Kennedy's Birth Story....LOOONG w/ PiPs Heavy

SheLovesMrHip · October 2011

Well as everyone knows I really wasn't due until the end of the month. My OB had been talking to my Urologist for weeks now about delivering me early. Our plan was have an amnio, get result, have the section.....Me? Have things go according to plan....Ya Right!!

I had been having contractions the night of 10-2, and they were painful and pretty regular. My amnio was the next day so it really didn't matter too much as to how I felt. My OB had said that if our amnio came back bad that she would have to cook another week regardless of my kidney.

The morning of 10-3 we drove to the hospital, we chatted about what I wanted for lunch and how we would get at least another good nights sleep. I was fully dressed, hair done, makeup on, feeling pretty good considering the Friday prior I had to have my stupid kidney drain replaced, so we had just been at that hospital....BLEH!! We checked in at 10am and was given some eyerolls because they said we were late....um our OB said 10am, so that was our plan. Got changed, and hooked up to the monitors, got an iv, filled out paperwork, no biggie right........Enter our OB......We told her I was having pretty regular contractions so she decided to check me.....I had gone from a fingertip a few days prior to 3cm........her response "Um, so I am going to go see if there is an OR room ready....." now enter our shock and freak out!!!

So checked in at 10am and told by 10:20am that we are having our little girl!!! My DH ran out of the room to call all our parents, as I sat there I really couldn't process what was about to happen, I had a panic attack followed by complete shock! My OR nurse and awesome Anesthesiologist came in and had a chat with me. It was almost go time. My Mom made it there just in time because holy crap I was being pushed to the OR by 10:30am!

My spinal will forever be remembered because as I was getting it Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb played on the radio....Right hand of God!!! I joked about it and so everyone laughed. Still in shock, my Dh came in and the team let him watch and photo the entire Csection (we got some graphic photos). I couldn't even look at him, I looked at the ceiling and was still trying to process what was about to happen.......

11:51am Miss Kennedy Jo entered this world! They showed her to me and I all I could say was "Please God let me hear her cry! Please cry!" She was my 36weeks preemie!! Kennedy had very very wet lungs and needed much help to breathe, they allowed me a minute of snuggle time before the NICU team rushed her away, I made my DH go with her..... I layed there in shock, I just had my baby girl, it was here, holy cow this just happened!

Kennedy was to remain in the NICU the entire time, so we never got her to ourselves in our room. I cried when I saw her in there hooked to a Cpap, iv's and feeding tube! I felt like it was all my fault, although it wasn't. Our LO showed no signs of withdrawal from my kindey meds, Thank the Lord for this, she was always a strong girl! She was the biggest preemie at 6lbs 2ozs and 18 3/4inches.....I can't imagine how big she could have been at 40weeks! My DH was always by her side, so I knew she would be taken care of. The entire NICU staff ROCKED!!!! Sad thing was that there were 3 other babies in her pod but we were the only parents that spent hours with our LO, and I wasn't even to be out of bed, but I pushed myself.

As for the magical kidney.......Urologist clamped my drain for a few days to see what would happen, and man, I felt nada! That meant my kidney was functioning well and draining back into my bladder......bye bye you biiitch of a kidney drain, he pulled that sucker right out! We will be following it over the next few weeks though......

My postpartum care sucked big time, my pain from my section got out of control a few times (had a section due to hip dysplasia) Also no one helped me with my breast engorgement until I ended up asking the NICU nurses for help....and they did. The tatas went from a DD to at least a G, it was all sorts of wrong, nasty and painful.....NICU nurses actually joked with my DH about the size of them....heehee!! My nurses just stood there and watched me cry in pain form the hardness factor, and also attempted to have me sign my discharge papers at 2am while I cried in pain....DH flipped out on my night nurse for that one!

Well after nearly 5 days, we were both cleared to come home! We were told that night that Kennedy wouldn't be coming but she showed them! She had dropped down to 5lbs 8ozs so they were a little worried, but since she had been taking from a bottle and breathing nicely now they figured it was time........Total shock, we were coming home as a family!!!!

We are now back up to birth weight and doing well, she has her days and night mixed up. She is not a baby who cries at all, and just loved her Daddy!! I am hanging in there, I am officialy going through withdrawal from my kidney meds and this can take weeks. So I feel like I have the flu very badly, but it will pass soon I hope.

Thanks to Mrs.Atch for updating everyone, and thanks for all the well wishes I have gotten over the past few days! I am looking forward ro meeting everyones LO's over the next few weeks!!!!

Us right before I got wheeled away

This is me coming from recovery and really seeing her on all the machines Crying

Coming home day with her Bestest Nurses EVER!!

iluvmylab · October 2011

I'll admit it...I didn't read the whole story, I went straight for the pics!!! She's beautiful! Congrats to you and DH. Ok, now back to read.

lisaNDmike08 · October 2011

Wow, what a story! So glad you're all doing so well. She's adorable!

Jen98jib · October 2011

Congrats! She is beautiful and I'm so glad she's doing well and go to go home with you!!! I hope you start feeling better soon and get all the care you both need.

luvboston · October 2011

She's a Beauty, Congrats!

mandy6418 · October 2011

So happy everything turned out great! She's gorgeous!

pottermommy · October 2011

She is beautiful and your story is all kinds of crazy and not typical at all. But you are both happy and safe and I am so happy for you and DH that you both got to bring your precious rainbow home!!

cflocco · October 2011

She is beautiful!! Congrats mama!

MrsAtch · October 2011

You know I'm completely in awe of you. She's SO beautiful lady! I'm so thankful that you are doing well- despite the withdrawal.

busterbeagle · October 2011

She is beautiful! I'm so glad that you have her safe in your arms after the crazy pregnancy you had. I hope you are feeling better soon!

Izabella22 · October 2011

Wow that is quite the birth story... but you had quite the pregnancy so it all fits!!! So glad to hear you and Kennedy are doing well and home!!! Congrats on your beautiful little girl!!!

xoladiebug · October 2011

I'm so happy that you are fine and that Kennedy's fine and all is well! Congratulations and enjoy that mommy-daughter time!

VikingQueen · October 2011

She is so beautiful! Congrats!!!

october_artist · October 2011

Congrats!!! She is beautiful. So happy for you and your family.

happy birthday Kennedy Jo !

emd2887 · October 2011

She is beautiful, mama- congrats once again!

mrs.julia.goolia · October 2011

I read the whole story and loved it---thank you so much for sharing, and hooray for baby Kennedy being such a strong lady! You too, mama---take good care of yourself!

meeko1985 · October 2011

So cute! Congrats!

corndog8 · October 2011

Wow what a story! glad you are both home safe and sound. Such a cutie and hope you are feeling better soon!

PiperS · October 2011

Congrats! She is beautiful!

anonomity · October 2011

She is so precious! You have had such a wild ride, I'm so glad Kennedy arrived safely! I hope you have a speedy recovery from the c-section and your kidney issues. Congrats again! Big Smile

treble_clef · October 2011

Congratulations! I wish you a fast recovery! She is perfect!!

Fififa21 · October 2011

She is precious! Hope you have a quick, smooth recovery!

princesscto · October 2011

congrats, she's a beauty just like her mama.

Junebug060609 · October 2011

Congrats!

Your description of seeing her in the NICU totally got me teared up. I felt the same way seeing Dylan there and seeing the him have to get shots and have IVs because of me. Her weight was fantastic! Same as D-man's was at birth and he'd been cooking an extra week and a half!

ps. Love the delivery room photo of your family. Seems like it really captured the moment.

Eris-Alexis · October 2011

All I can say is Wow! You guys have been so much to bring that little girl into the world. I'm so glad Kennedy is doing well (always knew she was a fighter) and that you are recovering. Hurray for the kidney doing better as well! I'm sorry about the nurses. I had so pretty awful nurses when I had my mastectomy and first reconstruction. Having good, supportive care makes all the difference in the world.

I'm so happy for you guys. She is absolutely beautiful!

samm1983 · October 2011

Wow! She is beautiful! Congrats!

Muffinhb · October 2011

Congrats! She is beautiful! You did an awesome job!

candacek31 · October 2011

Congrats! I am so glad you got to go home as a family. Sorry you had some sucky nurses though. She is adorable!

damabo80 · October 2011

Many congrats on a safe delivery!

I'm glad that you had the luxury of being able to spend all day with your LO while in the NICU. However, your statement bothered me as the obvious undertone of it was that the parents of the other NICU babies in your pod were somehow being neglectful because they didn't pull 14 hour bedside stints like you guys were. I hope that you were just typing too fast and you didn't mean it the way it came across.

I really hope that any parents of other NICU babies who saw my daughter's "empty" room as they walked by (we didn't have pods, rather each baby had their own room) didn't feel sorry for her, assuming that she had lazy/uninterested parents because we weren't there at the same times they were. I'll explain:

For those first 5 days PP (after my c section) when I was still in the hospital, it was a piece of cake to go and spend all day in the NICU (since the only other place I could go would be my room). I would pretty much only return to my room for meals, check ups, injections of my meds, and to sleep. But, once I went home, and my baby was still there, then I found it much harder.

As I'm sure you're aware, FMLA grants only 12w. Therefore, many NICU parents would opt to take that time off AFTER the baby comes home. Or else they would run out of FMLA. Our NICU ward was a ghost town during working hours. The only parents who were there for hours on end were the ones who had just delivered (usually late term preemies like you, or term babies that had less than a week's stay), and had that time off, or other SAHers. Once 6p, 7p, 8p hit, then you'd start to see more parents. Sadly, some of these parents had to travel an hour or so to come visit, so they rarely stayed more than an hour or two. I felt so bad for them that they weren't able to see their baby as much as they wanted.

Even for myself, as a SAHer, sometimes you need a break when your baby is in there for weeks (or months) at a time. I was running myself ragged doing 12 hour bedside stints those first few weeks after I was discharged, in addition to getting up every 2 hours during the night to pump. Once I cut back (on the advice of the NICU staff who saw me melt down a few times) to a few hours in the morning and then an hour or two in the evening with DH, my sanity got much better.

In addition, for that first month, I didn't have the luxury of holding/touching her whenever I wanted. The incubator needed to be closed to help maintain her heat, and touching would stress her out too much. I lived for those 20 minutes a day when I was actually able to touch/hold her. So, even when I was there, I barely got to see her because they had the isolette cover on. It sucks to sit in a room quietly and stare at a quilt covering the isolette for hours on end. But, I knew when the touch times were, so you bet I was there for that.

I was very thankful that my mom flew into town, so she could drive me to/from the hospital each day after DH went back to work after that first week (we don't have any family around, and our friends all keep regular working hours). If she hadn't been able to fly out immediately, I would have had no transportation to/from the hospital (since I couldn't drive for 3w post c section) until DH got home.

haziedaze · October 2011

Congrats! She's beautiful! She is one very lucky girl to have a tough as nails momma!

pennynjon · October 2011

She is beautiful! Congrats!!

MsVolley02 · October 2011

Congrats! She is beautiful!

jerriesgirl · October 2011

Congratulations! I'm glad you both are alright.

MissAutumn · October 2011

Im so glad everything is ok. She is Beautiful!

HadleyS · October 2011

Girl, there is no doubting the dedication and love you have poured out to Kennedy through this very difficult pregnancy and delivery....what an incredibly strong woman you are! Kennedy is absolutely beautiful, and I am glad that she is such a good baby at home.

RunSchwartzRun · October 2011

Wow. You really have been through it all beginning to end with this pregnancy. I am so glad you have a healthy and beautiful little girl to show for it. Congratulations!

chusum · October 2011

Congrats! She is such a cutie!

prestonsmomma · October 2011

What a beautiful baby. Congrats to you!

LDW80 · October 2011

Wow you went through a LOT and I remember reading all your problems you endured this pregnancy but you are a strong woman and Kennedy is a strong little girl. She is absolutely gorgeous and I have to say you look AMAZING! I hope you start feeling better with your kidney and hope all is well with your new little family (and hopefully no more family drama). Congratulations again!