The Arrival of Rosella Ann Singer
If you have read my previous posts about how my pregnancy had gone, then you know that with all the issues, you could figure it would be not how I could imagine.
Well being in the hospital and monitored (baby's heart rate and uterine contractions) twice a day with access to nurses any time I may have needed one worked in my favor leading up to the birth. When you read thru this, remember that most things I was going thru was considered normal for my pregnancy issues. And that I honestly had no idea I was actually in labor until moments before.
So I woke up very early in the morning, around 1 am on May 3rd with contractions but they were not too bad. Manageable and spaced out enough there was no call for concern. But being only 31 weeks and 3 days pregnant with steady contractions, I was administered magnesium. For those who do not know what that does, it is used for neuro support of the baby. It can also help stop false labor. Which when you get it, it feels like you are laying out in the middle of a hot summer day in the sun, dehydrating, sweating, nauseous, clammy and so forth. The nurses like to call it "flu in a bag" because that is how you essentially feel, just over all bleh. So after no more than 15 minutes, the contractions went away. And I was fine.
The next early morning about 2am, same thing. Woke up with more contractions and was given my "flu in a bag" again for neuro support. Most of the contractions went away and I was still going strong. When the doctor came in later in the day, I was informed that if contractions again start, I will not be getting anymore mag. Ok fine, not too concerned as they said if I was in actual labor the mag would not stop the contractions.
Well, May 5th, also my parents anniversary, I wake up around midnight to 1 am with some cramping. Manageable, so I called and asked for some Tylonal so I could go back to sleep. I was put on the monitor for a while to see if anything was happening. Which nothing really was. Baby looked great. After falling back to sleep, I was woken up with more painful, yet still tolerable cramps. This was about 2-230 am. I was given some stronger meds, I think hydrocodone. Could not go back to sleep was in pain now. Ok well this is normal for me right? I called the nurses station at 3 am a bit crying asking for my nurse when she had a moment. Because, well, I did not think I was in labor. Since it was not too much of a concern with me and my case. I called my husband told him I was having more contractions at 3 am and I would call if anything changes.
So my nurses assistant comes in because she heard me crying. She asks me if I am ok. I tell her ya just really bad cramping now. She asks me a series of questions and I answer "yes maybe a bit" to when she asks if I feel nay pressure. Well I guess that is cause for an exam. She hits her pager thing on her scrubs and hits my call button asking for any available nurse to come to my room right away. Ok something is up. My nurse, who is my favorite, comes in and asks me more questions. Yes it is pressure I feel. She leaves and calls the doctor and gets everything ready for an external spec exam since they do not want to touch anything if I am ok so they do not introduce infection. So I text my husband at 310 am telling him to please come. We live 20 miles away and its the middle of the night and he has our son. And when my nurse comes back into the room waiting the doctor's arrival for the exam, I say "I feel like I need to push". Well she sets everything down grabs a glove and does the internal herself. She looks at me and looks at her assistant and says we have to go.
I have been trying to keep it together the whole time. My fear was being alone when it was time, and guess what, here I am middle of the night being rushed into the OR for an emergency c-section because my baby is breeched and I'm in lobar trying to not push my baby out while my body is. I called my husband at 318 am told him I would be in the OR and said I love you. I knew I was going to be under anesthesia because I was not able to have the baby normally and there was no time to get the spinal block in.
The push my bed out of the antipartum unit into the labor and delivery straight to the OR getting me ready and themselves for surgery. I'm crying and crying. The nursing assistant told me she would stay by my side the whole time until my husband got there. We arrive in the OR at 322 am, since they wrote it on the board. They ask if I can move to the table and so I do between contractions. With every urge to push, I make it known to everyone. Because well, its the worst feeling ever. Even worse then the contractions. I am asking when am I going to be put to sleep and they say soon.
And next thing I know, I'm waking up in an empty recovery ward, no baby, not pregnant anymore, high on drugs. My husband, my mommy and daddy were there. When I was able to finally say something, I asked how my baby was doing. I know Steven missed the birth, although we knew if I was under anesthesia that he would not be present anyway. But that did not make it better. The nurse tells me they took photos before they took my daughter to the NICU, which was so thoughtful and so sweet. So my husband, mom and dad, went to see the baby while I worked on waking up. She was perfect. No tubes, no machines, just a baby laying there looking normal.
It was a while before I got to go see her and when I first did, I barely could stay awake from all the drugs I was given. But there she was, alive, no issues to be seen yet, which was a huge relief as she was breathing on her own!
When my nurse came in to see me the next night, she told me all about the birth. She was there and I could not have asked for a better nurse. She was my favorite nurse and she was able to be there when I was not able to have my family there. She told me Rosella came out crying and was beautiful. That when they pulled her out at 333 am, about that time my husband was running in to find me.
To have been in the hospital being monitored, I think that is honestly what saved my princess. If I would have been at home when this happened, I am sure I would have just given birth in bed. And that, probably would have killed her as she was breeched and so early. Because the NICU team is on standby for cases like this. if she needed anything when she was born to keep her alive, they have that. Where as at home, I have nothing but 9-1-1. Its hard to think about but I am thankful that everything I went thru gave me this little amazing girl sitting next to me.
As I type this, I am crying because everything I went thru, the trauma of not knowing when my baby would be born, what issues she could have, if she would live. The stress I put my family thru the 2 months I was in the hospital. Though every day I stayed pregnant was a blessing. And it is almost 5 months after the birth and things still make me cry, I get sad, upset, anxious, depressed, and a whirlwind of emotions from the pregnancy. And honestly I do not think that will go away.
Well being in the hospital and monitored (baby's heart rate and uterine contractions) twice a day with access to nurses any time I may have needed one worked in my favor leading up to the birth. When you read thru this, remember that most things I was going thru was considered normal for my pregnancy issues. And that I honestly had no idea I was actually in labor until moments before.
So I woke up very early in the morning, around 1 am on May 3rd with contractions but they were not too bad. Manageable and spaced out enough there was no call for concern. But being only 31 weeks and 3 days pregnant with steady contractions, I was administered magnesium. For those who do not know what that does, it is used for neuro support of the baby. It can also help stop false labor. Which when you get it, it feels like you are laying out in the middle of a hot summer day in the sun, dehydrating, sweating, nauseous, clammy and so forth. The nurses like to call it "flu in a bag" because that is how you essentially feel, just over all bleh. So after no more than 15 minutes, the contractions went away. And I was fine.
The next early morning about 2am, same thing. Woke up with more contractions and was given my "flu in a bag" again for neuro support. Most of the contractions went away and I was still going strong. When the doctor came in later in the day, I was informed that if contractions again start, I will not be getting anymore mag. Ok fine, not too concerned as they said if I was in actual labor the mag would not stop the contractions.
Well, May 5th, also my parents anniversary, I wake up around midnight to 1 am with some cramping. Manageable, so I called and asked for some Tylonal so I could go back to sleep. I was put on the monitor for a while to see if anything was happening. Which nothing really was. Baby looked great. After falling back to sleep, I was woken up with more painful, yet still tolerable cramps. This was about 2-230 am. I was given some stronger meds, I think hydrocodone. Could not go back to sleep was in pain now. Ok well this is normal for me right? I called the nurses station at 3 am a bit crying asking for my nurse when she had a moment. Because, well, I did not think I was in labor. Since it was not too much of a concern with me and my case. I called my husband told him I was having more contractions at 3 am and I would call if anything changes.
So my nurses assistant comes in because she heard me crying. She asks me if I am ok. I tell her ya just really bad cramping now. She asks me a series of questions and I answer "yes maybe a bit" to when she asks if I feel nay pressure. Well I guess that is cause for an exam. She hits her pager thing on her scrubs and hits my call button asking for any available nurse to come to my room right away. Ok something is up. My nurse, who is my favorite, comes in and asks me more questions. Yes it is pressure I feel. She leaves and calls the doctor and gets everything ready for an external spec exam since they do not want to touch anything if I am ok so they do not introduce infection. So I text my husband at 310 am telling him to please come. We live 20 miles away and its the middle of the night and he has our son. And when my nurse comes back into the room waiting the doctor's arrival for the exam, I say "I feel like I need to push". Well she sets everything down grabs a glove and does the internal herself. She looks at me and looks at her assistant and says we have to go.
I have been trying to keep it together the whole time. My fear was being alone when it was time, and guess what, here I am middle of the night being rushed into the OR for an emergency c-section because my baby is breeched and I'm in lobar trying to not push my baby out while my body is. I called my husband at 318 am told him I would be in the OR and said I love you. I knew I was going to be under anesthesia because I was not able to have the baby normally and there was no time to get the spinal block in.The push my bed out of the antipartum unit into the labor and delivery straight to the OR getting me ready and themselves for surgery. I'm crying and crying. The nursing assistant told me she would stay by my side the whole time until my husband got there. We arrive in the OR at 322 am, since they wrote it on the board. They ask if I can move to the table and so I do between contractions. With every urge to push, I make it known to everyone. Because well, its the worst feeling ever. Even worse then the contractions. I am asking when am I going to be put to sleep and they say soon.
And next thing I know, I'm waking up in an empty recovery ward, no baby, not pregnant anymore, high on drugs. My husband, my mommy and daddy were there. When I was able to finally say something, I asked how my baby was doing. I know Steven missed the birth, although we knew if I was under anesthesia that he would not be present anyway. But that did not make it better. The nurse tells me they took photos before they took my daughter to the NICU, which was so thoughtful and so sweet. So my husband, mom and dad, went to see the baby while I worked on waking up. She was perfect. No tubes, no machines, just a baby laying there looking normal.
It was a while before I got to go see her and when I first did, I barely could stay awake from all the drugs I was given. But there she was, alive, no issues to be seen yet, which was a huge relief as she was breathing on her own!
When my nurse came in to see me the next night, she told me all about the birth. She was there and I could not have asked for a better nurse. She was my favorite nurse and she was able to be there when I was not able to have my family there. She told me Rosella came out crying and was beautiful. That when they pulled her out at 333 am, about that time my husband was running in to find me.
To have been in the hospital being monitored, I think that is honestly what saved my princess. If I would have been at home when this happened, I am sure I would have just given birth in bed. And that, probably would have killed her as she was breeched and so early. Because the NICU team is on standby for cases like this. if she needed anything when she was born to keep her alive, they have that. Where as at home, I have nothing but 9-1-1. Its hard to think about but I am thankful that everything I went thru gave me this little amazing girl sitting next to me.
As I type this, I am crying because everything I went thru, the trauma of not knowing when my baby would be born, what issues she could have, if she would live. The stress I put my family thru the 2 months I was in the hospital. Though every day I stayed pregnant was a blessing. And it is almost 5 months after the birth and things still make me cry, I get sad, upset, anxious, depressed, and a whirlwind of emotions from the pregnancy. And honestly I do not think that will go away.
Comments
Post a Comment