This last pregnancy had been a particularly challenging one. With three total hospital visits and a lot of uncertainty, my patience and positivity were tested. This Birth Story is for me, mostly. It's long and detailed because I want to remember this experience and know that if ever I go through this again, I will be more prepared and more knowledgable on how to go about handling these symptoms.
I was at 25 weeks when I felt those first regular
contractions. If I had known what was to come in the next 14+ weeks, I probably
would have freaked and checked into the nearest hospital (seeing as how we were
out of town for a wedding). God knew better and let me think this was somewhat
normal and that it was the start of my body getting ready for labor… in 8
weeks. When I got back home and was able to visit the doctor, I was told to take it EXTREMELY easy the next few
days. The contractions let up and I went back to my normal routine.
I was 33 weeks pregnant when I experienced the strong
regular contractions. Knowing that baby would probably live if he were born, I
“labored” at home for an hour or so before calling the nurse’s line at the hospital.
It took my sisters, husband, and best friend to convince me to call and eventually
go to the hospital. This was preterm labor; I was 3cm
dilated, 50% effaced, and was told that if I were to give birth, baby boy would
be in the NICU for at least 3 weeks. He’d be underdeveloped and there would be
a chance he wouldn’t make it. If they were able to contain contractions but not
stop them, I’d have to stay there for 2 weeks. When told all of this, the panic
and real fear hit. There I was, laboring at home, thinking it was just another
normal delivery. I was kept in the hospital for two long nights, checked a few times to make sure I
was not progressing, and given a couple of steroid shots for baby boy’s lungs
just in case he were to come early. IV’s and medication were my companions from
the evening of June 7
th to the morning of June 10
th. Paul
was also there for me on the overnights (and took days off from work) and I was also visited by my best friend, Treva (she brought s’more oreos, too!). I was able to rest some, but I'm never really able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time in hospitals. The monitors and comings and goings of the nurses make it difficult to really get proper rest... along with needing to constantly go to the bathroom. When I was discharged, I wasn't put on strict bed rest so I was able to get around, but minimally. Living on the third floor made it extremely difficult, however, so I rarely left... only to visit the pool a couple of times and watch Agnes play with Mimi and Grandma.
Mimi
came late Sunday evening to stay with Agnes all the way to Thursday morning.
She took off from her work and made some postpartum meals as well as cleaned the
apartment (Paul also helped with the meals and I was impressed by his cooking and preparing!). My mother came that Thursday (the 11th) to help for a week
and a half and make sure I was following my doctor’s orders when it came to bed
rest and taking it easy until I hit 35 weeks. She also got ALL of my postpartum
meals made, cleaned, and made sure Agnes was well looked after. I was in good
hands for those 2 interesting and somewhat scary weeks.
When 35 weeks came and went, it was a very exciting
milestone. If I were to go into labor then, they would not stop it, but would
keep baby in the NICU until he was healthy and fully developed. His chance of
survival was already high with the steroid shots they gave me.
36 weeks came and again I was experiencing regular contractions... even some that were a bit strong. It was a Sunday and we had slept in, so we went to evening mass. All throughout, I was contracting. We decided that after mass we would go get dinner and then probably head to the hospital. I called the hospital and spoke to a nurse. She told me that I should go home, get in bed, and drink as much water as I could. I was shocked they didn't have me come in, seeing as how I had gone into preterm labor a few weeks prior, but I did was she advised and the contractions eventually slow down and decrease in intensity. She was right and I was thankful not to have had checked into the hospital for nothing.
Before and during our outing to church and Bread Co.
When I hit 37 weeks, I felt like God was just messing around
with me. I was back to lugging groceries up our 3 flights of stairs with a 26
lb. toddler in my arms. I was getting bigger and bigger, and more impatient… They
weren’t expecting me to get this far. One Friday afternoon, the contractions
started again. So off to the hospital we went. We had just put Agnes to sleep, so Treva came over to be there in case Agnes needed anything (awesome friend!).
But first, "lemme" take a selfie!
Before we left... feeling very happy and hopeful!
At the hospital praying for some progression!
I was checked and kept in
L&D for a few hours and no progression. I thought, for sure, this would be it. These contractions were very uncomfortable ad there was no way I wasn't getting anywhere with them! Still, though, there was nothing to be done. So home we went feeling very defeated and clueless. When was it going to be real?! That evening, Paul's sister and father (Maria and Pops) drove 2 hours to us to spend the night with Agnes. That morning they took her back to Mimi and Pop's house so that Paul and I could get some rest after a long previous night at the hospital. We decided to make the best of it and slept most of that day. That evening we went out on a dinner date (our last for while). It was the 4th of July so Agnes was having a great time with the family going to see fireworks and the pool, etc. Paul and I decided to just go back home after dinner and watch a couple movies (The Great Escape and Patch Adams).
Had to document our last date night! Isn't he handsome?!
Then came weeks 38 and 39 and even my doctor, Dr. Kate,
was surprised to see me on my weekly prenatal visits. It was wonderful I made
it this far (and very miserable; this waiting was taking a toll on my psyche)!
This is at my last check up. Agnes was very good throughout each doctor's visit, thanks to snacks and her Princess Sophia sticker book.
The day after my 39 week check up, Agnes and I met Treva and
her two little girls at the fountain park. I was already experiencing discharge
so it didn’t surprise me that I might have more getting close to my due date.
We met at around 10:30-/11am, and by 12pm I was convinced that I was
continually peeing my swimsuit. I even joked to Treva that either my water was
broken and I was leaking or I was just peeing my pants. By this time it’s very
common to have an accident (I’ve never experienced it, so I had no clue), so I
wasn’t alarmed by the feeling. We decided to call it a day at around 12:30 and
when I was getting Agnes out of the car at our apartment complex parking lot, I
was dripping on the ground. How was I peeing this much?! After texting back and
forth with Treva, she convinced me to call the doctor’s office. I did, and I
explained my situation. The nurse said that it doesn’t sound like anything alarming,
so I decided to take a nap. During the nap, the nurse called back and told me that
after consulting with my doctor, she said Dr. Kate wanted me to go in to get
checked to see if my water had ruptured. I was half asleep so I really didn’t
know what that meant… do I make an appointment to go to the office, or
hospital, or what? After finishing my nap, I finally just texted Dr. Kate and
asked what she wanted me to do. She told me to go to the hospital so that they
can check to see if my water broke.
I texted Paul at around 3:30-4pm telling him to bring his
laptop and work phone home for lunch (he works from 8am-10pm with a lunch break
at 4 or 5pm) because he might not be returning to work. He asked when he should
come home and I just said that whenever he was planning on lunch, would be
fine. He came home a half hour later and I was still thinking this was just going to be another
false alarm, so I made him eat and take his time getting things ready. I
repacked my hospital bag (again) and after getting Agnes ready, we headed to the
hospital.
I was checked at around 6:30pm and yes, it was my water and
yes, I was not going home until I had baby boy in my arms. That was a very
surreal moment for me. I thought the day would never come. However, I was still at 3cm (this time
75% effaced), and there were no contractions. Dr. Kate and I texted back and
forth and she had me let her know any news, even it was in the middle of the
night. I let the doctors On Call know that I wanted to go into labor by myself,
but if it didn’t happen, they could induce and start me on Pitocin at 6am. That
is exactly what happened.
Paul and Agnes went with me that evening to get checked into my L&D
room (where baby boy would be born) and Agnes and I started watching Monsters
University while Paul made arrangements for her to be looked after.
Sitting with Mama on her bed watching a movie!
At around
8pm, Paul went to Sonic and came back with dinner for both Agnes and I. Then he
took Agnes with him to meet his dad and sister (his sister was to come and take
care of Agnes that night and the next while Paul stayed with me in the
hospital). He returned at around 10pm with his briefcase to start working, but the
internet wouldn’t sync up with his work connection, so he went home and worked until 3am.
That’s when he returned, exhausted and ready to sleep for a couple hours before
they induced.
Poor guy. And yes, there was a pull out couch to sleep on but he didn't want to sleep there.
So, after a night of watching Monsters University and Maleficent,
they came in at 6am and started the Pitocin. Paul and I watched The Lego Movie
and at around 9:30am, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable after they had
continued to up the Pitocin. So at around 10:30am, I was given the best
medicine ever… the epidural!
Before the epidural and feeling more excited than uncomfortable.
After the epidural and clinging to the magic button!
Afterwards, they put in an internal monitor to see
how strong the contractions were to determine how much more they could up the
Pitocin. Paul left after they administered the epidural to shower and get ready
for the exciting day ahead. While he was gone, I was feeling the contractions
on my right side and so the anesthesiologist came back in and pulled the
catheter out a bit, which helped immensely. I was now numb on both sides and
feeling great! As I waited, I watched Despicable Me 2. By 2:30pm, I was feeling
pressure. Even though the nurses told me to let them know when I was starting
to feel pressure, I didn’t think it meant anything because last time, they had
me labor down with Agnes for quite a while before I was ready to push. I didn’t
even text Dr. Kate. She had let me know she was getting into her scrubs and
heading over in a few minutes.
At 2:45pm, the nurses and doctors came in to check me. I was
ready… the doctor even looked surprised because she felt the head when she
checked. They also needed to break the rest of my water since, surprisingly, there was still a
bag there. Once that happened it was GO time!
They asked if I wanted to wait for Dr. Kate to come and I
said, “Yes.” However, a minute after that, baby boy’s heart rate started to
drop a bit so he didn’t want to wait. It was time to push at 3:05pm. I texted
Dr. Kate saying it was time to push and she replied with, “Be there in 20!”
Baby boy was born at 3:14pm. I pushed for 9 minutes. It was
so quick and so pain free (I did tear, but that epidural was so good, even the
stitching was painless), I was surprised when I saw his head and when they put
him on my chest. It was such a beautiful moment, I cried. I couldn’t believe he
was finally here. I couldn’t even imagine him being here. It was a very
emotional meeting. After all of the fuss and the medication and the visits and
false alarms… he was here. AND WE STILL DIDN’T HAVE A NAME!!!
And Dr. Kate missed the birth
L But she arrived breathless 10 minutes later to congratulate us, pray over us, and take some pictures! She confessed that she ran a red light to get there; she’s amazing! Anyways, baby boy nursed within the first 30 minutes and I was so happy! After a couple of hours of family time, the nurse came back in and weighed and measured him (7lbs. 1.5 oz, 20” long). He was perfect!
My two nurses and Dr. Kate. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the two doctors that delivered Agnes.
This is after Agnes' birth. Notice the nurse on the far Left is the same and Dr. Kate in the scrubs! Pretty cool!
We were moved into my postpartum room at around 5:30pm. I was starving. That cheeseburger and fries really hit the spot… even if it was hospital food.
Paul went back and picked up Maria and Agnes. That meeting was very special and from what I read from all the blogs and books for when the older siblings meet the new baby, the baby gets the older siblings a gift. Baby brother got Agnes an Elsa, Ana, and Olaf blanket and she loved it and has to have it with her whenever we are home. Right away baby brother was special to Agnes.
Baby brother meeting his Godmother, Maria.
We spent almost the whole next day snuggling little guy and trying to decide on a name for “Baby Brother.” I was discharged at 7pm July 18th and by then, we agreed upon the name Vincent Edward. We both liked the name Vincent, but we agreed that his middle name would be in honor of my father, Edward. So now we have an Aggie and a Vinny!
... And he has fit into this family so well.
