaneously. Shortly he was allowed to return to me.
When Jacob came back to the delivery room, Mom got to cut the umbilical cord (they had cut it long real quickly before helping him)! Grandma cut the cord! And then we got to hold him.
Oh, how I love this sweet boy. Every day my heart is filled with so much gratitude I can hardly bear it.
Birth Story
On Sunday, May 3rd, I woke up from a night of continuous and painful back labor; I remember doing my breathing exercises in my sleep all night long to cope. We thought that maybe my water had broken but we weren't sure, so we called Labor & Delivery and they said to pack our bags and come in. We did, but it turned out to be a false alarm and just a practice run. But, I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced, and the doctor told us that she wouldn't be surprised if we were back in L&D that night.
The next day, May 4th, after another painful night of back labor, I headed to the hospital for my regular antenatal testing. I was planning to go get a pedicure afterwards. When I got to the Fetal Diagnostics Unit, I told Janet, the nurse, that I was feeling really close to having this baby. I hopped up on the table for my ultrasound and everything looked fine . . but she asked if I was having any back pain. I answered YES! and she told me that Baby had flipped into a posterior position and was now "sunny side up." This position of a baby can make for very painful contractions in your back and can make delivery a little more complicated. Luckily, during labor, he flipped himself back into a regular delivery position, but this certainly explained all of the back pain I'd been having. After the ultrasound I had my Non-Stress Test and my contractions were lasting so long that Janet came over to comfort me just based on what she was seeing on the monitors. I was having such strong and long contractions that she suggested I have my cervix checked again, even though I'd just been checked the morning before. So I stood up to undress and get ready for that . . and well . . there was a trickle down my legs! I said, "Uh . . Janet, there is something running down my legs!" I hopped back up on the bed and she tested the fluid with this little strip of paper. It turned bright blue, which signified that my water, indeed, was broken! I started laughing and giggling and asking if it was really true! She said, "Alright! You're having this baby! Change into this hospital gown and I'll walk you down the hall to Labor & Delivery!" I gave her a celebratory hug and we headed down the hall. (This was about Noon.)
Ben was really close, on campus, but I couldn't get a hold of him. Mom and Dad weren't answering their phones either! So I called our birth photographer and she was the first to know I was having this baby! Eventually I got a hold of Ben and he came to the hospital to see me and then headed home to get our packed bags. I talked to Mom and Dad as well and Mom left Merced to come to LA right away.
When my water broke, the doctors could see that there was meconium in the fluid, which is rather worrisome. And, I am a carrier of Group Beta Strep. So once my water was broken it was important to deliver soon. As soon as I was checked in I was hooked up to an IV (which actually took forever because my veins kept blowing), and I started receiving a bag of fluids, a dose of penicillin, and a drip of Pitocin. I knew that I would need penicillin to protect Baby from my GBS, but I wasn't hoping to be induced. But, it was important to do in this situation and that's what we did.
Ben and I spent the afternoon in our room using all of the breathing, positioning, and massaging techniques we had learned in our birth class. And the doctors kept upping the Pitocin. Thank goodness we had learned how to deal with back labor - that counter-pressure was a life saver! We walked the halls, played "I Spy," and had a mini dance party in between contractions. By 7 PM I was starting to suffer and requested an epidural, so we were moved to our delivery room and I felt immediate relief. At this point I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced.
Mom arrived around 9 PM and we should have all slept, but I was so excited to be in labor and to see Mom that we talked for a couple of hours. Then Mom and Ben just had to sleep, so I tried to rest without much success. At some point, the doctors checked my cervix again and I was dilated to 7 cm. I also threw up twice, but I don't really remember when - it's all such a blur! Around 2 AM, I was 9 cm dilated and the doctor thought that maybe my water hadn't quite broken all the way so she broke it completely for me. Then our birth photographer arrived and my epidural was starting to wear off so I got a little bolus dose. And then it was time!
I started pushing around 3:15 AM and Jacob came into this world at 5:24 AM on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Actually pushing and delivering this baby is the hardest thing I have ever done. I was scared the whole time, and then I started to panic. I felt like I'd gotten myself into this situation and I was the only person who could get myself out of it. I had to push him out, and I felt helpless. Jacob's feet were also in my ribs at this point, so taking a deep breath in between pushes was painful and nearly impossible. But, I did it! After 2 hours of pushing (and yelling at Mom, Ben, the nurses, and the doctors!) Jacob was born!
I think that I actually felt a lot of the birth, because when the doctors were going to stitch me up, they poked me to test if I needed any local anesthesia. I totally felt their little poke and they were quite surprised that I did. And to be honest, the pain of the pushing wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be. I was too focused on the effort of pushing and getting Jacob and I through that experience that I wasn't focused on the pain. It hurt (bad), I won't lie, but it was different than I expected. I wanted the pain; I wanted to birth this child!
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Baby Timeline - Final Countdown, Weeks 37 & 38
April 19th: Thirty-seven weeks!
April 20th: Antenatal testing. Happy baby with lots of heart beat accelerations!
April 22nd: OB appointment and I gained back the weight that I lost, plus 0.2 lbs!
We also had a check up to do a "final assessment" of Babe's kidneys. The doctors saw basically the same thing that they saw last time, meaning that the problem is stable for now and not getting any worse. Babe is weighing in at about 6 1/2 pounds, and he is back in the 50th percentile for size. At our last kidney check, he was in the 70th, and the one before that he was in the 50th - my guess is that he was measured wrong when he measured in the 70th because that is a weird jump up and back down. Those measurements can be difficult in the womb. Anyway, he is measuring just fine and I can't wait to meet this little guy!!
I hung up the wooden alphabet letters this afternoon and they look so great!
We also had our 5th of 6 birth class. We have been learning a lot! And watching a lot of graphic birth videos. (Poor Ben.)
April 23rd: Antenatal testing - looking fabulous!
I am the bottom screen - 5511E - the top line is Baby's heartbeat. They always tell me that it looks "textbook perfect" - lots of action and accelerations, which means he is moving around. The bottom line is uterine activity . . I sure hope its getting my body ready!
I finished the nursery today!
These are the letters we painted at my baby shower here in LA. They turned out so darn cute, I can hardly stand it!
The letters are centered over the pack-n-play and the little white organizer with essentials.
This is the corner with everything baby!
I do love this dresser. Ben built it, bless him. I love the big stuffed basketball, the little lamb, and the sweet elephant.
This is a panoramic picture of our little corner nursery. It ends with the stroller and then the rest of the room is Ben's bike and his desk where he studies. It's not much, but I did the best I could with the space and I love, love, love it. We are so blessed.
April 24th: I was contacted again by the PR lady for UCLA Health. The local CBS News channel wants to do a story on Hyperemesis Gravidarum and they want me to be a part of it. When the news company called me to schedule, I told them that I was free all day on Monday except for my antenatal testing and they jumped all over that . . so we'll be filming at the hospital on Monday. Kind of fun, kind of awkward, kind of cool!
April 25th: Breast feeding class!
April 26th: Thirty-eight weeks pregnant! I'm starting to feel that end-of-pregnancy discomfort . . swollen fingers and toes, fatigue, and just BIG!
April 27th: Today was the filming for CBS News. I met Marlena Fejzo, the main HG researcher; the UCLA PR lady; and the reporter and camera man at the hospital. They interviewed me for about 15 minutes and then filmed part of my antenatal testing - the Non-Stress Test and the AFI ultrasound. Then they interviewed Marlena. And it was on the 5 o'clock CBS Channel 2 News here in Los Angeles!
Here is the link to the piece:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/
Baby looked great in the testing and I had a lot of amniotic fluid, which is new.
April 29th: OB appointment at 38 weeks - very routine, and everything is looking good as we get closer to meeting our little man!!
April 30th: Antenatal testing and Baby looks great! I still had high levels of amniotic fluid, but not too high. On the ultrasound, we could see Baby moving around a lot antd even playing with his toes! Tell me that's not cute.
May 2nd: Our "final hurrah as a party of two" dinner at Plan Check! So fun! Little did we know that this dinner basically gave permission for Baby to come . . .
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