blueshamrock7's/Julia Claire's long-awaited birth story (PIPs!)

blueshamrock7 · June 2012

Hi, guys! Hope everyone is doing well. I can't believe I haven't been on in like 2 weeks, but why didn't you guys tell me being a Mommy is so time consuming!

The short story: Julia Claire was born via c-section on 6/6/12 at 6:30pm weighing only 5lbs 12oz and measuring 18.5 inches long. She was 12 days late, but a perfectly healthy baby girl!

The long story (I promise it has great plot twists!): I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy so it just figures that my last 4 weeks being pregnant would prove to be pretty exciting (eyeroll!).

A recap: at my 36 week ultrasound, baby was head down. At my 37 week appointmet, with no scheduled ultrasound, I mentioned to the midwife that I was feeling hiccups both high and low and I felt confused as to where the baby was. She felt around and said she couldn't tell where Julia was so back in the ultrasound room I went. The minute the wand hit the top part of my belly, I saw that little head, lodged right in my ribs. Everyone said, "You can't feel that?!" No, I couldn't feel it and I couldn't tell. They said I would need to be scheduled for a c-section around 39 weeks due to the baby being breech. I was devastated. I wanted to try for a vaginal birth so badly, especially after having surgery at 16 weeks to successfully fix a problem that would have left me with having a c-section. My c-section was scheduled for May 21st (baby was due May 26th).

At my 38 week appointment, my ultrasound showed that baby Julia had flipped back to head down. YAY!

At my 39 week appointment, my ultrasound showed that baby Julia was still head down. Things were looking up for a vaginal birth and the thought of a c-section fading away. I was ecstatic.

At 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I headed back in for my 40 week appointment with one of the practice OBs. As he tried to find Julia's heartbeat with the doppler, he was having a hard time. He mentioned that she was definitely a mover and that he couldn't tell if she was breech (SAY WHAT?!)... he asked me if I could tell. I told him I just didn't know anymore. I nervously found myself questioning every single movement. He sent me right in for an ultrasound and sure enough, Julia was transverse breech. Again, I was scheduled for a c-section. This time, it was "ASAP," which ended up being the very next day. I couldn't believe it and called my husband in tears - both nervous and excited at the thought of the c-section and the thought of meeting my daughter the next day.

We went to the hospital an hour later for pre-admissions bloodwork and shared the past few weeks with the nurse who said, yes, that does happen often... we were back the next morning bright in early for our 8:30 scheduled c-section. I changed into a gown and got into bed, the nurse hooked up the monitors and before doing the IV, a medical resident came in to check if the baby was still transverse breech.

Big shocker! She was head down. Unfortunately, my labor was not progressed to anything and even though I was 40.5 weeks pregnant, I was not dilated in the slightest, so by 2:30pm, we were sent home!

At 41 weeks and 2 days, I was back in the office and miserable. I was over being pregnant and over questioning every single movement. My own OB was in the office and I was scheduled for an ultrasound first. By this point, the tech, Mary, and I were BFFs. I told her I wasn't going to look and she did the ultrasound and made like a clucking noise so I opened my eyes. Julia was oblique (diagonal) - head down, but oblique. They sent me in for my NST and I was remaining positive... surely they wouldn't schedule another c-section, right? Wrong. My OB came in and said, "Danielle, enough is enough. This baby keeps flipping, your placenta is getting old and even though your fluid levels are still OK, I just don't feel comfortable with you continuing to be pregnant when this baby keeps moving around. We are going to get you in for a c-section and that's it."

My THIRD c-section was scheduled for the very next day, again it was not with my doctor and I was very disappointed. I was still upset we were having a c-section, but now I was getting excited because of what my OB had said - there was no way I was leaving the next morning without having my girl! Back in we went for more pre-admissions bloodwork an hour later, got home and got everything ready for our departure, spent some time with the dog etc.

Back to the hospital at 6am the next morning and I was in a gown, got my IV, met with anesthesia, etc. They gave my husband the "bunny suit" to change into and in walks the medical resident with the ultrasound to make sure of baby's position. The wand goes on and WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Baby is head down, centered, no longer oblique... still high... the OB who was scheduled was cheering and saying, "Yay! No c-section!" WHAT?! That's not what my OB said! I was bawling. They wanted to know why?! I said I wanted off the emotional roller coaster and that my OB clearly said I was not favorable for induction. The OB there said it wasn't true, no one was unfavorable without trying first, etc. I should have insisted she called my OB, but we were so confused. The plan of action was that they were going to give me Cervadil, send me home for the night and bring me back in the next morning to be induced. Once again, I left the hospital WITHOUT my baby! Even the valet parking attendant at the hospital was like, "WHY ARE YOU STILL PREGNANT?!" lol

I had almost no cramping or anything over-night from the Cervadil. We arrived back at 7:30am the next morning and I was admitted (the admitting lady was my BFF, too, at this point, and was making plans to visit our room when Julia was born)... I went to the bathroom once I got into our room and it looked like I lost a bit of my mucus plug so I got excited - maybe the Cervadil DID work and maybe I could be induced! The midwife on-call was my favorite in the practice so I was excited about that, too, and started getting positive. Then she checked me. NOTHING. Nothing at all. I might as well have been 30 weeks pregnant still.

The plan of action was to start Pitocin and to try inserting a Foley catheter that could take over 12+ hours to help dilate me (if at all). They put that in and it was uncomfortable, but according to the midwife, went in great and things started happening. I was finally feeling some contractions and trying to remain positive.

A few hours went by and I really had to pee. They unhooked me and I walked with the IV to the bathroom and tried to go. Uh-oh, what's happening?! I couldn't go. I tried and tried and tried and ended up in tears because I felt like I had to go so badly, but nothing happened. They told me that it was probably just the contractions and my bladder probably wasn't as full as I thought. (EYEROLL! I think I know when I have to pee) They told me to wait it out a bit more and try again in a half hour or so. So I did. Again, nothing. This went on for a few hours and my contractions started picking up REALLY bad. It was so painful and I felt like I would get relief if I could just pee. Several hours went by like this and my contractions hurt so bad, they thought I was for sure going to have the baby. Finally I begged and they said they would give me a catheter. When they went to put it in, they checked the Foley catheter and the midwife said, "OMG! I can't believe it! It's ready to come out!" I was so excited and I yelled, "Get it out!" She pulled it out and I all but ran to the bathroom and had immediate relief. I was right. The contractions from the Pitocin were being made worse because of the bulb. They kept saying that never happened before, etc, etc. Well, when she checked me -- I was STILL not dilated. It turns out, it was probably inserted wrong... and that's why I couldn't pee... and... they wanted to put it BACK IN! Ummmmm, are ya kidding? No way lol.

At this point, it was 4:30 and the on-call OB came in to tell me that she was happy we gave it a try and that she wouldn't feel so badly, now, to do a c-section with a head down baby (she had told us in the morning that she would feel guilty doing a c-section without at least trying to be induced). She also said that we could continue the Pitocin again tomorrow OR we could just decide to do a c-section. She said she'd leave it to us to decide and we were so confused! We had no idea what to do at this point - our heads were spinning and I just wanted to go home and be pregnant forever LOL.

That's why when she came back 15 minutes later and said she had emailed with my OB who was coming in 15 minutes because she was on-call AND who thought we should just do a c-section, I was excited again - sure, I didn't want a c-section, but my OB was coming and would be doing it and was basically advising us to do it. So we saved ourselves another day of being induced with no change and a super high baby...

Things happened so fast after this. My OB was like a stealth baby ninja, she was there in 15 minutes and said there was an opening in the OR right then. Anesthesia came in and gave me the whole spiel that I already had the day before and I was signing the paperwork. They had to tell me there was a slight chance I could aspirate if I needed general (if they spinal didn't work) because I had drank some water within 6 hours (since I was on a clear liquid diet) so that freaked me out, but after being reassured that it was just a spiel, I signed, my husband changed and off we went.

They walked me to the OR and had my husband wait in recovery until they got my spinal in. I was crying and a wreck. The nurse told them all in the room that I was upset because both my mom and MIL had died in hospitals - my mom in the ER while we were with her and my MIL in ICU alone. Everyone was soooo nice and supportive. I had a whole team of anesthesiologists (University hospital) and they were amazing. The spinal took awhile to take and I was freaking out thinking that I'd need general and aspirate (ugh, get it together, Danielle), but finally, I felt the sweet, warm & numb sensation hit my lower half and though I was scared, I was instantly relieved.

My husband came in and I started feeling pressure, but obviously nothing hurt and I couldn't see anything. The anesthesia team was so great and told us what was happening, etc. About 15-20 minutes must have gone by when they told me I was going to feel a TON of pressure and they asked me if I was ready to meet my daughter... and then I heard it - the sweetest sound I of my life - my daughter crying... and I was sobbing and my husband was crying. And it just went on and on and they told me, "OMG! She is so cute! She is so tiny!" I said, "Where is she?!" They had to do her test and a doctor checks out all the c-section babies and unlike the TV shows on TLC, they do NOT hold the baby up over the curtain so I can see her first lol.

Finally, they said, "Here she comes!" And they broug0ht her over to us, my husband held her and she looked just like him and she was SO TINY! I couldn't believe it. I just kept saying how tiny she was and they all said it, too... they couldn't believe she was 12 days late! They don't weigh the baby until we get out of recovery and up to our room so we had no idea how big she was weight-wise! But she was just perfect and she was crying these little sobs that sounded like, "Ma-ma...ma-ma..." so we all joked about what a genius she was as they sewed me up.

Julia Claire was 5lbs 12oz and 18.5 inches long and the OB said she was so high up that it was a good thing we did the c-section because she probably never would have come down. She even mentioned it to the midwife who had come in to check on things while I was getting sewed up.

She looks just like Daddy, but has Mommy's mouth, hands/fingers and feet/toes. She LOVES to smile, even if it is just gas! She turned 13 days old today and it has been a tough adjustment here at home, but we are getting used to being parents and hopefully getting the hang of it!!

Here are a few pictures and thanks for reading my story!

One of our first photos:

My tiny peanut:

Very alert little one:

My smiley girl:

One of the proofs from her newborn session (6 days old)... I'm still waiting for the ones without the photographer's stamp!

Jess & Drew · June 2012

She's beautiful! I'm happy you finally got to meet her!

During my c-section, they actually did hold DD up over the curtain for me to see, but they never brought her to me in the OR. I had to wait until the recovery room to see her up close.

blueshamrock7 · June 2012

Jess & Drew:

She's beautiful! I'm happy you finally got to meet her!

During my c-section, they actually did hold DD up over the curtain for me to see, but they never brought her to me in the OR. I had to wait until the recovery room to see her up close.

Oh, man! I was so glad they let my husband and her stay with me while I was getting sewn up... it made it so much more bearable (the waiting). Originally, at our birth class, they told us that if we needed a c-section Daddy went with baby to the recovery room while Mommy got stitched up. They changed it because it was opposite when we had ours and then in the end, my husband went to recovery (when I was about to be moved to the stretcher), they moved me to the stretcher while one of the doctors held her and then they handed her to me so I got to wheel out with her!