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Birth Story (Warning: Very, very long!)
Jen727BF
Posts: 2,304
Wow, I've been off list for a week and I feel like I've missed so much. This is a long post and believe it or not, it is the short version. Lol.
On Friday, April 26, 2013, in the afternoon, DP received a call from our Midwife. The recent 24 hour protein test came back positive and she wanted us to see the backup OB as soon as possible. She advised her office would be calling us back and letting us know when and where to meet the OB. About 15 minutes later we received a call from the Midwives’ offices letting us know that the OB wanted us to go directly to labor and delivery at a local hospital. We were told to take our bag just in case.
When we arrived at the hospital, of which we knew nothing about since it was never on our radar, we were sent to the examination room of labor and delivery. One of the nurses called the OB and was told to directly admit us and begin running a series of tests “stat”. When the nurse got off the phone I asked her what all this meant and she replied that we would not be leaving the hospital without a baby. At this point, while we were greatly disappointed we could not have the birth we had planned for or dreamed of, we were still excited because the end result would be the same… we finally would get to meet our baby!
The next few hours were a whirlwind as nurses and techs were coming in and out of the room almost constantly. They began doing the NST, which showed DP was having small contractions and they also did a BPP. I am not clear on this, but we later found out her AFI was on the lower end. Her blood pressure was significantly increasing in the short time we were hooked up to the machine. They decided to hook her up to an IV to give her fluids at which point I asked for a heplock. The nurse told me she would put it on her, but she didn’t see how she would be able to move from the bed with her high blood pressure. This was the first clue of what we were in for. They did urine tests and blood tests. I had gone to the car to get our overnight bag and I get a text from DP stating they were starting magnesium sulfate to prevent her from having a seizure because of the blood pressure. I hurried back to the room just in time for a cervical check, which revealed no effacement or dilation and a “very long” cervix with a high baby.
Five minutes later the nurse came back and told us that she spoke with the Doctor and she thinks he will be recommending an emergency c-section, but that he would come to meet us in the room in about 40 minutes. We were both a bit shocked and disappointed. Not ten minutes later, the assistant to the anesthesiologist walks in and tells us since we are getting a c-section, she has a number of questions for us. At this point, I was upset because the doctor had not even spoken to us and had basically taken the decision away from us. She sort of back tracked when she realized we hadn’t spoken with the doctor. As she is doing this, the doctor walks in, 20 minutes early. Within seconds, you can tell he is abrasive and has the bedside manner of a door stop. He tells us that emergency c-section is the only option based on the fact that DP’s blood pressure is through the roof, she does not have a favorable cervix, and is not in labor. That her pre-eclampsia has turned severe since Wednesday’s 24 hour urine test and the only cure to remove the baby immediately. He then informs us that she will be in recovery for 24 hours and that this particular hospital does not allow the babies to be with their mother in recovery, even if there is an adult with her, that she cannot do skin-to-skin contact for who knows how long, that our child is not going to be a serial killer just because she had to wait to get skin-to-skin contact, that we are stupid for buying at Whole Foods (I had a Whole Foods product with me & I am still baffled as to why he even had to bring this up), and the clincher, that I could not be with the baby in the nursery. I sort of lost it at this point and got into it with the Doctor. He did back down, however, but all the nurses were “warned” about me (this ended up being a good thing in the end). DP’s blood pressure, after this conversation, was in dangerous areas – well over 200/100, which only proved his point that the baby needed to be delivered. We both agreed with the OB on this sentiment, we just really despised him. So, we were prepped for surgery.
I was finally let into the OR at 9:07 p.m. and I held DP’s hand while they did the surgery. And at 9:11 p.m. Kaitlyn was born. I was on pins and needles as it felt forever before we heard her cry (it was just mere seconds) and we shed some tears of joy and relief. The OR nurses took forever before they would let me go to her. They also refused to allow the cord to stop pulsating and did not let me cut the umbilical cord (I was actually ok with this part – blood and body parts are just not my thing). The OR nurse took the baby to DP so she could see her up and close. I was then allowed to sit by DP and hold the baby while one of the nurses took pictures. And then we were off to the nursery.
It turns out the maternity ward of this hospital is being remodeled (just our luck), so the nursery was the size of a patient’s room. I did not leave the baby’s side, although I was being encouraged to go. They put her in a warmer and I held her hand. The next time the nurse encouraged me to go, I told her I was not leaving until I held her. She then told me it could take a while until her temperature rose. I informed her I had all the time in the world. When she realized she was not going to get rid of me, she told me I could hold her for a few minutes. I asked for her not to be dressed so she could do skin-to-skin with me and I held her. It was amazing to hold her and she just fell asleep in my arms. A few minutes later the nurse said it was time to take her temperature and glucose test. The results were good, so she told me the skin-to-skin contact was doing the baby some good (DUH!). And so I stayed for another hour and a half holding our daughter, being thankful that I was at least able to hold her. Throughout the night I went from the nursery to recovery and back. I was not allowed to sleep in recovery with DP nor in the nursery, so after 28 hours, I went to the car and slept for an hour until reinforcements came in and I was able to go home and take a short nap.
The hospital continued to be difficult throughout the rest of our stay. Some of the nurses forgot to tell us important things that could affect DP’s health or would tell us conflicting information about caring for the baby. It really was an awful experience, so much so, we’ve questioned whether we should have a second child. But, as they say, time heals all wounds and maybe with time we’ll be singing a different tune.
In the end, we love our precious little girl and we couldn't be happier that she is in our lives.
Here are some pics:
1st one is within an hour of birth
Snug as a Bug in our hospital room:
She usually had a hand by her face in u/s:
On Friday, April 26, 2013, in the afternoon, DP received a call from our Midwife. The recent 24 hour protein test came back positive and she wanted us to see the backup OB as soon as possible. She advised her office would be calling us back and letting us know when and where to meet the OB. About 15 minutes later we received a call from the Midwives’ offices letting us know that the OB wanted us to go directly to labor and delivery at a local hospital. We were told to take our bag just in case.
When we arrived at the hospital, of which we knew nothing about since it was never on our radar, we were sent to the examination room of labor and delivery. One of the nurses called the OB and was told to directly admit us and begin running a series of tests “stat”. When the nurse got off the phone I asked her what all this meant and she replied that we would not be leaving the hospital without a baby. At this point, while we were greatly disappointed we could not have the birth we had planned for or dreamed of, we were still excited because the end result would be the same… we finally would get to meet our baby!
The next few hours were a whirlwind as nurses and techs were coming in and out of the room almost constantly. They began doing the NST, which showed DP was having small contractions and they also did a BPP. I am not clear on this, but we later found out her AFI was on the lower end. Her blood pressure was significantly increasing in the short time we were hooked up to the machine. They decided to hook her up to an IV to give her fluids at which point I asked for a heplock. The nurse told me she would put it on her, but she didn’t see how she would be able to move from the bed with her high blood pressure. This was the first clue of what we were in for. They did urine tests and blood tests. I had gone to the car to get our overnight bag and I get a text from DP stating they were starting magnesium sulfate to prevent her from having a seizure because of the blood pressure. I hurried back to the room just in time for a cervical check, which revealed no effacement or dilation and a “very long” cervix with a high baby.
Five minutes later the nurse came back and told us that she spoke with the Doctor and she thinks he will be recommending an emergency c-section, but that he would come to meet us in the room in about 40 minutes. We were both a bit shocked and disappointed. Not ten minutes later, the assistant to the anesthesiologist walks in and tells us since we are getting a c-section, she has a number of questions for us. At this point, I was upset because the doctor had not even spoken to us and had basically taken the decision away from us. She sort of back tracked when she realized we hadn’t spoken with the doctor. As she is doing this, the doctor walks in, 20 minutes early. Within seconds, you can tell he is abrasive and has the bedside manner of a door stop. He tells us that emergency c-section is the only option based on the fact that DP’s blood pressure is through the roof, she does not have a favorable cervix, and is not in labor. That her pre-eclampsia has turned severe since Wednesday’s 24 hour urine test and the only cure to remove the baby immediately. He then informs us that she will be in recovery for 24 hours and that this particular hospital does not allow the babies to be with their mother in recovery, even if there is an adult with her, that she cannot do skin-to-skin contact for who knows how long, that our child is not going to be a serial killer just because she had to wait to get skin-to-skin contact, that we are stupid for buying at Whole Foods (I had a Whole Foods product with me & I am still baffled as to why he even had to bring this up), and the clincher, that I could not be with the baby in the nursery. I sort of lost it at this point and got into it with the Doctor. He did back down, however, but all the nurses were “warned” about me (this ended up being a good thing in the end). DP’s blood pressure, after this conversation, was in dangerous areas – well over 200/100, which only proved his point that the baby needed to be delivered. We both agreed with the OB on this sentiment, we just really despised him. So, we were prepped for surgery.
I was finally let into the OR at 9:07 p.m. and I held DP’s hand while they did the surgery. And at 9:11 p.m. Kaitlyn was born. I was on pins and needles as it felt forever before we heard her cry (it was just mere seconds) and we shed some tears of joy and relief. The OR nurses took forever before they would let me go to her. They also refused to allow the cord to stop pulsating and did not let me cut the umbilical cord (I was actually ok with this part – blood and body parts are just not my thing). The OR nurse took the baby to DP so she could see her up and close. I was then allowed to sit by DP and hold the baby while one of the nurses took pictures. And then we were off to the nursery.
It turns out the maternity ward of this hospital is being remodeled (just our luck), so the nursery was the size of a patient’s room. I did not leave the baby’s side, although I was being encouraged to go. They put her in a warmer and I held her hand. The next time the nurse encouraged me to go, I told her I was not leaving until I held her. She then told me it could take a while until her temperature rose. I informed her I had all the time in the world. When she realized she was not going to get rid of me, she told me I could hold her for a few minutes. I asked for her not to be dressed so she could do skin-to-skin with me and I held her. It was amazing to hold her and she just fell asleep in my arms. A few minutes later the nurse said it was time to take her temperature and glucose test. The results were good, so she told me the skin-to-skin contact was doing the baby some good (DUH!). And so I stayed for another hour and a half holding our daughter, being thankful that I was at least able to hold her. Throughout the night I went from the nursery to recovery and back. I was not allowed to sleep in recovery with DP nor in the nursery, so after 28 hours, I went to the car and slept for an hour until reinforcements came in and I was able to go home and take a short nap.
The hospital continued to be difficult throughout the rest of our stay. Some of the nurses forgot to tell us important things that could affect DP’s health or would tell us conflicting information about caring for the baby. It really was an awful experience, so much so, we’ve questioned whether we should have a second child. But, as they say, time heals all wounds and maybe with time we’ll be singing a different tune.
In the end, we love our precious little girl and we couldn't be happier that she is in our lives.
Here are some pics:
1st one is within an hour of birth
Snug as a Bug in our hospital room:
She usually had a hand by her face in u/s:
TTC No. 2 since Aug. 2014; IVF #1 - Cxld; IVF #2 - BFN
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Comments
I'm sorry the hospital was an absolutely miserable experience. Full stop. BUT -- there's more than one hospital down there for more babies!!!
Congratulations again to both of you. Welcome to the world little miss Kaitlyn. It gets better (than that nasty old hospital)! Enjoy!
Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
Need to update a ticker, Silas Anthony Jordon born Oct 11, 2013. 6th baby, so much love!
TTC No. 2 since Aug. 2014; IVF #1 - Cxld; IVF #2 - BFN
But I'm so glad she's here and she's healthy! She's so beautiful and you both did such a great job! I'm sure it must have been scary the way things moved so fast with no sort of pre warning. Just know that the worst part is over and it only gets better here on out!
I'm sorry to hear about all of the stress and difficulties you were faced with. The medical staff and protocol sounds pretty terrible-- Again I am sorry this is something you were faced with.
Take care and enjoy that beautiful baby
She is absolutely perfect! Congrats to you and S.
TTC #2 11/2012 -- BFP!!!
I am glad that everyone is healthy now. She is precious.