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December 2016 Moms
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Silverfrost's Birth/NICU Story

silverfrostsilverfrost member
in December 2016 Moms
I apologize for the ridiculous length of this. We have had a hard time, so typing this story all out was very cathartic for me!


On Thursday, December 8th (38 weeks + 1 day) at 4:46 p.m., we welcomed our son, Desmond Henry LaLone, into this world. He was 7 lbs 1 oz when born, unsure of how long. He has very light blonde hair and blue eyes, and looks like a tiny clone of my handsome husband.

Things started getting weird on Wednesday, the 7th, around 4 pm. While at work, I had a mucousy discharge that was very faintly bloody. I called my MFM, and the nurse at the office told me it sounded like my “bloody show.” Keep an eye on it, she said, and call us if it gets heavy, if contractions are regular and/or strong, or if you have a more watery discharge.

I ended up going home when I was scheduled out from work, ate dinner with my husband, and fell asleep—since, all the while, the mucousy discharge was merely tinged with blood. I woke up at 11 pm to pee and passed a large clot. Right away, the bloody discharge became significantly heavier, and cramps started.

I woke my confused husband by saying, “Things are… happening, I think.” (Seriously—I still was not sure.) Called the on-call doc at the MFM’s office, and she instructed me to head to labor & delivery just to get checked. I dreaded arriving there and having them tell me, “No, sorry, you’re still in early labor.” (I had gone there 1 week before to be told that I wasn’t truly in labor...then proceeded to have contractions for 2 full days. Very frustrating!) But we headed to the hospital.

They checked my cervix when I arrived, and found me to be 3 cm, 70% effaced, and station -3. Sugar was stable. The nurse told me the doctor planned to check me again in about 1.5 hours to see if we were progressing. She advised me to walk around as much as possible to get things going. So, as my contractions continued, my husband and I walked what must have been 5,000 laps around the L&D floor of the hospital. When it was time to be checked, they found I had dilated to 4 cm, so they admitted me!

Shortly after moving rooms and getting comfortable, I went to the bathroom and my water broke. Initially, the amount of leaking I was doing each and every time I moved disturbed me more than the contractions. That changed very quickly. The contractions rapidly revved up in intensity to the point where even wearing the straps for the NST was unbearable. Any movement, anything against my abdomen—blankets, the gown, walking to the bathroom, shifting in bed, whatever—made me cry or scream like an idiot. I could not get through even PART of a contraction without screaming in pain. The nurses kept trying to readjust the straps for the NST, which left me sobbing. My pain had skipped from about 5/10 to 11/10 in no time--no transition. Strangely, despite the pain, my sugar did not spike.

I asked for an epidural. They first had to check my dilation and get a good NST reading on baby, so I labored through the pain. I was at 5 cm at this point and baby was doing well on the NST. It seemed like forever before the anesthesiologist came in, set up, and gave me the epidural. We had to stop trying to place it every time one of these relentless contractions would start, because the nurses were too scared I would jerk due to the horrid pain from the contractions.

The moment the epidural was in and the meds were started, the contractions vanished. I became a completely different patient, now relaxed and able easily to manage the pain. They checked me a couple of hours after the epidural was started and I was still at 5 cm, so they started Pitocin to move things along. Baby and I continued doing well on the epidural and Pitocin while baby dropped lower and I dilated to 10 cm. My sugar went high only when I was close to delivery (right when you DON’T want it to, of course…).

I pushed for what I believe was about 30, maybe 40, minutes. Our beautiful baby boy came out quietly, one of the doctors delivering him handed him to me, and me and my husband stared at him in awe.

Then, one of the doctors said to cut the cord quickly. The nurse handed my husband the scissors and he cut the cord. Somewhere in the background, I heard someone say, “I’m concerned about his being stunned” or his “not crying” or something along those lines. I don’t remember who called for help, but nurses and doctors from the NICU spilled into our room. They crowded around the table they had him on, some of them rubbing him to stimulate him, some of them grabbing supplies for others, and one, I remember, saying, “I’ve never seen a baby do that before.”

The attending and resident who delivered Desmond tried to pull my attention back to what was happening to me. They told me, “He just came out a little stunned. Sometimes that happens” and “They’re just making sure he is okay, don’t worry.” They were very calm and kind. They informed me that I had a small tear in my vagina and they were going to give me lidocaine and stitch me up. The giant crowd of staff surrounding the baby continued to shuffle. I stared at them, then tried to look up at the ceiling, then stared at them again. I did not know where I wanted to be, I guess.

One of the NICU doctors approached me and said, “We are just concerned because he is having some abnormal movements with his eyes, chattering with his mouth, and locking up his elbows. We are worried he may be showing signs of seizure activity. We are bringing him up to the NICU to monitor him.” They then let me hold him. His eyeballs were rocking back and forth—what I had seen in many of my neurologic veterinary patients before (I’m a vet tech) and knew as “nystagmus.” I touched his soft little cheek, not really knowing what else to do, and the nurse took a picture of me, my husband, and our dazed little son. Then, the NICU staff took our boy away.

We waited to be taken to a post-partum room. First, we got to see our little one in the NICU. By the time we got there, the neurologic signs had stopped, and he was hooked up to lots of equipment: oxygen tubes in his nose, an IV catheter, and a machine to monitor his brain activity. They explained they were going to continue watching him, and that they would want an EEG on him. Abnormal vitals on presentation were a low Spo2 and mildly low glucose. We’d later learn about a couple other things that were abnormal on labs.

I began pumping on an every 3 hour schedule right away and visiting the NICU as often as possible. Gradually, things have improved: they allowed him to wear clothes once they realized they didn’t have to stare at his breathing, the took him out of the warming bed once he started maintaining his temp, took him off the nasal oxygen cannula, then off the brain activity monitor once the EEG was done. I was allowed on Friday to practice breastfeeding him—it was amazing just to hold him. On Saturday, they moved him into a sort of “lower risk” area of the NICU. We have continued on a strict schedule: every 3 hours, attempt to breastfeed the butter ball, then head down to my room (on another floor) to pump. He continues to do well, and my milk supply is coming in very well.

They wanted to make sure he could maintain his sugars on his own without getting Dextrose IV, so because at day 2 I wasn’t producing enough to keep his BG up (who does really at that point?), I pushed for them to supplement him with formula. He is doing well with his sugars. They also informed me on Sunday (days after blood was tested...sigh) that his sodium was a bit low and his urine output was low, so they were concerned about making sure the kidneys are doing their thing, as well. He has been a fussy eater, for sure, so that was apparently another concern.

Monday, he was feeding much better, seemed to be having a normal amount of urine production and bowel movements, and had maintained his temp and glucose very well. Everything else was good: oxygenation, ECG, etc. I requested on Monday to speak with his doctor to see about having him discharged. Eventually, in the afternoon, a PA came to speak with us. She told us they wanted to make sure he was eating very, very well and that they could not discharge him Monday because they did not want to risk re-admittance (um….? Seriously? I know she means she doesn’t want to risk him doing poorly at home, but it sounds like she means something else… like, “Oh no, paperwork for admitting a patient! Oh, the horror!”) and because “half the day was already over.” Yes, half the day was already over, and NONE of the doctors had spoken to us about a plan. Gotta love when people think they’re arguing for their side, but are actually supporting their opponent’s... Since he was doing so well, I practically begged to bring him home that day. They said no. I then cried in front of everyone in the NICU like an ass. Good times.

They believe that the abnormal neuro signs he was showing were due to his body being incredibly stressed during the birth. One of the PAs explained to me that the body will try to preserve the heart and brain when it is in trouble, so its important resources, blood and oxygen, are drawn away from other organs to allow these two to maintain as well as possible. They believe blood flow to his kidneys and lungs was compromised, hence the low sodium and urine output (kidneys being affected), and low SPO2 and neurologic signs from the lungs not getting what they needed. The EEG results were mildly abnormal, stating there was mild dysfunction and dysmaturation seen in the brain, but the doctor I spoke with (who also specializes in development in children), said this result could be meaningless. Newborns tend to be more likely to have abnormal EEGs, due to their heads being squashed on the way out during birth, and the results were so vague AND so mild, that she merely recommends following up as he grows to make sure he is going through normal developmental stages. So… yeah. Could mean something, could mean nothing.

We are being discharged from the NICU today, and are excited to move on from some of this trauma and enjoy our wonderful little family. I can’t wait for Des to meet his furry siblings, and to snuggle with him on the couch. The simple things mean so much right now! <3

Type 1 Diabetic (high risk)

Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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