I wanted to share his Birth story on the blog as well as the days following his birth (another post). It's a long story so if you aren't interested, pass this blog post up. :)
On October 31st, I went to my scheduled appointment (38 weeks, 2 days). I had been noticing a great amount of swelling in my feet and legs over the 24 hours prior to the appointment so I was a little nervous about what the doctor might say. When the nurse checked my blood pressure, it was 152/98 and I was shocked. My blood pressure has been perfectly normal the whole pregnancy. The doctor checked me and I was still not dilated. She then rechecked my blood pressure and it was higher at 164/104. She then asked for an ultrasound to measure the baby's size etc.
The ultrasound showed baby weighed closed to 8 pounds but when the ultrasound tech tried to measure "practice breaths", the baby didn't show them what they needed to see. After the ultrasound, we went in to see the doctor and both of us kind of expected what came next. She told us that she wanted me to be admitted to the hospital that night to prepare for induction the following day. Her justification was that my blood pressure was high, the practice breaths were not WFL (not bad but not great) and that she really just didn't want to risk it.
We were a little sad because we had planned to have natural delivery etc. However, we also wanted baby to arrive safely no matter what. We ran home to get some things. The bags were already packed, Matt just had to load them up. We got to the hospital at about 3:45 that afternoon and by that point, my eyes were a little blurry and my blood pressure was even higher. The nurses started me on some fluids and had me resting/reclined to bring my pressure down. They ran some blood work to check for pre-eclampsia and then we waited.
(Girl with high blood pressure!)
The blood work came back normal and they started me on Cervadil which is a medication that works to prepare the cervix for induction. I had that in place from 6:15 p.m. to 6:15 a.m. the next morning. At this time, we started calling family and close friends to update them on the details. Matt got me my "last meal" from Subway at 8:15. The night was rough because they had to check my blood pressure so often and I had a hard time getting situated in the bed. By the next morning, I was in bad shape fatigue wise just from the rough night/little sleep but I got to get up, shower, and prepare for our little one to arrive that day!!!
(Subway delivery man)
The nurses removed the Cervadil at 6:15 am and we think I must have been somewhat allergic to it because it caused irritation and a good bit of pain. At 7:15, they started pitocin to begin the induction. The nurse was still measuring contractions, baby's heart rate and my blood pressure. All was measuring well and I was having TONS of contractions, none of which I could feel. At about 10:00 am, the doctor came in (my favorite doctor of the practice, by the way. He was concerned about the irritation from the medication and then he checked my cervix. I wasn't thinned much and I wasn't dilated at all.
(Baby day)
At that time, he sat with us and discussed some of our options. He said that it was clear that my body wasn't necessarily ready for delivery which wasn't surprising since baby wasn't due for 11 mores days but that my blood pressure issues had really forced their hand and inducing labor. He gave us three options to discuss and consider.
1. continue with pitocin for 8-10 more hours in hopes of dilation progressing
2. have a c-section
3. wait until the next day and retry the cervadil/pitocin over again
Matt and I had already talked about the fact that we wanted the baby there that day to reduce fatigue for both of us and also to ensure no further blood pressure issues etc. At that point, we said that if I wasn't progressing in dilation at next measurement, that we would strongly consider c-section. By 1:00 we were waiting on the doctor to come back and the nurse came in and said she had spoken with our doctor and that if we were leaning toward c-section that he was in line with that given the events of the day. We then expected to talk with the doctor prior to any final decision being made.
(our hospital room view)
About 15 minutes later, the anesthesiologist came in and began asking questions, the nurse brought in something for Matt to wear during the c-section and about 5 other people came in. I immediately started crying because it caught me (and Matt) off guard because we didn't realize the "final" decision had been made. The doctor came in and was concerned and answered all questions we had. We told him that we knew the c-section was the right decision but we didn't know it would happen so fast. He said we could have as much time as we needed. Matt and I had a moment in the hospital room together. We prayed and then we called them in to get started. It was about 2:15 at this point. Within 15 minutes I was back in the OR prepping for the section.
At 2:30 p.m., the doctor began trying to place the spinal to numb me for the c-section. I learned during this time that, apparently, I have very small spaces in my back for a spinal to be placed. Over the next HOUR, the doctor tried to place a spinal having to stick me TEN times!! It was one of the hardest hours of my life because I wasn't sure that they were going to be able to get the spinal in, I was worried about Matt because I knew he was waiting to come in AND I was just ready to meet my baby!
(Let's do this!)
Thankfully, we had one of the best anesthesiologists and she kept trying because the alternative would have been a complete sedation and I wouldn't have met the baby for at least an hour and Matt wouldn't have been able to be in the room. We avoided that and despite the pain it caused me later, I was incredibly grateful.
The spinal was successfully placed about 3:30 and the c-section was ready to begin. I was so glad to see Matt and we couldn't hardly believe we were about to meet our son or daughter. The c-section was without issue and at 3:52 pm, Mason Matthew Morgan entered the world!! Matt and I had both felt toward the end of the pregnancy that our baby was a boy so it was wonderful to have that confirmed. Matt was able to be with the baby while he was cleaned up etc and he was able to hold him right by me while I was being closed up etc. Mason had the sweetest little cry and the doctors and nurses all said "He's ready to be in the opera!". The best part was that he immediately calmed when Matt began talking to him. It was pretty incredible.
(Mason's 1st picture)
I was wheeled to recovery and Mom was able to come in. She literally arrived at the hospital as the c-section was finishing and other than Matt and myself, she was the first person to meet Mason. This was something we prayed for over the course of the pregnancy because we knew it was important. Mason was glad to meet his GiGi!
The rest of Mason's first day was uneventful. He got a bath from the nurses and got to visit with his Great Grandmom. Mom got to eat her favorite meal from Wade's and we all spend the night in the hospital.
Wow, what a day it was!!
Oh - I had no idea what hurdles you jumped over to bring this baby boy into the world. So thankful both of you are well and everything turned out good for ya'll. He's a cutie! :)
ReplyDelete