Giuliana: Labor and Delivery

Friday, June 8th was one of the weirdest, most painful, and happiest days of my life.

I spent the week doing what I was instructed to do- which was nothing. Just peeing on sticks and poking myself with a needle. My sister-in-law Melissa flew in from Idaho on Wednesday evening for my baby shower on Saturday and she was staying with us. I felt bad because Brian still had to work, and I felt like I was pretty boring to hang out with on Thursday, but it was nice to have the company!

On Friday morning, I woke up on the early side to drive to the hospital to turn in a 24 hour urine sample because they were monitoring me for preeclampsia. (I won't go into details, but let's just say that 24 hours leaves you with a pretty hefty jug of pee to be lugging around.) I figured while I was there, I would also turn in our pre-admit form so it was one less thing we had to do come time for labor. 

I had just sent Melissa a text message before I got into my car to let her know I was on my way home, I wanted to take a quick shower, and then we could go head over to my mom's house to help her set up for the party the next day.

At 9:15, about half way into my drive, I felt a little pop, but assumed it was the baby kicking. Until I felt a little leaking. I was wondering if she kicked me so hard that I peed a little.  

Great, now my car is going to smell like pee.

Then I realized, that it was definitely a pop that I felt- was it my water that broke??

As soon as I got home and stood up outside of my car, more fluid came out, making it very apparent that it was definitely my water breaking.

I called my mom, she was on her way over. I called Brian to give him a head's up that he would probably have to be leaving work early. And then I called out to Melissa to warn her that our day was shaping up to be pretty different from what we were expecting.

 

My mom showed up at my house after what felt like hours. The three (4?) of us girls got into her car and headed off, back to my new home away from home, the hospital. 

 

Once we got there, they put me in a room and tested to make sure it was amniotic fluid- it was. That made me nervous. I had learned that once the water breaks, they want you to deliver within 24 hours to decrease the risk of infection. That meant the baby was coming. I was only at 35 weeks and 2 days- short of my 36 week goal and very short of my due date.

 

I wasn't feeling any contractions right away, and so I was feeling pretty good. I was joking around with my mom and Melissa. Brian was still at work answering some emails before he left for the day. Everything was going as smoothly as possible.

 

Then around 1:00 in the afternoon, things started to take a turn. I was 6 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. Brian still wasn't at the hospital yet. I was starting to feel contractions. And it was confirmed that I did in fact have preeclampsia. With that confirmation, I was hooked up to an IV with a Magnesium drip as well as an insulin drip since I was no longer allowed to eat or even get out of bed (I was deemed a "fall risk.")

 

Brian got there shortly after, and I was not feeling well at all. I had originally decided I wanted to do the whole birthing process naturally. That idea flew out the window once I started feeling some of those really strong contractions. I was miserable and I had no idea how long I would be feeling that way. The contractions were irregular. One lasted almost 10 straight minutes. So I gave in and got an epidural. 

As soon as they did the epidural, they also put in a catheter (which I didn't feel), and I was able to relax.

Smiling again

MIL and SIL keeping me company

 

 

 

They were monitoring me very closely- taking my blood pressure every 20 minutes, my blood glucose level every hour. Before too long, I was at 8 centimeters, which was good- I was progressing on my own, so they wouldn't have to induce. 

 

Hour by hour passed. Brian's parents and Melissa had left to get dinner and brought back some food for Brian. He headed out to the waiting room and by the time the poor guy got back to me, they had me on oxygen because the baby's heart rate was low. His face dropped and he looked so worried until we all explained it too him.

Around 9:00, they moved me into a bigger room and the whole family followed.

Ready for baby

  At this point, my brother and his girlfriend were there too. It was also around this time that I started feeling contractions again. Miserable contractions.

Fake thumbs up. I was miserable.

The hospital staff assured me that the epidural was continuously flowing but I was in PAIN! At one point, it seemed like no one had been in my room in a long time and I felt like every time I was having a contraction, I had to hold the baby in. When I expressed this, my mom got into mom-mode and went out of the room to look for someone. Apparently, my mom and Brian were told that there were 3 back to back deliveries and that someone would be with me soon. 

 

Before too long, my sweet nurse Allison was back in the room with me, I was fully dilated and ready to go. So she kicked out everyone but Brian, the moms, and Melissa. And it was time to push.

 

This is where the whole experience seems surreal. Granted, I was a bit drugged up, but I remember the whole thing perfectly. Allison held my left leg back, Brian held my right and she instructed me on how to push three times while holding my breath with each contraction. 

 

So we started... without a doctor. I was so confused- who was going to catch the baby? Shouldn't there be more people in here? But I was in too much pain to say anything. After a couple of pushes, Allison announced it was time and went out to get the doctor... who came back with a team of TWELVE people. 

 

It was around that time I realized how serious everything was. This whole team was necessary because I was giving birth to a premature baby. A baby whose level of health and ability to survive so early outside the womb was really unknown. 

I pushed from about 11:00 pm until 11:31 pm when my sweet little Giuliana was born. I screamed the entire time. I got what I wanted- even with the epidural, I felt everything. (A lesson in being careful what you wish for.) At one point- as her head was coming out (which took at least 2 different contractions, maybe even three), I yelled out, "I can't do this!" Looking back, I feel ridiculous with all my screaming and moaning, but at the time, I was in the most pain I have ever felt in my life. I feel bad if there were any expectant mothers in labor that could hear me because I probably scared the crap out of them! 

 

But what an awesome reward I got out of it- Giuliana was born at 5 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches. Small, but not too bad for as early as she was. She was also very healthy- all 9's on her APGAR test and able to breath on her own (crying right away!)

 

 This was pretty much all I could see of her after she was born. But I could hear her crying, so that was reassuring.

Poor little thing

Brian got to cut the umbilical cord.

I finally got to hold her... for about 30 seconds...

And then she was off to the NICU.

At that point, I was exhausted and glad that the hard part was over. The doctor stitched me up (I had some tearing) and Allison brought me a turkey sandwich and fruit salad- my first food in about 14 hours. Then our families left and Brian and I were wheeled off to the NICU to really get to meet our baby for the first time.

*****

We didn't get to hold her that night. She was hooked up to machines and they were monitoring her breathing and how well she could regulate her own body temperature. 

 

We got to look at her and oooo and ahhh for maybe 5 minutes before they brought us to the recovery room. 

 

It was almost 2 am, and I sent Brian home so he could sleep comfortably and be with Kevin. (My dad had gone over to our house earlier in the night to feed him and take him out, and our friends Mike and Kristen were with him for most of the night.) 

 

I was still a fall risk- I had to be on the magnesium for 24 hours after labor. And I had to take motrin every 6 hours. I was sore, but feeling good overall. Before I knew it, I was asleep for the night...