Well, Alison is here! She's between 3 and 4 months old. She is rolling from her belly to her back, and already has quite the opinion on how life should be for her. Quite the feisty little thing! It seems like forever since she was born, and Im afraid that Ive forgotten maybe some of the minor details about her birth story, but here is her birth story!
January 16th-
After a long 5 days of absolute bedrest, Michael and I went up to Ft. Wayne to see Dr. Wheeler. We did the normal routine, look at the baby, pee in a cup, ect. My blood pressure was really high (whats new?). Except this time instead of telling me to schedule an appointment in a few days, he asked us to meet him in his office. There, he told us that at the point my body was at, it was very risky to remain pregnant. He said my blood pressure was high enough that we were at risk of placental abruption, it was causing me bloody noses, seeing spots, spilling protein (meaning my kidneys werent working well) and my blood screen was showing that other organs were starting to be affected by the pregnancy too. He told us that he wanted us to go home and get our things together, find someone to watch Breydon, and then come back that afternoon to deliver. I was sobbing, not wanting another preemie, not wanting her to struggle, not wanting to leave Breydon for 2 weeks while I stayed in Ft. Wayne. Feeling like a failure for not being able to protect my baby like I should have been able to do... but also knowing that in order for her to have a mommy around to raise her, the delivery needed to happen. We went home, got our stuff together. Everyone (my parents, sister, Charlie, Breydon and Michael and me) drove up to Ft. Wayne, and ate a dinner at Texas Roadhouse (That ALWAYS cheers me up!). And then I checked into Dupont and got settled. I dont remember the exact time that things happened, but they gave me medicine to help thin me out and dialate me more. It was supposed to be given 3 times, 4 hours apart. They gave me the first one, but I ended up not needing the other 2, because that was enough to send me into active labor (I was already contracting regularly when we got there). I didnt even need pitocin this time, like I did with Breydon. My mom and sister kept me entertained, and kept my mind off of things.
January 17th-
Around 5:30am, they checked me and I was at a 6. I had been trying to hold off for an epidural for as long as I could possibly wait. I told the nurse that I wanted an epidural, and she checked me again, and I was at a 10. In a matter of about 45 min, I had dilated the rest of the way. Then it was time to push... I was in SOOO much pain, but as soon as I could push it felt better. After about 5 minutes of pushing she was here! She weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. She was breathing really well, so they let me hold her for a little while and then they took her away and up to the NICU. She was in the NICU 3 for about 3 days, and then they moved ehr down to NICU where she stayed until she was able to come home, at 9 days old. She needed far less assistance than Breydon did, and was a very very good little thing.
And thats pretty much it!
I think we are done with babies... too scary. And I want to be here for Breydon and Alison. My body just cannot handle being pregnant again. I love being pregnant, and I love babies, but I am soooo lucky to have the two sweetest little things, that are HEALTHY despite their beginnings. I couldnt ask for anything more.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Longest Post Ever.
On Wednesday the 11th, Breydon had a cardiology appointment, so Danielle and I headed up there to go to that. For once, we actually got called back early, and didnt have to wait forever to see the doctor (usually they are EXTREMELY behind. One time my dad and I waited back in the room for the doctor for over and HOUR. Thsi was after being called back for our appointment 30 min late...). But anyways, the appointment went well, and the doctor said that we could wait SIX months this time before seeing him again. Which is great! One the way home, I needed to stop at the store, so before taking Danielle home, I ran into the store and got my stuff, and then decided to check my blood pressure. It was 167/106. I grabbed the pharmicist and asked her firstly, if the machine was accurate, and then secondly, if I was doing it correctly. She watched me take it again- 158/101. The machine is accurate, and I was doing it correctly. Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I called Dr. Wheeler. It was arounf 4:00 by this point, and since he is in Ft. Wayne, going there wasnt going to happen. I talked with them on the phone and they had me on bed rest that night and had me come to the office first thing in the morning.
When I got there they did the normal weighing stuff... and in 7 days, I had gained 9 pounds. I know for a FACT that its not my diet, because I havent been able to eat a lot recently. I eat just a little bit and feel full. My stomach space is being taken over by a tiny girl. :) Its mostly all water weight. Then they had me go to the room where I see the doctor, and they took my BP. 189/108. So..... obviously not good. Dr. Wheeler is always so calm and kinda of relaxed about everything, so to see him frusterated and tense is hard for me to see. He checked on Ali via and ultrasound. He told me that she looked good, blood flow was great. For only being 32 weeks, shes big- measuring 34+5 weeks. Which will be good if thats true and shes born early... it will help her regulate her temperature better. But you never REALLY know until they are born. But she looked good. Dr. Wheeler admitted me to Dupont for monitoring... which was interesting because I wasnt expecting to be admitted, and so Breydon was with us. More on that in a minute. So we got me all situated, took some blood work, got me all hooked up. I wasnt contracting which is good. My blood pressure went down at first, for like and hour and a half, then it went back up. Who knows why, I hadnt moved the whole time I was there. Doctor didnt love that. Ali was good and moving well... he had me drink a sprite to wake her up a big and it did. So eventually I was able to go home, on STRICT bed rest... Id had only been on modified with Breydon. So this means I literally cannot get up unless I have to use the bathroom. Fun. It also means I cant play with my son, and that I cant take care of him. So he needs a babysitter even though Im sittign RIGHT here. Which sucks. I am on some medicine for my BP called Colnidine or something like that. But he only gave me 10 days worth... which shows how far he things things can go before shes born. He told me that he wants another 2 weeks, but that its probably just not going to happen.
Before I was admitted, I WAS given a shot of steroids for her lungs which I was very glad about. But because of the weather we were expecting Thurs night/ Friday, he sent us home with the second dose for someone to give me at home. A HUGE thank you to my mommy, who has NO nursing experiance whatsoever, for coming over yesterday and giving that to me. I know it made her a nervous wreck... but she did great. It hurt because its a HUGE needle, and a LOT of fluid going into my body, but it wasnt any worse than when the nurse did it. I cant thank her enough!
And then to precious Breydon, completely unaware of whats going on. Mommy laying in a hospital bed... him bopping around my room being interested in everything but being sooooo cooperative and good. I could not ask for a more well behaved kid. Seriously. He is sooooo good. Mom took him out of the room and let him run around in the lobby which helped Im sure. But he was up almost 2 hours past his normal nap time and was still being perfect. I am sooo greatful that he has his daddy's ability to adapt well to changes.
So here I am on bedrest day #3. Today is the day that Ive had enough and just might lose my mind. I have already done just about everything there is to do from the couch, and Im bored. So mostly I just sit here and think which is dangerous, because then I get sad. I dont want to see Ali struggling like Breydon did. I dont want to have to wait until shes a week old to hold my precious girl. I dont want to see her hooked up to machines and full of tubes and wires. I dont want to leave Breydon for 2 weeks, because I know he wont understand where I went and why I left him. Hes used to me being there EVERY day, all day. Hes not going to understand. And then I feel guilty because its because of me, that Alison has to be born 6 weeks before shes ready. Shes healthy! Its me thats not. So If I could just have stayed healthy for 4 more weeks, things would have been fine. But Im trying not to think about the fact that by next weekend I wont be pregnant any longer.
This is such a non-cohesive post and Im sorry... you can kinda tell how many things are jumbling my mind right now. But I wanted to say. When I was pregnant with Breydon, since we didnt know when he was concieved, we had an early ultrasound to measure him. This happened at 10 weeks. Measuring babies at that age are VERY accurate, and so we got the due date of October 6th. That was the due date we went by the ENITRE pregnancy, untill we switched solely to Wheeler the last 2.5 weeks. He for some reason moved the due date to September 29, and I dont know why. So when we delivered Breydon, according to Dr. Wheelers due date, he was 34+1 days. According to ME, and the date that we went by the entire time, he was 33+1. THIS TIME AROUND... Alison will be 33+1 days on Monday when I go see Wheeler. So any time past Monday, in MY mind, is further along than we made it with Breydon. Im guessign Wheeler is going to have us come back at the end of next week to have a baby. If not, itll be early the week after. Either way, weve got around a week till shes here. I hope and pray she makes it here safely... and I hope shes big like her brother. And I hope she does will in the NICU.
When I got there they did the normal weighing stuff... and in 7 days, I had gained 9 pounds. I know for a FACT that its not my diet, because I havent been able to eat a lot recently. I eat just a little bit and feel full. My stomach space is being taken over by a tiny girl. :) Its mostly all water weight. Then they had me go to the room where I see the doctor, and they took my BP. 189/108. So..... obviously not good. Dr. Wheeler is always so calm and kinda of relaxed about everything, so to see him frusterated and tense is hard for me to see. He checked on Ali via and ultrasound. He told me that she looked good, blood flow was great. For only being 32 weeks, shes big- measuring 34+5 weeks. Which will be good if thats true and shes born early... it will help her regulate her temperature better. But you never REALLY know until they are born. But she looked good. Dr. Wheeler admitted me to Dupont for monitoring... which was interesting because I wasnt expecting to be admitted, and so Breydon was with us. More on that in a minute. So we got me all situated, took some blood work, got me all hooked up. I wasnt contracting which is good. My blood pressure went down at first, for like and hour and a half, then it went back up. Who knows why, I hadnt moved the whole time I was there. Doctor didnt love that. Ali was good and moving well... he had me drink a sprite to wake her up a big and it did. So eventually I was able to go home, on STRICT bed rest... Id had only been on modified with Breydon. So this means I literally cannot get up unless I have to use the bathroom. Fun. It also means I cant play with my son, and that I cant take care of him. So he needs a babysitter even though Im sittign RIGHT here. Which sucks. I am on some medicine for my BP called Colnidine or something like that. But he only gave me 10 days worth... which shows how far he things things can go before shes born. He told me that he wants another 2 weeks, but that its probably just not going to happen.
Before I was admitted, I WAS given a shot of steroids for her lungs which I was very glad about. But because of the weather we were expecting Thurs night/ Friday, he sent us home with the second dose for someone to give me at home. A HUGE thank you to my mommy, who has NO nursing experiance whatsoever, for coming over yesterday and giving that to me. I know it made her a nervous wreck... but she did great. It hurt because its a HUGE needle, and a LOT of fluid going into my body, but it wasnt any worse than when the nurse did it. I cant thank her enough!
And then to precious Breydon, completely unaware of whats going on. Mommy laying in a hospital bed... him bopping around my room being interested in everything but being sooooo cooperative and good. I could not ask for a more well behaved kid. Seriously. He is sooooo good. Mom took him out of the room and let him run around in the lobby which helped Im sure. But he was up almost 2 hours past his normal nap time and was still being perfect. I am sooo greatful that he has his daddy's ability to adapt well to changes.
So here I am on bedrest day #3. Today is the day that Ive had enough and just might lose my mind. I have already done just about everything there is to do from the couch, and Im bored. So mostly I just sit here and think which is dangerous, because then I get sad. I dont want to see Ali struggling like Breydon did. I dont want to have to wait until shes a week old to hold my precious girl. I dont want to see her hooked up to machines and full of tubes and wires. I dont want to leave Breydon for 2 weeks, because I know he wont understand where I went and why I left him. Hes used to me being there EVERY day, all day. Hes not going to understand. And then I feel guilty because its because of me, that Alison has to be born 6 weeks before shes ready. Shes healthy! Its me thats not. So If I could just have stayed healthy for 4 more weeks, things would have been fine. But Im trying not to think about the fact that by next weekend I wont be pregnant any longer.
This is such a non-cohesive post and Im sorry... you can kinda tell how many things are jumbling my mind right now. But I wanted to say. When I was pregnant with Breydon, since we didnt know when he was concieved, we had an early ultrasound to measure him. This happened at 10 weeks. Measuring babies at that age are VERY accurate, and so we got the due date of October 6th. That was the due date we went by the ENITRE pregnancy, untill we switched solely to Wheeler the last 2.5 weeks. He for some reason moved the due date to September 29, and I dont know why. So when we delivered Breydon, according to Dr. Wheelers due date, he was 34+1 days. According to ME, and the date that we went by the entire time, he was 33+1. THIS TIME AROUND... Alison will be 33+1 days on Monday when I go see Wheeler. So any time past Monday, in MY mind, is further along than we made it with Breydon. Im guessign Wheeler is going to have us come back at the end of next week to have a baby. If not, itll be early the week after. Either way, weve got around a week till shes here. I hope and pray she makes it here safely... and I hope shes big like her brother. And I hope she does will in the NICU.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
An Ali/Medical Post... Christmas Post Later!!
The week before Christmas, I had to go to Labor and Delivery at KCH, because I was having contractions evrey 3-4 minutes. At 29 weeks... thats obviously not something that is welcomed. So.... I was there for 6 hours hooked up to a monitor. They checked me to see if I was dialating, and I was at 1 cm. The nurse told me that I wasnt in labor at that point, I was just having what was called irritable contractions. They gave me a shot of Morphine in my hip to stop them, and after that my contractions turned into true labor contractions. Longer and stronger. After another few hours of laying there, they went back to irritable contractions, and I was able to go home, still having irritable contractions. I saw doctor Wheeler the next day to check in. I had not progressed any more, and I was advised to stay close to my doctors over the holidays. So we ended up staying in Warsaw for Christmas. It was quite the change in plans, and shook up alot of plans, but it was actually nice to have a calm, chaos-free holiday. No running around, no rush, just nice and calm. :)
As of my last appointment, a Valentines Day baby is seeming like a long-shot. Right now we are aiming to just get through the month of January. My blood pressure hasnt been good for a while now. My next appt is on the 18th. He is going to decide then, if we need the steroid shots for her lungs or not. I am going to ask for them regardless. Im guessing that she'll be born more toward the beginning of February. If we can just make it to the 5th, Ill be one happy camper. Dupont's policy, is that if any baby is born before 36 weeks, a NICU team has to be presnt at birth, and they baby has to go to the NICU automatically for observation. But after the 5th, theres a really good chance she can just stay with me.
Aaaaaaaaand yesterday during her ultrasound, the first thing he said when he looked at her, was "it looks like she already has a full head of hair!". I remember talking about Breydon's hair before he was born... unfortunately none of the pretty hair he had at birth stuck around for long... but maybe Ali's will. :)
Thats all for now. Ill do a Christmas post soon, and then Ill update again after our next appointment. :)
As of my last appointment, a Valentines Day baby is seeming like a long-shot. Right now we are aiming to just get through the month of January. My blood pressure hasnt been good for a while now. My next appt is on the 18th. He is going to decide then, if we need the steroid shots for her lungs or not. I am going to ask for them regardless. Im guessing that she'll be born more toward the beginning of February. If we can just make it to the 5th, Ill be one happy camper. Dupont's policy, is that if any baby is born before 36 weeks, a NICU team has to be presnt at birth, and they baby has to go to the NICU automatically for observation. But after the 5th, theres a really good chance she can just stay with me.
Aaaaaaaaand yesterday during her ultrasound, the first thing he said when he looked at her, was "it looks like she already has a full head of hair!". I remember talking about Breydon's hair before he was born... unfortunately none of the pretty hair he had at birth stuck around for long... but maybe Ali's will. :)
Thats all for now. Ill do a Christmas post soon, and then Ill update again after our next appointment. :)
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