Pregnancy

November 3rd the lab from the hospital called and asked to speak to Linda. I took the phone and said, “Ok, I am ready” and the lady on the phone said, “the pregnancy test is positive”. I couldn’t believe it, it must be true. I told your father, who started calling everyone he knew on the phone, and my friends Helen and Curt came over. I just sat on the couch and started to think about just being pregnant.

The next week I started to feel sick to my stomach, not just in the morning, all day and all night long. I also felt tired, and I had to urinate every hour. I went to grandma's house because I had a few days off. And I started to vomit, non-stop. I went to see the doctor and he sent me to the hospital, and there I stayed for a week. I went home, but I wasn’t feeling any better. I tried to eat, but the nausea was non-stop. I went back to see the doctor- more weight loss, and after a blood test I was dehydrated again. Back to the hospital again. This time I stayed for 25 more days and lost 25 more pounds. Unable to keep even water down, I saw 4 different specialist. Finally a Cancer specialist saw me and said "We will treat her like she has cancer for hyper emesis".

So they put a catheter in my subclavian artery and fed me internally. I did gain weight that way. While I was there your friends Chris and Courtney were born. I was discharged, and I finally went home the first week in December. In 2 weeks, I was admitted to the hospital, for hyper emesis and dehydration again. I just had a regular I.V. and was discharged in a week. I made it a point to drink every half hour. I was able to get back to work late in December, working part time. Every day I vomited at least once a day, if not more. In my 7th month I felt a little better, but I felt tired a lot.

When the hot weather came in June, my feet began to swell. That’s when my left toe was injured. It swelled up and became infected. I soaked it, but I went to the doctor who said I would have to take an antibiotic. Meanwhile I shopped for a pediatrician. I asked other new moms that I knew at work or in the neighborhood and I decided on a doctor. We had found out on visit 3 that I was a RH 0-, your dad was A+, which meant that I had the RH factor. I had to take the shot for it, so I didn’t build up antibodies against you. We wouldn’t find out until you were born that you would be A+ too. That would mean that you and I are A/O incompatible. Your due date was June 9th.

Birth

Well, that came and went. I was going to the OB doctor every week then. He would say everything was ready, that I was effaced, the baby had dropped, and the cervix was 1-3 cm dilated. But nothing happened. Finally, on June 29th he said "If you don’t have this baby by this weekend, come in on Monday, the 2nd of July, and we will induce labor". Saturday, June 30th, in the afternoon, I began feeling contractions. Nothing that hurt, just pulling, hard contractions, and we were excited. We called grandma and went to the hospital. They got me in a gown and in a bed. A nurse examined me, then the doctor came, not mine, however.

He said I was 4 cm dilated, the contractions weren’t strong enough, and I was a long ways off. I had to go home and come back when I couldn’t talk through a contraction. We were so disappointed. We went back home. Your dad went to work, he worked the midnight shift. The contractions stayed the same through Sunday; I went for a walk around the complex hoping it would speed up the labor. Your dad went to work again, I went to bed, and grandma went to sleep on the couch. I felt like I had a terrible stomach ache, and it got worse, so I got up, took a shower, and shaved my legs. Now it was hard to talk during a contraction and I was getting uncomfortable. So we called your dad at work and told him we were coming to pick him up.

We picked him up around 4am. We called the hospital to tell them we were on our way there; they said my doctor was there delivering another baby.

When I arrived, they put me in a wheel chair, and took me to the unit, and then grandma and your dad arrived. The doctor came and examined me and said "You're staying this time for sure." I was 7cm dilated. He used a special instrument and broke my water; it was stained with dark green meconmium that scared me a little. But no one said anything. Then they hooked me up to an I.V. and started giving me pitocin. I was really uncomfortable now. Another doctor who was a resident said he could give me an injection into my cervix to help with the pain. I said I'd take anything. And it was heaven, but it wore off after 30 minutes. He did it one more time, and then he said I was to 10 cm, and I couldn’t have that anymore.

When I got to the pushing stage, it was the worst, and it seemed endless. I wanted to say "Ok, I have decided I don’t want to do this anymore" but there is no going back. After about 4 hours of this torture, with 2 different doctors and 2 nurses and a med student trying all their different tricks to reposition or turn you different, they decided you were too big to go through my too small pelvis. So they told me to stop pushing, that I would need a c-section. Well, you can’t just stop pushing- your body is on auto pilot and there is no off switch. Once I got the epidural for the c-section and couldn’t feel the contractions, then I was ready for the joy of the birth again.

Only your dad was allowed in the operation room. It took 20 minutes to get you out. You made some noises, but you didn’t cry. They suctioned out your mouth and nose, you were covered with white film stuff. They wiped you off, cut your cord, and wrapped you in a blanket. Your eyes were wide open and you were looking all around. They handed you to your dad, and he held you right up close to me, while I was being sewn back together. I touched your little hand and you stared right at me.

Then the nurse came to take you to the nursery because you had to be weighed, measured, tested, and bathed. I told your dad to go with you and not take his eyes off of you. He refused to go, he wanted to stay with me. He thought I was going to bleed to death. But as the nurse was rolling the bassinet out in the hall to the nursery, your 2 grandmas and your aunt saw you and followed the nurse. They asked the nurse if you were a girl or a boy. The nurse said she was supposed to let the father make the announcement to family. Grandma said she had just spent 15 hours in labor. So the nurse said "I think it is a girl". They followed to the nursery and watched the bath and test through the window.

Meanwhile, I went to the recovery room. As soon as I could wiggle my toes, I was taken to my regular room. I was exhausted. They brought you in to me and you were so pink now. I looked you over, then they gave me a shot for pain. They took you back to the nursery and I went to sleep for the first time in 3 days. I woke up 10 hours later, and they brought you back in and I got to change you right in my bed. I tried not to move much in bed because of the pain from the c-section.

Over the next 2 days before discharge, I went to 2 baby classes with other new moms and nobody got up out of their chair if they didn’t have to. Everyone was shocked about how much weight we didn’t lose after having a baby.

Finally, the big day came. We brought you home. We dressed you up in a little dress, which I still have somewhere, and you were wrapped in a hand-knitted receiving blanket. Your grandmas, your aunt, Curt, and Helen were all waiting at home to welcome you.

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