Almost 4 months late..really long!

Caleb Evan Elliot's birth story

 I got my BFP on September 6, 2008.  Once my Mom found out I was due May 6, she would always mention how great it would be if the baby was born on my Grandfather's (her father) birthday, April 29.  I was never sure how I felt about this, mainly because he passed away 5 years ago.  We had wanted to find out the gender, but the U/S technician told me the doctor would tell me the gender, and he never did.  I didn't want to ask, so we stayed team green.  I can't say my pregnancy was uneventful; Feb 25 I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.  I later tested positive for Group B strep.  I ended up in the hospital twice--once just to be checked out, the second time I stayed overnight.  Turns out I had a friable cervix.  Eventually I went on insulin, .  I never had many Braxton Hicks, but on April 23 I started having contractions that didn't go away like a BH would.  Friday, my mom takes me to my bpp and the whole time I was starting to feel pretty gross.  By the time we were done, she asked me if I was ok because I had totally paled out.  I had a headache, was super-tired etc.  So because I had GD, when I got home, I ate something, had a drink (solved the headache thing by taking my headband off..lol) and went to bed.  I slept for like 3 hours.  Then I rested the remainder of the day.  I was having some BH that evening.  Saturday, I start having uncomfortable cramps, had 3 bowel movements within hours, and my bloody show started as well, my contractions were timeable, but far aparts.  It was also gorgeous, so my sister and BIL took me for a walk.  After that, I still had contractions, but I couldn't feel them through the leg pain that I had acquired from the walk!  Later that night, I had more contractions, but they teetered off a bit.  Through the night, they return and go from 8 - 7 minutes apart from 9 until 1:30pm, but then, they stop.  They only happened like once an hour, but they stopped on their own.  Friday was more of the same.  Sunday and Monday was more of the same.  They only got 15 - 10 mins apart for an hour or two, then they would stop.  Tuesday was my doctor's appointment.  I was nervous going in as I had GD, and I hadn't been eating any more than one meal a day.  I remember being very near tears as the resident asked me how I was doing.  I filled her in, she asked me some questions, then she said she'd check with the doctor, but felt sure I would be getting checked out.  The baby's heart rate was fine, as was my blood pressure.  Then she explained that they would check my dialation etc.  Turns out I was three centimeters dialated, fully effaced, and forward facing.  They  didn't want to take any chances because I had GBS.  They sent me to the hospital to check my dilation, do a NST, check the dilation again, and if nothing changed in an hour, they would send me back home.  Of course I had no contractions during that time frame and nothing changed, so they sent me home.  DH took me to get a sub for supper, so I asked for banana peppers on mine...just in case..lol.  The contractions started up pretty much as soon as we left the hospital.  I had to sit in the sub place because of the pain, whereas normally I'd stand in line with DH.  I rest that night.  The next morning (the 29th)around 9am, my contractions return.  They start at about 15 mins apart, then 10..then they stopped for a couple of hours.  During this time we went to a book store..returned home, they started up again and ranged from 7-5 mins apart over the next two hours.  I thought it was going to stop again, but DH wanted to take me to the hospital just in case.  I made him call my mom to convince me to go in.  So in we went..we didn't want mom to come immediately in case we got sent back home, so she was awaiting further instruction.  When they checked me I was 5cms dilated.  They told me one way or another, I wasn't going home until I had my baby.  So we called mom in.  The nurse put the IV in me..which took two tries...ouch!  I hadn't eaten and I had ketones so they made me eat some popsicle and peanut butter and toast.  My blood sugar had been low when I arrived (due to not eating all day), and thus, after the popsicle, it was high (which I could have told them would happen; I just figured they would know.  Labor didn't kick back in until around 2am.  I was measuring at 7cms at this point, and I was a little uncomfortable, so I asked for a couple of extra strength tylenols.  Somewhere in there, they broke my water.  I went to pee before they did this..lol Somewhere around 4am, I decided to go for laughing gas.  Shortly after that they tried giving me the epi.  They again, had two tries..and my one IV was already full, so they tried putting a second one in...the epi. ended up missing the first time, and the catheter clotted the second time, so they told me no more.  The next few hours are a blur (thanks to the laughing gas which I began relying heavily on).  I do remember asking if I could go pee somewhere in there, because I hadn't gone in a few hours..before they broke my water.  They said I could, but not to push if I felt the need to..well, duh!  The doctor came in to check me, said I was ready to go.  While he was prepping himself, I became drugged by the gas again...so I didn't become mentally conscious of what was going on until they told me to push on a contraction.  It didn't take long.  They took my "juicebox" away..lol  The cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, so I had to pay attention so I could stop and they could get it off.  Finally, he was born!  He was born at 10:13am at 7lbs, 10 oz 21 1/2 inches long.  They put him on my chest, and went to focus on all of the blood that was coming out of me (after the placenta was out).  My doctor (who is considered very good at stitching women up etc.) had to call in another doctor to help stitch me up.   Because of the blood loss, I was confined to a wheelchair until further notice.  Because I had GD, Caleb was taken to the NICU.  They took me on a tour of the NICU, then brought me to my "room" in the ward.  I was so discouraged at this point.  I had a catheter put in, my baby was in the NICU, and unless I paged a nurse to take me to the NICU, I didn't even have a wheelchair.  I was confined to my bed.  I went down there every 3 hours (and got in trouble for not showing up on time because other nurses were taking my blood and vitals etc.)  Apparently he had a very good appetite from the start (which I believe seeming how he's about 20lbs now).  After a night of little to no sleep (because DH was in a room down the hall, and my ward-mate had her baby with her), the next day had begun.  Around 1pm, I was finally able to have Caleb with me.  My Ward-mate was a smoker (no offence) and I'm allergic to smoke, not to mention one of the new ladies was heaving when they brought her in (yuck!), DH went to nicely complain, so then I was moved to my own room.  I was still having blood taken to measure my hemoglobin, they were giving me iron pills, still testing my sugar, and my last morning there, they decided to do a one hour sugar test.  Finally,  they let us out.