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Hawaii Babies
lovebug's birth story and aftermath novel--UBER LONG
Hi all...
I kinow I have to catch up on posts from before (congrats malia! malia's sister! and Renee?! woo hoo!!!)
Anyway, here's the birth story for Dominic. 
Inamra, you can just list him as "D" in the weekly check-in and put his birth date as Feb. 2011
So here's my novel!
On the evening of 2/9 I started having painful and consistent contractions. I had been having contractions before, but these contractions were different. They were making me lose my breath and I was in pain. I showered, changed positions, walked around the house, and still, I was crying out because I didn?t know what to do.
MH was worried and he wanted to go to the hospital. Being the stubborn person I am, I didn?t want to go. Instead, I bent over the couch and told him to call the on-call doctor for advice to see if we should go to the hospital or not.
When the on-call doctor called back, it happened to be my doctor. She instructed us to go to the hospital for fetal monitoring.
We grabbed my overnight bag and headed over to the hospital and I thought I would be monitored for about an hour and then we would return home.
Boy was I wrong.
When we got there, I changed into the hospital gown and they strapped on the NST straps and hooked me up to an IV. They also told me that I wasn?t allowed to have any food or drink and gave me procardia to stop the contractions. At about 1 am, I went to the bathroom and came out to hear MH tell the nurse ?Oh, she?s not gonna like that.? To which I replied, ?What will I not like?? and the nurse informed me that I was not going to go home.
So, MH had to go home and pack his overnight bag while I tried to get some sleep in the L&D bed. That night, the contractions kept coming through. I could not sleep. My Dr. had access to the monitors from her house so she would call the hospital to see if I was feeling the contractions. And boy I was feeling them. I hadn?t told anyone I was in the hospital, except for my parents and sister because I didn?t want to worry anyone. But when 3 or 4 in the morning rolled around, I had hit my limit. I ended up posting on Facebook for prayers and texted some folks to let them know what was going on.
Because of the complete placenta previa, my Dr. did not want to send me home until the contractions stopped. As you guys know, the contractions would stop but then break through.
So we were scheduled to deliver on 2/14/2011 at 12:00. I was going to be 36w1d.
We made it to Monday February 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm for the csection. They had to add another IV on my other arm in case of blood transfusions. They also clipped me and had me drink a shot of a gross liquid to combat any stomach acids.
At 11:45, MH and I suited up and the nurses wheeled me into the operating room. Once in the OR, I sat on the table and they began administering the spinal tap. It was painful but bearable. I leaned on a nurse and she allowed me to brace myself against her upper body. That helped a lot. After the anesthesiologist administered the spinal tap, he instructed me to hurry and lie down on the OR table before my legs would give out. So I rushed and adjusted myself as instructed. The spinal tap was making me nauseated, so the anesthesiologist had to give me something for the nausea. He had to put a try down too just in case I was going to throw up.
The curtain went up and there was so much action going on in the room. Then they called MH in.
He sat by my head and he held me and encouraged me. We had our faces close to each other and just focused on each other. I felt pressure and movement, but no pain. The next thing that happened was that my dr. told me I would feel a lot of pressure. She said that over and over again, and suddenly, we heard this loud cry. It was the most beautiful thing I heard. MH and I started to cry and I kept saying over and over again ?I hear him! I hear him! I hear him!?
He was born at 12:21 pm, was 5 lbs 9 oz and was 18" long.
They brought the baby to the nursing station in the room and MH was able to trim the umbilical cord there. Afterwards, they brought the baby to me on the table and I cried so much. He was the most beautiful thing I had seen. We took a couple pictures and then MH and the baby went to the nursery for the baby?s evaluation while I was going to be stitched up.
While I was being stitched up, the nurse came in and told me that there was a problem with Dominic?s blood sugars and that they might have to give him formula. I told her it was fine and she asked what my preference was. I told her I really didn?t care.
Then the nurse left and the doctors continued to stitch me up. I was so exhausted for some reason. I guess I was really quiet and my eyes were closed because the next thing I know, the anesthieologist put his hand over my mouth and nose to check to see if I was breathing. I was.
But still, the cs went well and there was no bleeding. I didn't need a single drop of extra blood. Also, the placenta was removed without incident.
Finally, the stitching up process was done and the medical staff moved me from the OR table to a guerney and wheeled me over to the recovery room where I was to stay for a minimum of 2 hours. They monitored my pain and gave me pain medications. During this time, the nurse came back in again and said that I should try breast feeding to see if baby would latch on and start eating. Unfortunately, he wasn?t able to latch or eat so they had to go forward with the formula. His blood sugars still started to drop so that had to put an IV on him. I was a bit sad, but I wanted the best for the baby and I totally trusted in their medical care. After 2 or 3 hours, I was rolled into the post partum room. I was so exhausted and tired. I had no energy to get up. After a while, everyone left. LMHwas able to feed Dominic and he ate the formula.
That night at about 9:00 pm, I tried to get out of bed. I scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to get up. I couldn?t do it. I was super dizzy and couldn?t get up. Because I was so dizzy, I wasn?t able to see Dominic in the NICU yet. I was so sad but I knew it was for the best. Also, I trusted that MH was there the whole time and was there for feedings so that Dominic wouldn?t be alone.
That night, I could not sleep. The oxygen monitor kept going off and I kept breathing and breathing. Once I would drift to sleep, the oxygen monitor would start going off. I was so frustrated.
At 5:00 am, the night nurse came and asked if I wanted to try getting up. Of course I agreed and luckily I was able to get out of bed. Once I was able to get out of bed, I asked to see Dominic. MH came with me and the nurse wheelchaired me down to see him. I fed him from the bottle and I was so much in love. I think we were there over 2 hours for our first visit.
The next day, I wheelchaired down the hall to NICU so many times. We had a couple of visitors who came to see us that first day.
The next few days, I was resting and wheelchairing/walking down to NICU. There was so many emotions involved. The doctors would say he was doing great, then there would be a setback. At one point they were talking about a feeding tube and I felt like I did this to my baby. The drs. had to reassure me that I didn't cause these issues to my baby and that they just wanted to prepare us in case they had to take more action but that he was actually doing as well as expected.
MH and I prayed so hard. I cried so many times for my baby. But we would go to NICU for every feeding from about 6 in the morning until 1 in the morning the following day. During the period in between those times, we would just let the NICU nurses take care of feeding Dominic.
After all these things started, we told everyone we didn't want visitors except for our immediate families and the pastors at our church.
During this time, my blood pressure started to spike. On Friday we thought I was going to be discharged and that we would stay as nursery parents. But then I ended up developing preeclampsia. I had to go on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours starting at 5:30 at night. It was the most horrible physical treatment I?ve ever encountered. I sent MH home that night to get some rest and had my mom stay with me instead. I also had my mom do all of Dominic?s feedings so that he wouldn?t be alone. I could only drink 60 mL, which was less than a specimen cup.
Between 3:00 and 5:30 in the morning, I couldn?t feel my legs anymore. My legs were like bricks and I felt like Bambi when he first learned to walk. My mom and the nurses had to massage my legs and drag me to the bathroom. I didn?t want to have a catether placed because I figured so many intrusive things had been done already. At 5:30 am, I just wanted to give up. I asked the nurses to turn off the magnesium, but they said that they couldn?t. They assured me to wait until my dr. did her rounds in the morning to ask about it. Sure enough, in the morning, my dr. said that I needed to complete the treatment because of the test results.
My mom and I prayed and prayed until I could make it through. MH returned in the morning and he helped me when my mom left. At 5:45 pm, the magnesium was turned off and I praised God so much. I finally was able to sleep because the mag was wearing off and the nurses stopped the hourly vital checks.
I ended up sleeping for about 3 hours and then went to see Dominic. I hadn?t seen him since the previous night at 1:00 am. I also had to keep pumping and dumping my milk so we had to continue formula feeding him.
The next day, Sunday, I was meeting with the lactation consultant and suddenly MH and I heard Dominic?s cry. We looked at each other and wondered if our baby was out of the NICU. He was. We cried so much that Dominic was finally a ?well baby? and that he was able to in-room with us.
Visitors came and we ate and laughed and changed Dominic?s diapers. We fed him and just enjoyed his company. We finally felt in the mood to have our celebration meal. We had steak and chicken kabobs. That night, it was difficult to be with Dominic the entire night, but he was a good baby and didn?t really cry much. We just didn?t want to take for granted the fact that he was there with us.
And on Monday, 13 days after initially checking into the hospital, I got my discharge orders and Dominic received his. MH?s goal of bringing his family home finally came true. We were so thankful to God after Dominic passed the car seat test and we were so relieved to be home.
Now, 2 weeks later, my bp is still rather high and spikes at night. But, last night and so far tonight, my bp has been stable. So that is a great thing.
Our lovebug doens't cry much, only when he's hungry or dirty. We're so very tired and at times I feel like what kind of mom am I that I can't take care of my baby 100%. But MH and I had a long talk last week and he wants me to focus on getting batter and stable. That should be my goal. Having that talk with him helped me out a lot. We are very tired, but I can't believe how much has changed in such a short time.
So that's the long story.
We had his 2 week appt. yesterday and Dominic has gained weight and grew an inch. The dr. said he's doing really well.
THank you all for sending us your enouragement and wonderful thoughts. We really appreciate it!
D started out as a LUCKY CHARM but ended up being our LOVEBUG 
hawaii 10.2008 plan ;P married bio ???
hawaii 10.2008 plan ;P married bio ???
This discussion has been closed.
Re: lovebug's birth story and aftermath novel--UBER LONG
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
Hi Hi Hi Kini! Oh my goodness what an ordeal! I loved reading your story and glad things are looking better. Take the time you need to take care of yourself and get better
Sending tons of love to you and Baby D! Congrats!
Cerclage placed @ 21w6d due to CI (IC)
| Olowalu, Maui ~ August 6, 2008 |
| Family of 4 ~ April 2, 2011 |
| Family of 5 - October 24, 2012 |
congratulations again! so glad to hear everything worked out for you and your little lovebug.
me too!! I was just thinking "wow...i am extra emotional today!"
Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through all that! But I'm glad everyone is healthy and home - YH is right - you need to focus on getting better and stronger! D needs a healthy mommy!
Congrats though! YAY for finally meeting him!
THIS exactly! Sorry to hear about everything that you had to go through
. Good news is, D is healthy and thriving! Take care of yoruself, darling.
Hi hi hi Jenn! You guys went through quite a rollercoaster...I'm so glad everything worked out in the end and that D is healthy and happy and home with you both!
I'm turning into such a sap in my old age...this made me tear up a little. I remember this moment exactly, and I said nearly the same thing ("I hear him! Is he OK? I hear him!"). I was so tired and bewildered and happy to hear those little cries.
Tara: im listed under jasmine instead of my real name jenn
Lisa: yay! I'm so glad you said that too! For being a cs and not knowing what's going on, it was a good way of being brought back to the moment...
good news though! I just got back from my dr. Appt & my bp is finally starting to come down!!!!!
hawaii 10.2008 plan ;P married bio ???
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