Hello all! I wanted to drop back in and let you know that our little one finally arrived... under not so pleasant circumstances. I was 39 weeks and 1 day on the day of our scheduled induction. Here is our birth story....
On June 14, 2010, our lives were forever changed....
After an eventful day of work and visiting with a friend or two. We quickly gathered our things and headed to Steak-n-Shake for our last meal. My mom met us there. I ate chicken and fries, just in case I threw up. We then headed onto the hospital for my scheduled 8:00 pm induction. I was taken back around 7:50pm, undressed and put on the lovely blue hospital gown while they started my IV (YIKES! I cried) and drew some bloodwork. Once I was hooked up to the fetal monitors, Nurse S had me turn on my left side because the baby wasn't responding well to contractions. I was only 1cm and hadn't even felt a contraction yet (nor would I ever). She said his heartrate was fine but she called Dr. K anyway. I felt that everything was just fine and mom was about to leave for the night, but thank God she decided to stay. Within the next 30 minutes they decided my baby was in distress, Dr. K was called in to the hospital, and I was told I was about to have an emergency c-section. I wasn't ready for this. I was put on oxygen and felt okay, even if I wasn't ready. We started making phone calls to my BFFs, Pastor, and In-laws.
I wasn't until the anesthesiologists came in that I started to freak out. They said my blood platelets were too low and if I were to get a spinal tap, I would probably bleed out around my spine and be paralyzed OR I could get general anesthesia, throw up and it get into my lungs and I would lose my lungs and die... then he asked, "what's your thoughts?" WHAT?!#$ I'm supposed to decide between being paralyzed and losing my life!? I cried uncontrollably, hyperventilated, I was a mess (so was Mr. BrainyBud and my mom). How could I make such a decision! How can I calm down enough for my distressed baby?! ............ about 5 minutes later, the lady anesthesiologist (L) came back in and said they looked at my platelets again under the microscope and I was just fine to have a spinal. PEOPLE, CHECK BY HAND BEFORE YOU FREAK A PREGNANT WOMAN OUT! And out the door I went!
I was taken back by myself for the spinal. I was scared out of my mind. I wanted my husband with me, but they wouldn't allow him in the room. I cried and cried and shook to death. I held onto Nurse S through the whole thing. She consoled me so well. I never felt comfortable crying with my face in another woman's boobs until that moment, but thank the Lord she let me. I was terrified that I would move too much and die. I was also thankful that Laura was doing the spinal and not that stupid man that gave me a heartattack. It wasn't long until I was nice and numb. I kept asking (maybe 10 times) for them to check me because I was so scared I'd feel something I didn't want to...and that was prior to Dr. K coming in and checking me!
When Dr. K came in, he first came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. I felt so much relief in that moment. I knew he'd take care of me... just as he promised to almost a year ago. He cracked a joke about me not waiting until morning, which I didn't think was that funny at the time, but I was polite and offered a smile in return. He told everyone in the OR that his 4 daughters where all out in the car watching a movie. You could see every eye in the place look over at him.... turns out his wife was with them and he was just lightening the mood. He actually made conversation with everyone through the procedure, which gave me a sense of peace, weird, I know.
Around that time, Mr. BrainyBud came in with the camera and sat beside me and held my hand. We talked about who was on their way, who was called, anything to take my mind off of what was happening. It was so surreal to think in a matter of moments, our son would be here. Throughout this time, I could hear nurses counting and double counting utensils aloud and it wasn't until I heard Dr. K say "oh yea, lots of pea soup, need suction" that I realized what happened. The baby had meconium aspiration. I had read up on it and wasn't worried because babies go through this quite a bit, and I knew that he probably wouldn't cry when he came out.
At some point later, we heard a faint coo coming from the right side of the room. I turned my head quickly to realize #1) my son was on the table being worked on and #2) L had given me morphine that made the room spin. Then I did something stupid... I turned my head quickly to the left to see Mr. BrainyBud's face and realized that someone on morphine, really shouldn't make sharp movements. We were both blissfully happy...
On June 14, 2010, our lives were forever changed....
After an eventful day of work and visiting with a friend or two. We quickly gathered our things and headed to Steak-n-Shake for our last meal. My mom met us there. I ate chicken and fries, just in case I threw up. We then headed onto the hospital for my scheduled 8:00 pm induction. I was taken back around 7:50pm, undressed and put on the lovely blue hospital gown while they started my IV (YIKES! I cried) and drew some bloodwork. Once I was hooked up to the fetal monitors, Nurse S had me turn on my left side because the baby wasn't responding well to contractions. I was only 1cm and hadn't even felt a contraction yet (nor would I ever). She said his heartrate was fine but she called Dr. K anyway. I felt that everything was just fine and mom was about to leave for the night, but thank God she decided to stay. Within the next 30 minutes they decided my baby was in distress, Dr. K was called in to the hospital, and I was told I was about to have an emergency c-section. I wasn't ready for this. I was put on oxygen and felt okay, even if I wasn't ready. We started making phone calls to my BFFs, Pastor, and In-laws.
I wasn't until the anesthesiologists came in that I started to freak out. They said my blood platelets were too low and if I were to get a spinal tap, I would probably bleed out around my spine and be paralyzed OR I could get general anesthesia, throw up and it get into my lungs and I would lose my lungs and die... then he asked, "what's your thoughts?" WHAT?!#$ I'm supposed to decide between being paralyzed and losing my life!? I cried uncontrollably, hyperventilated, I was a mess (so was Mr. BrainyBud and my mom). How could I make such a decision! How can I calm down enough for my distressed baby?! ............ about 5 minutes later, the lady anesthesiologist (L) came back in and said they looked at my platelets again under the microscope and I was just fine to have a spinal. PEOPLE, CHECK BY HAND BEFORE YOU FREAK A PREGNANT WOMAN OUT! And out the door I went!
I was taken back by myself for the spinal. I was scared out of my mind. I wanted my husband with me, but they wouldn't allow him in the room. I cried and cried and shook to death. I held onto Nurse S through the whole thing. She consoled me so well. I never felt comfortable crying with my face in another woman's boobs until that moment, but thank the Lord she let me. I was terrified that I would move too much and die. I was also thankful that Laura was doing the spinal and not that stupid man that gave me a heartattack. It wasn't long until I was nice and numb. I kept asking (maybe 10 times) for them to check me because I was so scared I'd feel something I didn't want to...and that was prior to Dr. K coming in and checking me!
When Dr. K came in, he first came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. I felt so much relief in that moment. I knew he'd take care of me... just as he promised to almost a year ago. He cracked a joke about me not waiting until morning, which I didn't think was that funny at the time, but I was polite and offered a smile in return. He told everyone in the OR that his 4 daughters where all out in the car watching a movie. You could see every eye in the place look over at him.... turns out his wife was with them and he was just lightening the mood. He actually made conversation with everyone through the procedure, which gave me a sense of peace, weird, I know.
Around that time, Mr. BrainyBud came in with the camera and sat beside me and held my hand. We talked about who was on their way, who was called, anything to take my mind off of what was happening. It was so surreal to think in a matter of moments, our son would be here. Throughout this time, I could hear nurses counting and double counting utensils aloud and it wasn't until I heard Dr. K say "oh yea, lots of pea soup, need suction" that I realized what happened. The baby had meconium aspiration. I had read up on it and wasn't worried because babies go through this quite a bit, and I knew that he probably wouldn't cry when he came out.
At some point later, we heard a faint coo coming from the right side of the room. I turned my head quickly to realize #1) my son was on the table being worked on and #2) L had given me morphine that made the room spin. Then I did something stupid... I turned my head quickly to the left to see Mr. BrainyBud's face and realized that someone on morphine, really shouldn't make sharp movements. We were both blissfully happy...
Baby BrainyBud was born on June 14, 2010 at 9:51pm : 6 lbs, 14 oz : 20 inches long
S told us that he did have meconium aspiration and very low blood sugar. They invited Mr. BrainyBud to go around me (which he still wishes that his peripheral vision wasn't so good because I was still open) to see and take photos of our son. We knew he was about to go to the special care unit while I was in recovery. Baby BrainyBud was so limp, but again, I wasn't worried at this point. We were two happy parents. The only part I felt was of them taking the adhesive off my stomach.
Turns out Dr. K went to the waiting room to tell everyone (my mom, my inlaws, pastor, my BFF, my other BFF and her husband, and my mom's close friends) what was going on. I was taken into recovery for an hour, where all I did was fight sleep. We were told there that Baby BrainyBud was put on a ventilator and at that moment, we knew that we would both be taken to the bigger hospital and NICU across town. We were told that during our childbirth class that our hospital couldn't hold a baby on a ventilator.
We were taken back to my room where I was smiling, hoping that my mom, who was already worried about me and the baby, wouldn't be terrified. I wanted to be brave for everyone. Maybe I just had a faith and peace about me, or maybe I was still high on morphine, I don't know. Once we were back, they brought our son in in his transport incubator as they explained what was going on, how we would be transported by ambulance and that Dr. B had come from the other hospital NICU and evaluated him. Once Dr. B explained everything, to everyone, it was like the room stood still. I was still in good spirits and thought that in less than a week, we'd be home... blissfully unaware the journey we were about to take... that half the people in that room wouldn't see our son again for 3 weeks.
He was already so puffy and red. We went in separate ambulances. Turns out my friend from college that was being induced there at midnight, saw our son taken into the ambulance and hoped it wasn't mine, only to find out from Mr. BrainyBud that saw them, that it was our son. (her son was born by c-section that next morning) Once we were in my room, everyone tried to convince me to get in a wheelchair to go see him, but at 2:00am I was extremely tired, still couldn't feel my legs or feet, I just couldn't. So my mom and Mr. BrainyBud went to the NICU that night to check on him, then stayed with me until morning, when I could go see him myself.
It is a night, I'm not soon to forget. I saw my life flash before me so many times. So many firsts for me happened that night, and the events to follow where in no place on my birth plan.
Firsts For Me within 6 hours:
first IV
first anesthesia
first hospital stay
first surgery
first ambulance ride
first time having a baby
first moment of becoming a mommy
first time NICU mother
S told us that he did have meconium aspiration and very low blood sugar. They invited Mr. BrainyBud to go around me (which he still wishes that his peripheral vision wasn't so good because I was still open) to see and take photos of our son. We knew he was about to go to the special care unit while I was in recovery. Baby BrainyBud was so limp, but again, I wasn't worried at this point. We were two happy parents. The only part I felt was of them taking the adhesive off my stomach.
Turns out Dr. K went to the waiting room to tell everyone (my mom, my inlaws, pastor, my BFF, my other BFF and her husband, and my mom's close friends) what was going on. I was taken into recovery for an hour, where all I did was fight sleep. We were told there that Baby BrainyBud was put on a ventilator and at that moment, we knew that we would both be taken to the bigger hospital and NICU across town. We were told that during our childbirth class that our hospital couldn't hold a baby on a ventilator.
We were taken back to my room where I was smiling, hoping that my mom, who was already worried about me and the baby, wouldn't be terrified. I wanted to be brave for everyone. Maybe I just had a faith and peace about me, or maybe I was still high on morphine, I don't know. Once we were back, they brought our son in in his transport incubator as they explained what was going on, how we would be transported by ambulance and that Dr. B had come from the other hospital NICU and evaluated him. Once Dr. B explained everything, to everyone, it was like the room stood still. I was still in good spirits and thought that in less than a week, we'd be home... blissfully unaware the journey we were about to take... that half the people in that room wouldn't see our son again for 3 weeks.
He was already so puffy and red. We went in separate ambulances. Turns out my friend from college that was being induced there at midnight, saw our son taken into the ambulance and hoped it wasn't mine, only to find out from Mr. BrainyBud that saw them, that it was our son. (her son was born by c-section that next morning) Once we were in my room, everyone tried to convince me to get in a wheelchair to go see him, but at 2:00am I was extremely tired, still couldn't feel my legs or feet, I just couldn't. So my mom and Mr. BrainyBud went to the NICU that night to check on him, then stayed with me until morning, when I could go see him myself.
It is a night, I'm not soon to forget. I saw my life flash before me so many times. So many firsts for me happened that night, and the events to follow where in no place on my birth plan.
Firsts For Me within 6 hours:
first IV
first anesthesia
first hospital stay
first surgery
first ambulance ride
first time having a baby
first moment of becoming a mommy
first time NICU mother
If you would like to continue reading about our son's journey, the rest of my pregnancy, and our lives as parents, we will keep updating our blog so you can read about his 3 weeks in the NICU and his continued recovery.
I just wanted to let you all know that he has arrived and thank you all for this great blog community! I continue to read Bloomin' Babies and wish everyone the best of luck!
Faith, Love, and Baby Kisses,
Mrs. BrainyBud
We finally sold our home, moved out December 28th, lived with friends until January 15th until our apartment was ready. We are now in our apartment and on the hunt for our "forever home!" We haven't gotten the internet set up at home, so checking the internet has become a pain, hence the longer-than-expected absence from Bloomin Babies.
Now for an update on Baby BrainyBud...
.jpg)
