After a very hard pregnancy, I was hoping that Aimee would be born early. I was hopeful since I was dilated to 3cm for so long. I knew that it could just stall there, but I was wishfully praying that things would kick into high gear and I could get my body back! My mom was scheduled to come later in the week, but I called her after my Monday doctor's appointment and told her she better start heading this way. She agreed to leave in the morning. Bless her heart, she drove the entire day and was at our door step on Tuesday evening.
The entire week I was having contractions off and on. They would come strong and consistent for short periods of time and then they would go away...I kept thinking "This is it!" but then they would quickly fade and I was back to just being miserable but no contractions.
To keep our minds occupied, my mom decided that we needed to do an overhaul on Abbie's room and basically all the cupboards and closets in the entire house. It was a big undertaking but it kept us focused on a goal. We totally took apart Abbie's room, decluttered and put the room back together making room for Aimee's crib and her baby things. The room was great and I was feeling like things were falling into place.
On Thursday, I started feeling really yucky and the contractions were coming more regularly and quickly. We went to bed around midnight, but I couldn't sleep. I laid there very uncomfortable. Around 2:00 am the contractions were coming hard and strong and I couldn't stay in bed any longer. I woke Mike up and told him it was time. We got ready and headed out! Mom called Julia to come over and be with Abbie.
When I got to the hospital around 3:30 am I was dilated to 5 cm and they informed me I was going to be admitted. I got to my room and they attempted to start the IV. I don't do well with IVs and I started to hyperventilate because they tried to get it in, but my vein collapsed. Aimee's heart rate started to reflect the distress I was in, so the head nurse came in, gave me a numbing shot and got the IV going on the first try. I don't know why they don't believe me when I tell them I don't do well with IVs!
Shortly after my IV was going I requested an epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and I was so happy to see him. He had me put my legs over the side of the bed and bend all the way over forward. This is NOT a comfortable position to be in especially when you are 9 months pregnant and having contractions. The real kicker is that he was having a hard time finding the right spot on my spine, so it took him 4 tries and about 45 minutes to get it going....and yes, I had to stay in the sitting up, hunched over position the whole time...So NOT cool! Finally the epidural was working and I was feeling much better!
Around 8:00 am my doctor came in. She broke my water but informed me that she had a C-section right then and then was working in the San Clemente office, so she would check on me after the C-section and if I was ready to have the baby, she would deliver her, but if not, her partner would do it.
Things moved very quickly. With each contraction I was feeling more and more pressure. I knew it was going fast. Aimee's heart rate was dropping, but they gave me oxygen and it would recover. Dr. Raffo came in, but I was still at 9 cm so she said her goodbyes and left. About 20 minutes later I felt extreme pressure and I knew it was time to start pushing. The nurse checked me and said I was ready. They called the doctor. Around this time I could tell something was bothering them. The machines kept beeping and they kept telling me to breathe deep with my oxygen mask. The nurse kept rolling me from side to side. The doctor came in and told me the baby's heart rate was dropping and not recovering very quickly. She told me to rest and breathe and see if we could get the heart rate up. After what seemed like a really long time (maybe 3 minutes) the baby's heart rate was not coming up. The doctor started telling me that the baby needed to be delivered soon and that if things didn't start looking better, she was going to have to do a C-section on me. From then on...things started to be a blur of activity. I gave one "trial" push, but Aimee's head was not moving down the birth canal. At this point everyone was shouting orders out...they unplugged my machines, gave Mike a pair of scrubs and started wheeling me down to the operating room. I was so sad for many reasons, but one was that my mom, who was going to see Aimee be born, was left standing in the room not knowing what was happening. This was going to be the first time she saw the birth of any of her grandchildren and we were both excited for it. Now her one and only chance was being taken away! It was a real bummer!
I remember this sweet nurse leaning over the side of my bed as I'm being wheeled down. She said, "Honey, the doctor is going to give you one chance to push this baby out. You need to push like you've never pushed before...I mean it...Push hard!" I could hear the urgency in her voice and I knew she meant it!
We go to the OR and when I looked around there were about 20 or more people in the room. They all were coming up to me and telling me who they were, but I was in such a daze that I have no idea who they were. All I know is that I had Mike behind my head, a doctor on each leg and one at the bottom and they all started cheering me on to push! And push I did!!! They got the vacuum out and started to suction Aimee's head while I was pushing. Everyone was cheering me on! Mike was holding my neck and shoulders up and saying the sweetest things. About 3 contractions later and 4 vacuum attempts, Aimee's head was finally out and we knew what the issues were. She had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck 3 times and she was posterior (meaning her face was up instead of down...making it harder to fit properly in the birth canal). They unwrapped the cord and finished pulling her out. I instantly felt a wave of relief. Aimee started crying and I knew things were ok. I told Mike to go over to her. I just laid there feeling so blessed and listening to my baby cry. I loved her! I was so happy she was here!
I delivered the placenta and miracle of all miracles...I only needed one stitch! They got Aimee cleaned up a bit, wrapped her up and handed her to me! I was so in love! She was born with massive amounts of hair and a cute scowl on her face. She was so tiny and innocent and I thanked my Heavenly Father for the chance to have her in our lives. Mike and I kiss each other and her! It was a very spiritual and magical time.
Aimee Isabella Nelson was born at 10:39 am on May 7, 2010. She weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19 1/2 inches long...Pure Perfection!
1 comment:
I love hearing birth stories!! And even though you told me about it before it was still so interesting and exciting and scary! Aimee is wonderful!
Post a Comment