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Pregnant after a Loss
MayBride2B2007
member
XP: cuppa's birth story, warning...scary.
MayBride2B2007
member
i hesitated sharing this, but was asked over on PAL and i know i found reading others' stories helpful, even if they weren't the picture perfect birth, so here goes.
i was originally scheduled for a c-section yesterday. however, on sunday i woke up earlier than usual and just felt really off. i started reorganizing cuppa's clothing and by around 1ish it occurred to me that i had not been feeling her move at all. i tried everything to get movement, including eating sweets and laying on my left side. nothing. i pulled out the doppler and was able to find her hb, but it didn't give me any relief. i called the ob andwas told to come right in to l&d. this was around 4:30.
when we got there, they hooked me up to the NST and got no trace movement. there were suddenly 3 nurses and the ob on call in my room. they talked with us about the fact that they wanted me to go down and have a BPP done to check on her. they said that it was likely we'd be having her sooner rather than later.
we went down for the u/s and as i expected, cuppa was breathing but not moving. the tech tried to zap her to get her to move, poked at her, shook my belly, you name it. no response from cuppa. she estimated her size at 5lbs 4oz, essentially the same as the week before.
we went back up to l&d and they again hooked me up to the NST. cuppa's hb dropped instantly and our room was flooded with nurses and the on call OB, who immediately did an internal in order to touch cuppa's head to bring her hb back up. it worked, but the "might deliver sooner" idea immediately turned into the anesthesiologist coming to the room and them prepping me for surgery. time seemed a bit fuzzy for me, but according to mr. soup, they had me in the OR within about 10 minutes of this episode.
my c-section itself went fine, however, when they got into my uterus they saw there was meconium. cuppa was delivered, essentially lifeless, at 7:33pm. it was the most horrible sight i've ever seen and both mr. soup and i were in tears at the sight of our purple tiny baby. the doctors kept trying to reassure us that they just couldn't stimulate her until they were sure she had been suctioned from the meconium, but in that moment, it was a devastating sight for new parents to see.
hearing cuppa's first whimper was truly a magical sound for me. her apgars at birth were a 5, clearly indicative that my baby was in distress as they had suspected. they came up to an 8 at five minutes and she was rushed out of the delivery room and taken to special care for further evaluation, but not before they allowed me to see her (and have her smile at me) and take a family picture. mr. soup went with her and i just laid there on the table while they sewed me up sobbing. i just kept saying that i should have come in sooner and never should have waited to call. everyone was great. even the anesthesiologist just kept reassuting me that she looked great when they took her out. the nurses called special care to check on her for me and we learned that her blood sugars were too low as was her body temp, both expected complications due to the GD and her low birth weight.
i didn't get to see or hold her again for another hour, once i was in recovery. then we got to see her for an hour before they took her to the special care nursery. they brought her to me once to breastfeed in the night, but decided that her sugars warranted her being bottle fed initially. this was really hard for me, but i wanted them to do whatever it took to make her healthy. cuppa stayed in special care from sunday night until tuesday morning. during that first day and a half of her life i only was allowed to see her every few hours for 30-45 mintues, and only when she needed to be fed (they agreed to let me try to breastfeed before bottle feeding her at each feeding). it was really hard, but i knew it was what she needed.
my own ob came to see me on monday morning and told me that he was not surprised that she had come out earlier. they sent my placenta out for testing to see if they can determine what caused the IUGR and subsequent distress for the baby, but no news has come in on that yet. he told me it could very well show nothing detectable and that there would be no way to tell if future pregnancies would have the same problems as this one.
we are still dealing with complications of her low birth weight (just today her body temp was too low and we had to go in to be checked out by the pedi). but, she continues to make strides as well, and is gaining weight and doing all of the things they want her to do at this point. so, we just hope that the worst is over and now that she is an outside baby we can care for her better than i was able to do when she was inside.
it's still hard to believe that she is here. i honestly can't remember what it felt like to not have her here. she's my everything and while the lack of sleep has been challenging, i wouldn't trade her being here for anything in the world.
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Re: XP: cuppa's birth story, warning...scary.
So so scary, May! I'm reading through your post in tears for you, and the angst you/Mr Soup must have felt.
I'm glad Hadley is making great strides, and continues to flourish in your loving arms....!
She's GORGEOUS!
She is adorable, May. Im sorry it's been a rough road to get her here but I know she is worth it.
Lots of love!
I'm sorry you had to go through that scary nightmare. But I am so happy to see cuppa with you
I'm sure she is just as strong as her mom and will be good very soon
She's adorable.
I'm glad she's here and doing well for the most part.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow! That is scary, but I am so glad that all is well now and you have he rin your arms!!
She is beautiful! LOVE the new siggy pic!
Thanks for sharing your story. Goes to show that one should get things checked out if things seem "off". Glad to hear that she and you are doing better. Hugs!
WOW May what an amazing birth story. I too had tears in my eyes..... It sounds to me like you saved Hadley's life by listening to your instinct and calling your Dr.
I am sorry it was such a rough journey, but I am so happy with the ending. She is so Beautiful!!!
Congrats again
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Wow, what a scary experience. I'm glad things turned out ok for you guys.
She is beautiful.
Wow scary hopefully the worst is over. I am so glad everything turned out ok. She's adorable (((((Hugs))))
After 1 MC 2007, 2 CP, Cade Anthony is here:
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You must have been terrified. But what an amazing story to show the great things that can happen in healthcare.
She is beautiful!
I am so sorry for the tough road you three have been on but am glad that things are looking up. She is absolutely adorable and I wish you all the best!
m/c 1/2/08 and 3/12/08
Eve Amelia- Born 2/24/09. 6lb 9.9oz
Natalie Ruth - Born 6/13/11 7lb 6.6oz
That is so scary, but I'm so glad that she is okay and all is well in soupland. She is just gorgeous!!
I'm glad you did share your birth story May, even though it was scary because it could happen to one of us as well and I think it "wakes" us up. I don't want to think about it happening again to one of us but thats not reality.
Anyways I'm so sorry you had to go through that!!!! She is such a precious looking baby. When you first posted pics, I called DH in to show him how precious she was. Hope Hadley continues to progress like she should. Are you still able to breastfeed??
12.6.07 CP at 5w
5.21.08 BO discovered at 7w, D&E at 8w3d
8.31.08 CP at 4w5d
BFP Sept 25, 2008 bfp buddy lkstor Landon born June 6, 2009
3.25.11 missed m/c discovered at 9w6d, D&E at 10w2d
4.28.11 MTHFR a1298c homozygous discovered
4.2011 Began NaProTechnology
10.12.11 Diagnosed with Type III Luteal Phase Defect
10.2011 Starting hcg injections on 5, 7 & 9 dpo
BFP 12.7.11 - EDD 8.14.12 - IT'S A BOY! Fruit Baby
Life During and After RPL
Oh May! She is GORGEOUS! I'm so glad you went in to see the dr. when you weren't feeling her move. That wasn't coincidence! You're going to be a great mommy
Congrats again!!
OMG May, that is SO scary! Thank you for sharing though, I was in tears. I'm so happy that Cuppa is out & I pray that she continues to make gigantic strides & put on some much needed weight.
And she is absolutely beautiful! Congrats again!
DD#1 born June '09
DD#2 born April '11
TTC #3 as of July '14