My labor story started on Monday morning. I have been working a lot trying to get in as many hours at work before Emily's due date. I wouldn't say that I was working myself too hard. In fact, I worked a lot more when I was pregnant with Tyler. I drove to Baton Rouge early on Monday morning. On the way, I noticed about 5 contractions in the one hour drive. I got to work, and started to time the contractions. They were ranging between 3 and 5 minutes apart, but they were painless. My morning was pretty slow, so I took my time, drank TONS of water, and sat down at every possible chance. The contractions did not stop. I called both my mom and sister. My sister, a labor and delivery nurse, told me I should go home and go to the OB to be checked, or find an OB at OLOL Hosptial where I work. Well, OLOL does not have an OB/GYN clinic and leaving work was not an option. Afterall, the contractions were bareable and I was convinced this wasn't the REAL thing (with Tyler Greg and I walked 3 miles 3 nights in a row before I could convince labor to start). If I left work every time I had a contraction I would never work. I don't want to be seen as unreliable. There is also no one else to cover my position until my relief showed up at 4pm. So, I worked and occasionally stopped to time my contractions.
I made it to 4pm, drove home and picked up Tyler. I convinced Greg that it would be okay to go to the Saint's game. He was apprehensive leaving me with Tyler alone after my day full of contractions. I tried to take my mom's advice and relax, drink water and go to bed. I fell asleep at 8pm and woke up at 11:15pm. The contractions were now a little painful. Greg was on his way home from the Saint's game. Greg came home and, after a little bickering, I agreed to go to the hospital to be checked. I initally did not want to go because I was afraid of what they were going to tell me. I figured it would be either, "you can't work anymore" or "your having a baby tonight". Neither of those statements could be an option for me. I was only 35 weeks and 4 days and I needed to go to work.
We arrived at Ochsner around midnight. I was placed on all the monitors. All the monitors told me what I already knew...I was contracting every 2 minutes. The resident checked my cervix...3cm and 70% effaced. Holy moley! The only thing I could think of was, "I have to work tomorrow at 4pm, they better not tell me I can't go!" I failed to mention that my sister, Melanie, was working that night in Labor and Delivery. Fluids were started and my sister and the resident walked in to recheck my cervix. I could tell from my sister's face that the fluids were doing very little to stop my contractions. At this check my cervix was 4 to 5cm dilated and still 70%. We weren't going home:( The resident did her best to try and convince me that everything was going to be okay. The resident told me that they do not try to stop delivery after 34 weeks and steriods aren't given for lung development unless your are 32 weeks and earlier. I'm not going to lie...I was terrified. Not for myself, but for Emily. When Greg and I were left alone the tears came. What did I do wrong? Yes, I worked a lot but a day home with Tyler is often more active than a day at work. I felt guilty that there was nothing I could do to keep her inside of me. I was scared that she would end up in the NICU struggling to breathe like I witnessed with Tyler. Having Tyler in the NICU was such a stressful and emotional time, I never wanted to re-live that experience.
So, now we are going to have a baby 4.5 weeks early. I was put in a room. My OB arrived around 8am and went over the plan. She explained that going home 5cm was not an option. Also, the longer we waited, the higher the chance of infection. I agreed. The last thing I wanted to do was go home and end up having her there. So, she broke my water, started pitocin and called for the epidural. Everything went pretty smoothly with the exception of the epidural. There were a few very dramatic moments. Lots of vaso-vagal almost pass out moments, with one scary "can't find the baby's heart tones" moment and even talk of an emergency C-Section that I can vaguely remember in the middle of a vaso-vagal passing out. I remember opening my eyes and seeing the entire room filled - 3 anesthesiologiests, 3 nurses, and my OB/GYN just working on things around me. I don't ever want to re-live that again. I had no problems with my epidural when I had Tyler. This was just a nightmare. To top it all off, I had a hot spot in one area where I could feel the pain but I was not about to allow them to mess with epidural again.
When the time came, I was rolled into the operating room. No, I didn't have a C-Section. It is policy that any woman who is less than 36 weeks pregnant deliver in the OR. They do this because they have a connecting room with all the needed materials for the neonateologist to evaluate the baby. After 3 contractions, Emily was out! She looked so big! She had a head full of DARK hair and, boy, can she scream! I never thought something so little could scream so loud! I guess she is coming prepared to compete with big brother Tyler. It was reassuring to hear her scream so loud. I could even hear her through the wall when she was in the other room.
The NICU nurse practitioner told us that Emily would benefit from spending some time in the NICU to make sure her lungs are ready. She was retracting and struggling a little to breathe. Off went Emily to NICU. That leads us to today...
Today, Emily is still in the NICU. She currently has a nasal cannula that is giving her "flow". This means it is blowing air into her lungs. It is only supplying 21% oxygen, which is the same amount of oxygen that you and I breathe in the air. The flow started on 4 liters and we are now at 1 liter. I have been told that the doctor will likely go down by .25 liters a day. She is also chilling out under photo-therapy lights. She is pretty jaundice and the lights are supposed to help get rid of her extra bilirubin. After we battle the breathing issue, we then start the feeding battle. Please keep her in your prayers.
Greg and I have been handling this pretty well. We have Tyler at home to focus on and keep us busy. However, I can't lie. This is hard... I try not to let my own selfish wants to get in the way. I just want my family together. I want her home now! It is so hard to watch her and feel helpless. Having her in the NICU makes you feel like your not even her parent. You have no control and can make no decisions about her care. You have to call to visit, they make you leave every time they do any "procedure" to your child. Yesterday, they made Greg and I leave when they replaced an IV. It took them 40 minutes. I just wish I could be there to rub her little head while she likely screamed. I wish I could tell them after 20 minutes of trying to stop and get someone else. Instead, I just have to sit back and hope they are comforting her for me. I don't even feel like I can pick her up without permission to do so and someone watching over me everytime I make a move. I know this is the best thing for her. She will be home when she is healthy and ready.
Enough with the emotions and lets get to some pictures. Tyler's blog ended with his birth story. Emily came so early that I still have more to share. I will have my maternity pictures back soon and also pictures of a hopefully completed nursery. Enjoy:)
This picture was taken before all the drama.
This was right after Emily came out. It was a very emotional time:)
Big brother Tyler seeing Emily for the first time.
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