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!

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/TVEyesMediaCenter/UserContent/298102/4791755.8754/KCBS_04-27-2015_17.31.23.mp4

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 . . .

Baby Timeline - Final Countdown, Weeks 35 & 36

April 6th: Antenatal testing.  Baby is a champ.  Great amniotic fluid, great heartbeat tracing.  I love getting to see him twice each week!

April 8th: OB appointment at 35 weeks 4 days, and I gained 3.7 lbs in the last 2 weeks and my fundal height is measuring 37 cm!  I am definitely making up for lost time!  Everything is looking good - just starting to discuss plans for the upcoming weeks and preparation for delivery.

We are half-way through our birthing classes!

April 9th: Antenatal testing and everything looks great!

April 10th: I wake up in the middle of the night sick, sick, sick!  We call L&D and they have me come in for fluids and monitoring.  I got a new anti-nausea med and they let me go when I was able to keep down fluids.  Then I slept almost every single hour for the next two days.

We are due in one month!

April 12th: I reach 36 weeks!

April 13th: Antenatal testing.  Looking fab!  Which is reassuring because I am still feeling way, way sick.  No more "gory details" but I am so weak and tired and shakey and light-headed and nauseas.  This stomach bug has really knocked me out.  :/

April 15th: OB appointment at 36 weeks 4 days, and I lost 2.7 lbs this week from being so sick!  No good!  But things are looking great besides that.  Now I have OB appointments weekly.

Birthing class #4.

April 16th: Antenatal testing.  Fluid is good - I'm so grateful because I have been so dehydrated from being sick.  I was on the heartbeat & uterine activity monitors for an hour, though, instead of the normal 20 minutes.  Baby needs to have 4 heartbeat accelerations to pass the test and he decided to take a nap!  Then, he woke up and was really active so we had to wait for him to calm down!  Cute boy.  I think my body is getting ready for labor, though, because my uterine activity was non-stop, and I could feel it!

April 17th: Ben & I met with the Pediatric Urologist for a consultation today.  I was hoping for more of an idea of what will happen in the future (to help us plan our summer locations and summer health insurance), but it truly is a wait-and-see game.

Right after birth, as in while we're still in the hospital, Baby will have an ultrasound to determine, more exactly, where the problem lies.

He will also have a procedure right after birth called a VCUG (voiding cystourethrogram) where a catheter is entered and a radiocontrast agent is used to look at anatomy and activity in the bladder in real-time x-ray.

About 6 weeks after birth, Baby will have one of two procedures, whichever the doctor decides is best.  1) A MAG 3 Lasix Renal Scan, where a radiocontrast agent is used again, but is inserted through an IV, and pictures are taken to look for kidney function, size, shape, position, and blockage of urinary flow.  2) A CT Urogram, where a radiocontrast agent is again inserted through an IV and through x-ray the kidneys, ureters, and bladder are examined.

It's all very confusing.  It was confirmed today that both kidneys have moderate dilation and the right ureter is dilated.  Based on the amount of dilation (Baby is pretty low on the "problem" scale), there is a small chance that he will need surgery, and that would happen about 6 months after birth.  If no surgery is needed, Baby will need an ultrasound every 3 months for at least the first year.  Then we will just see how it is going.

It makes me sad that our tiny, sweet baby will need to have these procedures done.  But, I am so grateful for Medi-Cal and good medical care!  This little boy sure is loved!!

I have one more kidney-specific ultrasound for a final assessment before birth next week.


Also today, Ben & I went to Costco and did some major stocking up and nesting!  I do believe that we have enough toilet paper and paper towels and Lysol wipes and dishwasher soap to last us a lonnng time.  We also stocked up on freezer meals for the next few weeks when I am really tired and for after birth!

April 18th: Lots of nesting going on here!  Getting cleaned up and organized . . yet my to-do list keeps growing?  We are surely getting excited!

If you think I've had a lot of appointments, take a look at our April calendar.  Almost every thing on here is some sort of appointment, whether it's antenatal testing, OB, primary care doctor, kidney visit, birth class . . It helps the time pass quickly to be busy like this so I don't mind.

Baby Timeline - Final Countdown, Weeks 33 & 34

March 20th: Mom hosted a sweet luncheon for me and some ladies in the ward I grew up in.

March 25th: OB appointment at 33 weeks 3 days - I gained 4.2 lbs in the last 2 weeks.  Wowza!  My blood pressure was high, but fundal height was measuring ahead at 35 cm and Baby's heartbeat sounded great!  Because of the kidney pyelectasis, the doctor is having me start antenatal testing twice a week from now until I deliver this sweet child.  That means that twice each week I'll go to the Fetal Diagnostics Unit at the hospital and do a Non-Stress Test (NST) and an Amniotic Fluid Index (AFI).  I start Monday.

Ben & I had our first, in a series of six, birth class.  We are taking classes at Bini Birth in Sherman Oaks and I think they will be great and super helpful - good information and knowledge plus learning and practicing coping mechanisms.

March 28th: My visiting teacher hosted the cutest baby shower for me and Babe!  The theme was the alphabet and we painted wood letters to hang in Baby's room - pictures to follow because they are so cute!  We also had a waffle bar with little waffles, syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, chocolate chips, strawberries, powdered sugar, and whipped cream.  Orange juice and water to drink.  And little bags of alphabet crackers from Trader Joe's as parting gifts!  Joanna & Natalie both made the effort to come from farther away and that was really special.

I can't believe I only got one picture!  Natalie & I with one of the letters I painted.  Baby J.  :)

Also, Ben's sister Ashley created the invitations and I love them!

March 29th: I am 34 weeks pregnant and totally exhausted.  Too exhausted to stop at the temple and take a bump picture after Church!

March 30th: First antenatal testing: amniotic fluid looks great (I was 13.something and normal is between 8 and 25.) and heart beat looks great!  I had a Braxton Hick while I was on the monitor and it was kind of cool to watch the line go up and come back down.  I hope I'll be singing the same tune in a few weeks.  :)

March 31st: To IKEA to buy Baby a dresser - we've got to get things in order now!

April 1st: Growth & Pyelectasis Follow-up scan at the Fetal Diagnostics Unit in the hospital.  Baby is looking good - I am so proud of him.  His growth is back up to about the 72nd percentile and his estimated weight is about 5.7 pounds.  The doctor could also tell that he has hair!  So cute.  The kidneys didn't look terribly worse, but they didn't look any better.  What was really interesting was that the doctor seemed to be able to see where the problem might be and it looks to be between the ureter and the bladder on one side.  Typically Pyelectasis will resolve on its own as the child grows up because the problem is due to immaturity of the kidney system, but it appears that we have an actual problem here, so that will not be the case.  Most likely some sort of intervention will be needed.  But, we won't really know anything more until we meet with the pediatric urologist on the 17th.  I'm so grateful for good medical care and the reassurance that Babe will receive the care and attention that he needs now and after birth!  What a blessing!

April 2nd: Antenatal testing.  Looking good!

April 4th & 5th: General Conference.  For some reason, maybe because families are talked about so much during conference, I have always counted conferences not being pregnant.  "Oh, another General Conference and I'm not pregnant.  Surely by next conference . . "  Well, last conference, I was pregnant, but I was totally out of it.  That was the day Alere came to get me all set up and I was connected to the Zofran pump and home IVs.  And this conference, I turned 35 weeks pregnant!  During conference one year ago I was saying "surely by next conference . ." and one year later, I am 5 weeks away from my due date.  I have always been blessed, but the blessings I have received in the past year seem to me like miracles.

Spring Break in Merced

It was so nice for Ben to have a break from school in between quarters, to get away from LA for a little while, and spend some time with my family in Merced.

Mom hosted a lovely little luncheon for some ladies in the ward, Baby, and me.

Ben competed in the Pacheco Triathlon and won the whole thing!  But . . the race was a fundraiser for a high school's swim & water polo teams so they were trying to save money and gave out the unclaimed trophies from last year.  Ben was the overall champion . . and his trophy says "Second Place."  Classic!

I love this picture.  I never have pictures of me at Ben's races, but Scott took this of me cheering for Ben at the start - I totally love cheering him on.

High five!

The very exciting "finish line."

And then Ben looked up at Scott & me and said "Did I win?"  Yes!

Ben, Dad, & Tom all have March birthdays so we celebrated with some yummy cake & ice cream.

After the birthday boys sang themselves a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday" . . 

And blew out their candles.  So cute, guys.

On Dad's actual birthday, Team RM Cycling went for a ride.

While we were in Merced I got to spend some really beautiful time with Grandma & Grandpa Rowan.  I grew up about a mile from them and they are such a big part of my life.

And, I just thought this rose and this sunset were particularly pretty.  Thanks, Merced!