Mother Follows Her Intuition {Preeclampsia}

After 6 years of not being on birth control and not getting pregnant after my second child, I really didn’t think could get pregnant. I was in a new relationship and around November 2011 we found out we were expecting the third for both of us. He has two boys of his own and I have two girls of my own. We were so happy. I was still very worried as my two prior pregnancies I had pre-eclampsia, very bad seizures, but I was still very happy.  After all this was my chance at my little boy. Yeah right! So at around 8 weeks we had a dating ultrasound and everything was great. The baby was growing wonderfully. I stayed sick for the remainder of my pregnancy. At 20 weeks we were going in for our gender ultrasound. D, my boyfriend, looks at me and says “so are you taking any bets on the sex of the baby”? I laughed and said “It’s a Girl”, because I knew deep down that it was.  He laughed and said “No its not, it’s a boy I don’t make girls.  So as I am lying on the table and the Doctor say so do you want to know the sex of the baby I say ‘yeah’! He say’s it’s a Girl! I yelled ‘I won’! My Doctor looked at me like I was crazy so I had to explain.

So we we’re up to 37 weeks when my BP started to spike. I’m terrified at this point because all I wanted was to have a natural birth to let my baby pick her own birthday. So the Doctor keeps a close eye on me until 38 weeks 4 days we decided it was best to be induced as my BP kept getting worse and I was swelling like a balloon. We scheduled my induction for that Thursday at exactly 39 weeks. I went in that morning nervous that something just wasn’t right.

At 5:30 am I was being given pitocin and contractions started very quickly. I was checked at that point and the nurses said I had an extremely posterior uterus.  No one bothered to explain but I looked over at D and he was on his phone. I figured he was on Facebook but later found out that he was looking it up. He absolutely refused to scare me at that point with what he was reading.  The longer I sit there having contractions the more nervous I get because of  that feeling I was talking about.  So I started to cry. Only after a little while I decided to suck it up and have this baby.  I ABSOLUTELY REFUSED ANY PAIN MEDS. My second child was sunny side up. Which makes labor more painful.  Yep, I could tell this one was too.  The back labor was horrible at this point. All I wanted was to get up and walk but they came in to break my water.  Which sucks, as anyone who has had it done knows.  I had three huge gushes of fluid one after the nurses and doctors had left. Wetting everything including the floor and D had to call the nurses back in.

At this point I had an absolutely wonderful nurse. I don’t know what I would have done without her.  I also absolutely trusted my doctor, he never tried to push me into anything and was the most supportive Doctor I have ever met.  I was in labor for 9 hours and through all of this I had my Sister, D, and my Mom with me.  When I was fully dilated I felt the need to push so I had my nurse check me. She had been there with me as much as she possibly could only leaving the room a couple times to grab things or help the other nurses. I was at 10! Yay me, all I had to do was wait on the Doctor and I would have my baby in my arms.

I was so WRONG!!!!! I was still in pain but I still refused meds.  My doctor walks in and says “Boy she is a trooper isn’t she?”.  Smiles at me and tells me I can push whenever I am ready.  My mom has one leg my sister has the other and I started to push and she wasn’t moving and the doctor could tell I was still extremely posterior.  The doctor was trying to help me by pushing up on my uterus while I pushed. After a while D came over and relieved my mom. She still wasn’t moving.  I asked my doctor if I could try another position he told me to try whatever I thought was best.  I got on my knees and wrapped my arms around my sister. I pushed with everything I had in me.  She later joked that I was trying to kill her and said she was so sore that she felt like some one had beat her from me hugging her so tight while I was pushing.

After an hour of pushing my uterus started to swell and my baby was not moving. I started to convulse in pain.  Nothing like my previous births at all. My doctor was concerned because he knew she wasn’t coming out like she was. She wasn’t in distress but I was. My BP was also really high at this point. I looked at him and asked “what could we do?”  He said he couldn’t get the vacuum on her because she was too high.  I asked again “what else can we do?” He asked me if I wanted a C-section. At this point I know my uterus is swelling and I’m more concerned for my baby.  I was absolutely terrified of a C-section but I was more concerned for her. ‘Lets go’ I said ‘but please hurry’.

Within minutes I was surrounded by the most amazing O.R. team.  I was wheeled to the OR and given a spinal and laid onto the table. The sheet was up in front of my face and my mother was by my side.  They got my daughter out within minutes and one of the nurses asked, ‘Is it still a girl?’ My doctor said ‘Yes and she is a big one too. No wonder she wouldn’t move, she had her cord wrapped around her neck’! Then finally I heard the best most awaited sound I’ve have ever heard, my daughter screamed and I started to cry. I also started asking for her they held her up to me and my first words were ‘ OMG SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE D’!!!!!

After all of this, after everything was over and I was back in my room holding my baby girl, I still have to say I am absolutely happy with everything.  No it wasn’t as planned but if you get to know me or my daughter you will learn nothing ever goes as planned with either of us. I am so very thankful for my doctor, my absolutely wonderful nurse, and all of the O.R. team that took such great care of me and everyone else that had a hand in our special day!!!!