Our Rollercoaster Ride
megleighh
member
Hi everybody,
I have had quite a long journey so far, and know I have much further to go. I have a long story to tell, I have already posted on the preemie board, but decided to share my story here as well. I am 21 years old, and this was my first pregnancy. I also just needed somewhere to spill my guts, so here we go!
It all started during my 19th week of pregnancy. I was expecting twins and patiently awaiting my 19 week ultrasound to determine the gender of my twins. During my visit I learned I was expecting twin boys! Along with that information, I also found that one of the twins had a two vessel umbilical cord (doc said not to worry, as this is found in a LOT of babies and usually is not a problem, and if it is it would be way later on and would be taken care of at that point.) I also found out that the other twin had a small spot in his heart (again, according to the doc this was not a big issue as it is very common and usually disappears on its own.) The third thing that I learned was that I had a shortened cervix. I was measuring at 1.6cm, when a normal cervix would measure between 3-4cm. I was immediately put on bed rest, and was scheduled ultrasounds every 2 weeks from that point. 2 weeks later was my 21 week ultrasound. I was feeling great until during my exam I found out that I had lost Baby A. I had no symptoms, so until the doctor gave me the news I had no idea that this had happened. I was experiencing every emotion possible. Sadness, Grief, and Happieness/Hopefulness that I still had one healthy baby. The weeks went on and I continued getting checked every week. My cervix went from 1.6cm to 1.3cm. At this point my doctor decided that I should get a dose of steroids for my babies lungs, in case he delivered early. During my 24th week I stayed in the hospital for 3 days to get two doses of steroids. My cervix was checked before discharge, and I was then 1cm dialated. After I was discharged, it was Thursday October 18 and I was headed back home on complete bed rest. On the night of Friday October 19, I was up all night with excurciating back pain. I thought that I pulled a muscle because I had pain like this in the past. It was never this bad but again, I thought nothing of it until 6AM on October 20. (24 weeks pregnant at this time) After being up all night with the back pain, I noticed a gush of fluid come out of me and decided right away to call my doctor, and head to the hospital because the pain was getting worse something was not right. After arriving at the hospital I was told I was having contractions and the pain I was feeling was commonly known as back labor. I was rushed by ambulance to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA. when I arrived in boston, I was checked out and it was decided that I lost my mucous plug. I was put on several IV's to try and control my contractions with muscle relaxers and fluids to keep me hydrated. Later that afternoon my contractions were timing at 2 minutes apart and my cervix was dialated to 3cm. They had given me an epidural to ease some pain. Not long after the epidural I started feeling some awkward pressure, and brought my hand down to feel something was there. I called the doctor in and immediately he checked and told me "OK, DO NOT PUSH" .. At that moment I was in shock, and had no idea what was going on. Shortly after, I delivered Baby A. They decided to leave his placenta in place, because they did not want to risk me delivering Baby B so soon, and by removing baby A's placenta could cause that. Things seemed to settle down after that. It was about 2AM on Sunday October 21 when I noticed I was bleeding. The doctor told me that the bleeding could be cervical change, or baby A's placenta beginning to detach. They monitored my bleeding and that settled down as well. Although I did not get any sleep that night, my morning nurse was especially happy to start her shift Sunday morning to see that I was in fact still pregnant! Sunday was a mostly uneventful day, until about 8PM. My mother had left for the night because everything was stable, she was thinking that she would just return to see me in the morning. My boyfriend and I were ready for bed after not sleeping for a few nights. I started to notice progressivly worse pain, and started to feel myself bleeding again, so I called the nurse in to check my epidural, and check my bleeding becuase i couldn't tell how much blood there was and it was especialy hard for me to move. The first thing she said was "Let me get the doctor to check on this" A doctor came in, checked me and decided we needed to deliver this baby NOW.. This all came as a shock to me, because earlier a different doctor had told me that he thought I may keep baby B inside me for a few more weeks, and that my labor may have been my body trying to filter out baby A because he had passed 5 weeks before. My boyfriend called my mother, and instantly 15 various doctors, nurses and students flooded into my room. (Tufts Medical Center is a teaching hospital, so along with each doctor was a student). They did an ultrasound which showed the baby head down and ready. They broke my water and started feeling around to check his position manually. The doctor thought he had moved to breech position, she continued to feel around and was having a hard time telling what it was she was feeling, but she knew it was not his head, and not his foot. Another doctor came in for a second opinion and they decided to have me start pushing. I pushed for several minutes trying so hard to get this baby out quickly and safely. His heart rate was going up and down, mostly up but a few times it went down. They check via ultrasound again and figure out that he was shoulder first, and he just was not going to come out as quickly as they needed him to vaginally. They ordered an emergency C-Section and everyone was running around like crazy. I was scared, worried, in shock, and didn't know what to think at the same time. They immediately wheeled me into the OR. Again, there were 15 or so people in the room all running around crazy, but somehow they were organized about it. They gave me more and more anesthesia until I was numb from the chest down. I was in the OR for about an hour all together. I was 24 weeks and 5 days pregnant when Brayden Patrick was born at 8:54PM, on October 21, 2012, He was 1lb 9oz and 13.25 inches long. I only got a quick glimpse of him as they were wheeling him away to the NICU. I was so nervous for him, at this point I had no idea what was going on, and all I wanted was to see and hold my baby boy. When the surgery finally finished I was wheeled out, and waited in one of the rooms for about 3 hours before being able to go down and take a peek at my son. I began to get feeling in my legs back within an hour or so, and just waiting to go see my son was the worst feeling i've ever felt. I had no idea how his condition was, I barely got to see him as they wheeled him out, and I didn't know what was going on. When I finally got to see him, he was the tiniest, most beautiful little baby I had ever seen in my life.
Brayden is now 5 days old, and doing great so far. He is breathing without a breathing tube, and no extra oxygen added. He has lost some weight, and is currently 1lb 4.5oz, but the doctors have told me that it is normal for any baby to loose weight at first, and they do not expect him to loose any more. We all know that this process is going to be a very long, difficult journey, but I am staying hopeful and cannot wait until the day I will be able to hold my precious boy. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday, which was such an emotional rollercoaster to be leaving the hospital empty handed. I live about 45 minutes from the hospital that Brayden is currently at. I am very thankful that he is there of all places, because I know that hospital has one of the best NICU around and he is in great care!!
Thank you all for reading!!
Re: Our Rollercoaster Ride
Haha, my username should read "3Girlsand1BoyMama"...with #5 on the way! (and then we're done.)
Me, 33, DH, 32 DDs 9, 7, 4 and DS 2. EDD #5 4-29-15
Oh wow. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Welcome to the world, Brayden! Stay strong.
Congrats, Momma.
You are a tough cookie. Congratulations on your baby boy!
Sorry for your loss.
formerly VXS
I'm so sorry that you lost one of your little boys. I'll be thinking of and praying for little Brayden. When I was 18, I gave birth to my son at only 24 weeks and 3 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 13 inches long. He stayed in the NICU for four very long months...but he is now 6 years old, and has outgrown all of his medical problems. He has done better than any of his doctors ever thought he could do, and it's truly amazing to watch him every day. Some days in the NICU are very tough - find support when you need it, don't feel bad about asking for help or company. The NICU is full of lows, but also many highs. For me, everything was much more precious - the first cry, the first diaper change, the first time he was able to drink from a bottle...the list goes on and on. Good luck with everything. I'll be thinking of you.
Katie