Hello, I am starting this blog so all friends and family of Sydney who wish to have updates may check here for the latest and also for pictures. I've been meaning to write out the story of her birth for 5 weeks now. Took me a while to get to it, but I am doing it now. It may take me a few days to get caught up to where she is now, but I will add a bit at a time until I am fully caught up. Here's the start of her story:
My sweet little babe was due 07/21/09. However, I had been informed many times by my docs & midwife that due to my personal health issues, I would not make it to my due date.
On Monday 07/13 I went in at 8am for my weekly appt with my midwife. This was my 39 week appt, even though technically I was 38w6d. I had all my normal issues such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, PUPPS rash, etc... My blood pressure was of particular concern to my midwife on this day and she was glad to see that I had an appt at 9am over at NST (fetal non-stress test). Midwife said that if I had truly been 39 weeks, she would have ordered me to be induced - but she couldn't because she had no authority to do so before 39 weeks and I was one day shy. She said "lets see what they do with you over at NST".
So off I go to my NST appt. BP still an issue and the ladies there did not like it either (although baby was still doing great). NST ladies put in a call for further instruction to my doc, who told them to send me to Labor and Delivery for monitoring and bloodwork. (I was used to this drill since I had been sent to L&D a few times already in June and July)
Over at L&D (after several hours of monitoring and waiting on bloodwork results), the doc on call came into the room and told me that my b/w showed I had uric acid in my blood and I was in her words "a ticking time bomb" and we needed to deliver the baby today. They were ready to admit me and start an induction. However, I hadn't yet eaten and was admittedly a bit freaked by this news. So, since it was noon and I was starving, I talked them into letting me go home for enough time to grab lunch, call my husband and mom, and grab my hospital bag. They told me to be back by 2pm.
Dana and I arrived back at hospital at 2pm. By 2:30 I was hooked up to an IV of pitocin, an IV of antibiotics, and had a foley bulb inserted in my cervix to help me start dilating. We were told the foley bulb would take about "6 to 8 hours" to dilate me to 3 (when it would fall out on its own). There were luckily lots of movies on in the room pretty much continuously for us to watch since it would be a while. Evening came and with it was the arrival of my mother and also my last meal for a while: bland broth, jello, tea. Not a great meal by any means. When the on-call doc for the night shift made his rounds, he informed us that we had been misinformed about the foley bulb and that they usually take a good 12 hours to work. Ugh. I was starting to be in pretty decent pain from contractions - but they were pretty spread out. Sometime around 4am I started getting really uncomfortable. Needless to say there was no sleep for all of us that night (myself, my mom, and my husband).
Over the course of this night we had numerous nurse changes. Seems like they changed every couple hours (I think one had to leave for a personal emergency at home or something.. or maybe she was ill - I just know she left early). Around 5am we had yet another new nurse (this one covering whoever was on break). This new nurse seemed to be the only one familiar with the foley bulb - which was on hour #15 at this point. She asked if anyone had been adjusting/tightening the slack every couple hours. Ummm... no. She did so and showed the on duty nurse, who had never seen such a thing. Within 2 hours the pressure on my cervix was intense. I got out of bed at 7am to use the restroom and the thing finally fell out. 17 hours! My mom notified the nurses. The doc came in to check my dilation. By the way, he had big hands and I have never felt such pain. I screamed and tried to wiggle up in the bed to get away. He said to the nurses "get her an epidural or no one will be able to check her". I was only at 3.
Around 8am the epidural person arrived. Took an hour and couldn't get it in. Another painful procedure. 2nd epi person had to come and also give it a try. This one was successful. Around 10am, someone arrived to break my water. All this time I am still on the IV's of pitocin and antibiotics.
All through the afternoon (this was now Tuesday) I was dilated to 5 and contractions stayed a consistant 4 mins. apart. Dana went home for 7 hours on this day. My mom stayed with me. Eventually the epidural wore off. Around 8pm a nice doctor lady came to check me. Still only at 5, but my cervix was swelling. This is when she informed me that they needed to get the baby out and I would be needing a c-section. This is when I completely lost it. I was bawling uncontrollably. I knew from day one that I did not want a c-section. I wanted to experience that part where when the baby comes out, they immediately put it up on your chest. I was so upset about the loss of that bonding time.
For the c-section, they had concern about the epidural. They said if they couldn't get it back working, then they would be needing to knock me out completely. This news made me even more upset. Luckily they were able to get it working again. However, I don't know what they did, but I was sooooo drugged in the OR. I could not keep my eyes open. I could hear what was going on around me, but it all seemed like it was distant and foggy. Dana was with me the whole time. I remember feeling the pressure of them cutting me and pulling me open, but there was no pain. I remember someone on the surgical team saying they could see a face and that she was cute. I remember hearing them say she was still a girl (they had asked me earlier what I was having). I was assuming at this point that they must have her out, but I did not hear any crying. Dana went over to the side of the room where they were caring for her, but still no crying. I could hear people patting her on the back and joking that she was a stubborn one. I was freaking. What baby doesn't cry? I was terrified something was wrong, although I knew the atmosphere of the room was relaxed. There was nothing chaotic going on. I kept feebly asking (since it took every ounce of strength I had to talk) if she was okay. Finally, I heard a little whimper of a cry. Ahhhhhhh. At some point they were taking her and Dana to the recovery room while I was being stitched up. On their way out, someone held her up to my face and said I could give her a kiss. I could barely pucker in my drug induced haze.
Sydney Scarlett officially arrived after 31 hours of labor via c-section at 9:42 pm on Tuesday July 14th, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds and 6 ounces. She was 19.5 inches long. She scored an 8 and a 9 on her apgars. Good girl!
I was eventually taken to the recovery room. Dana and Sydney were already there. I stayed in my drugged stupor for over another hour. I was so thirsty and no one would give me water or ice chips. My mouth and throat were so dry it was unbearable and I wanted to cry. I finally was able to hold my daughter around 11:15pm. An hour and a half after she was born. We arrived in our real room sometime after midnight. Still wasn't allowed water or ice chips. Grrr. A nurse came in and bathed Sydney. I sat in bed and watched. She was soooo teeny!
Here is her pic that Dana took just minutes after she was born.
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