**Just a heads up, this isn't everything - so if you don't want to be left in the middle of the story, don't read this part until you see part two get posted**
I'm sitting here waiting on the discharge process to get started so I figured I should go ahead and get started on writing this. This is where we were with Baby Girl from the end of July until a couple weeks ago.
Starting a couple of weeks ago we just got to be patient...or at least try to. The doctor was convinced she would come early...others kept telling me first babies never come early. So the "early date" came and went, and even though I kept telling myself and others (out loud at least) that "she would come when she was ready to" or that "she hadn't done anything else the doctors expected her to, why start now" we (*ahem I*) were a little disappointed she didn't come early. My parents had come up Thanksgiving weekend and gone home after my mom told me the moment I felt anything to let them know and they'd be back in the car (it's a 6 hour drive for them). Then it was the actual due date week. I was still going in twice a week for monitoring - everything was still looking fine...except I was still not having any contractions and my body wasn't making any movement toward labor. My parents made the 6 hour drive again for a long weekend of waiting patiently with us because the doctor said Baby Girl was in position so once things got started it probably would not be a very long labor. Had my 40 week appointment....nothing. I still didn't want to induce and since everything looked fine the doctor said we could wait. So we waited out the weekend, I had my Monday appointment....nothing. Everything was still ok, but since there wasn't any change in me, my parents decided to go on home and finish out work and other things before the Christmas break - with orders to call as soon as there was any change. My doctor was ok with me continuing to wait as long as things kept looking good in the monitoring sessions.
I went in for my monitoring session and sonogram on my 41 week date and as soon as the doctor came in to look at the monitoring strip she said to call C and have him meet me at the hospital, we were inducing as soon as possible. There were a couple of worrisome spots on the monitor and at 41 weeks she wasn't going to wait for the worries to get worse. So we went from still waiting to we're inducing ASAP in about 30 seconds...at least that's how it seemed in my mind. So I called C (who was waiting at the school to pick up the other two) and I texted my mom and said "start driving" and then the doctor came back in to talk to me as they were both trying to call and she was trying to get me out the door and down the road (literally, you can see the hospital from her office...) so by the time I got to the hospital parking lot and could breathe I had 7 missed calls just from the two of them :)
So I called C and explained what was going on, he called his parents to get the girls and then headed to the hospital. Fortunately, my bag had been packed for a couple of weeks and sitting in the car waiting, so I had everything I needed. Then I called my mom and explained everything - she was already headed back to her house to get Dad and get going. I got checked in at the hospital and settled in the room as C was showing up and mom was texting that they were on the road....and then we all just waited. The L&D crew got me hooked back up to the monitor, my little brother and his wife got there and kept us company (and went and got pizza!) and we kept waiting. I had been there about 2.5 hours and was tired of being on my back strapped to a machine when they finally came in and said it was time to get started...which meant they stuck a needle in me and hooked up the antibiotics. About an hour later the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me about pain control. I didn't want an epidural and he said most first time moms do ok with some IV pain meds that just dim the pain some, to just let him know if I change my mind. (We'll meet Lou again later...he became very important to me). About an hour later they finally came back in and said it was time to start the pitocin, but it would take about 45 minutes before I would feel anything. So we're about 4.5 hours in and just really getting things started. My parents got there right as I was starting to feel the contractions (not quite a full 6 hour drive this time...) Right about the time that I was joking with C about my pointless labor plan, the pain moved into my back - and there was no more joking after that.
Let me just say, to any woman who didn't have back labor pains that I am so thankful you didn't have to add that to your delivery! And to those who did - I am so, so sorry. And to those who did and didn't cave and ask for someone to please call Lou back and tell him I was wrong and he needs to get there right now - you are my hero. I would not wish the kind of pain that I was experiencing at that time on ANYONE. EVER. So Lou finally got there, and about forever later I could breathe again - and had still only dilated to about a 2. That's when we all settled in for a long night. By 10:00 I was at 4. Then at about 11:45 the labor nurse kicked everyone out and said time to push. After two hours of no progress, my doctor said she wanted to try a forceps delivery - that didn't work so it became emergency c-section time.
I was terrified. Everything that I had imagined going wrong did - and now we were at the very end of all of our options. I literally started shaking at about 2:00 am and didn't stop until about 8:00 am Friday (part of it was hormones, most of it was complete fear and anxiety.)
Baby Girl was born at 3:08 am and was quickly taken to the nursery for evaluation with Daddy trailing behind. I got to lay in the OR for another hour while they finished everything up. During that time there was a light in the ceiling that blinked 286 times (don't ask) and my doctor came in to tell me that as soon as they could, they were going to transfer Baby Girl to the NICU in San Antonio. The issues we had expected were still there, as well as some internal ones that the neonatologist was looking at as closely as he could with the equipment they had. I finally got to be moved back to my room where they packed on the warming blankets even though I was roasting because I wouldn't stop shaking. Not long after that, all the doctors that had been with her piled into the room to give me the report before she was transported: the original issues weren't what we thought they were, there was a lot internally that was out of place - but he couldn't determine the severity of it all until she was transported to the equipment, her lung function wasn't great because it appeared she only had partial lung development on one side, and it looked like she had a bowel obstruction that would require surgery fairly soon.
They brought her in for a few minutes so I could see her - and sign a bunch of release forms - and then she was gone. C followed the transport team along with my Dad, my brother and his wife left shortly after and at about 7:00 am I finally stopped shaking and fell asleep waiting to get transferred to my recovery room.
That was the first 6 hours of her life - and I'm going to stop this post there 1) because it's really long and there's a lot more to say, and 2) because I'm going to go hold my baby now :)
I'll see about finishing the rest of it in the next day or two!
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