I need to keep this updated more often now that the little one is here. There are so many things that I'm going to want to remember, starting with the birth story. It definitely was not my ideal birth story, but my precious Savannah is here safe and that's all that matters :)
I guess you could say that the "birth story" started around 20 weeks of pregnancy. This is when we found out that baby was a girl, but we also found out something else that was significant. (Though we didn't know how significant until she was born) I had two placentas. After several more ultrasounds, it was determined that the only complication this would pose would be that I could not deliver the placenta on my own but that the doctor would have to manually remove it. No big deal. We had ultrasounds every 4 weeks to keep track of little one's growth because there could be less room for her to grow, but everything was looking good til the very end.
Somewhere around 31 or 32 weeks, I began having trouble with headaches, swelling, and high blood pressure. I got to go through the wonderful "24 hour urine collection" to test for pre-eclampsia at 35 weeks. Everything came back normal but these symptoms never went away. My doctor was out of town for my 36 week appt and when I went in for my 37 week appt, he advised me that I should have been put on bed rest the previous week because they were worried abotu my high bp. It was still high at my 37 week, headaches were getting unbearable, and my feet were about the size of Fred Flintstone's. Dr decided we needed to make a plan to deliver the baby asap. He wanted me to get to 38 weeks before being induced just to make sure little one had a few extra days to develop her lungs. 37 week appt was on a Tuesday, I would be 38 weeks on Sunday. Dr decided a week from the appt was a good day to induce, but the hospital was booked that night, and the night before that, so we settled on Sunday, August 21 when I would be exactly 38 weeks. In the meantime, I was on strict bedrest. I had to go in the night before to be put on citotec to get things going before starting pitocin the following morning. So it was set, Savannah's birth day would be August 22. I was praying that things would go smoothly because I often heard of inducing ending up in c-section, and I did NOT want that to happen.
Fast forward to Sunday night. I was scared to death all day long and kept thinking of ways to back out. We got to the hospital at 6pm (after dinner at Bob Evans and a trip to crafts 2000 where Caleb bought some chocolate "its a girl" cigars) and had my dad and stepmom with us. I got all situated in my room and hooked up to all the machines. I got my first IV which I was scared about beforehand, but ended up not being bad at all. I was told that past midnight I could not eat and that they were putting the first round of citotec in at 7pm. That first round brought me to tears. It was so painful and I was so scared and so I just lost it. I calmed down shortly after when a large group of our friends showed up to sing and pray with us. :) THis was so great, I really appreciated them coming. Dad and stepmom stayed til about 9pm. I had the hubby get me some cafeteria food since this would be the last time I could eat. We tried to sleep, but it was not happening for me. Several times I was hysterically crying and begging Caleb to take me home. I felt bad for inducing labor (even though i knew it was for the best) and was just so uncomfortable and wanting my own bed. Having to pee every 10 minutes and having to unhook all of the monitors every time did not allow for much rest time. It seemed like every time I was almost asleep, I'd either have to pee or a nurse would come in to rearrange the monitors because little one kept moving off of them. It was a long night.
About 4 am is when the scares started happening. A nurse came running into the room and advised me that she was giving me a shot to stop contractions (They had started around midnight and were getting stronger). She said that every time I had a contraction, baby's heart rate would drop. It would quickly come back up, but after a call to my dr, this is what he advised them to do until he could get there in the am. That shot caused the worst after effects. My body shook consistently for about an hour and it was the most awful feeling. The nurse also mentioned that if baby still wasnt handling labor well, there would be talk of a c-section in the morning. This terrified me and I cried for hours. I was told that the dr would be in around 7:30-8am to talk to me and make some decisions. 8am came and went with no sign of the dr. Eventually, a nurse came in and said he had called and advised them to try starting with the pitocin, in hopes that the baby would tolerate that better than the citotec. We started with a very low dose and baby did well. The upped it a bit and baby still did well. Big sigh of relief from me. At about 9am, dad and stepmom came and we told them what was going on. Shortly after, my dr came over. He checked me out and said everything was looking good (I was at 1cm) and that he wanted to break my water. THis was probably the strangest feeling ever. They continued to up the pitocin, but baby's heart rate started to react strangely again. They stopped the pitocin for awhile to give the baby a break and restarted it at a low dose awhile later. Meanwhile, I'm having loads of contractions through all of this and they are getting increasingly more painful. The dr told me I could ask for the epidural whenever I wanted. Around 12pm, the dr came back over and checked me again. I was still at 1cm, no progression and baby was still having difficulty. They stopped and restarted the pitocin again. THis time, dr mentioned the possibility of a c-section but said we were going to give it til dinner time before making the decision. He wanted us to give it a fair shot and I was thankful for that. He said he had a monitor in his office that showed him what was going on with baby and me and that he would be watching while he went about his afternoon appts.
Unfortunately, around 2pm, things took a turn for the worse. Baby was really not handling things well and the nurses thought it was necessary to put me on oxygen. This scared the bejeezus out of me, and by this point I was exhausted, scared, and in lots of pain from the contractions. I was just about to ask for the epidural when the nurse said she had put a call into my dr because they needed to make a decision quickly. About an hour later, this same nurse came and said down to talk to me. She was the sweetest person and had been with me all day and knew how much I did not want a c-section. However, she had been the one sent to tell me that we had no other options. This would be the safest route because they believe that my second placenta was blocking little one's exit. It was causing her distress. They had scheduled the surgery for 4pm and she explained to me in detail what would be happening. At this point, I was so exhausted that I just wanted her out, no matter how it had to happen.
At about 3:40pm, they came to get me to take me down to the OR. Caleb was not allowed to come down until I was prepped and ready. This made me so upset. That same wonderful nurse was the one who took me to the OR but was only allowed to the door. I was put in a room with a ton of people that I did not know and it was very overwhelming, I couldnt see their faces either so that made it worse. I started crying hysterically because I was so scared. Everyone tried to calm me down, but were unsuccessful. Luckily, in just a few minutes my dr showed up. He came and sat in front of me and held my hands and talked to me while the anesthesiologist worked behind me. I was able to calm down as soon as I saw a familiar face. The epidural and spinal were the weirdest feeling things ever but I was immediately numb. I felt better after this and began to get excited to see my baby. Dr Filozof then asked me what I'd like to listen to on the radio which made me laugh. I of course asked for country and couldnt help but laugh when he was singing along while getting me ready. Soon after, Caleb was allowed in. I cried as soon as I saw him because I was so relieved that he was there. Soon things started, and dr f explained everything that he was doing. Eventually, it was time to meet Miss Savannah! Dr told Caleb to stand up with his camera. I felt a little tugging and pressure, and then I heard it. The sweetest cry ever! I began bawling when I saw my beautiful princess. Caleb cut the cord and they wrapped her up and brought her to me to give her a kiss. It was the grossest and most beautiful thing ever :) They got her cleaned up and brought her back over for pictures with Caleb and I.
Meanwhile, Dr Filozof pulled out the placenta. Everyone was amazed by this! It ended up being that they were both connected by a clear membrane which is why it was blocking the exit. Also, the two placentas were only 1/3 of the size of a normal working one, so for the last few weeks, Savannah has not been getting what she needed from them. The one comment I remember most after her birth was my dr saying "this was the best decision we could have made". Any doubts I had about being induced were immediately thrown away. My baby was much better off outside than in. The nurses and dr passed around the placentas and examined them. Everyone was amazed and most said they had never seen anything like this before. It was sent off to a lab to be studied. Caleb took pictures of it and Dr Filozof asked for a copy of it to show off in his office. I have to remember to take that to my 6 wk appt.
Caleb left with Savannah and the dr began stitching me up, all while singing along to the radio and talking to me about the placenta. Shortly after they left, the nursery called up to tlel me how much she weighed-5 lbs, 10 oz. I could not believe how tiny she was! I began to feel really nauseous and told the nurse sitting with me. She gave me a shot of something and that feeling immediately went away. Thank goodness, I did not wanna puke right there on the table. I was incredibly exhausted at this point and could not wait to get to recovery so I could sleep a little. They gave me two heated blankets and I was out for a little bit. I had to keep waking up to answer questions in the recovery room. I was having trouble getting feeling back in my legs and feet. You are supposed to be able to feel again before going back to the postpartum floor but after 1 1/2 hrs they decided I could go up anyway. They got me ready and I headed up to hold my baby!
When I got upstairs, I saw my family waiting in the hallway with cameras ready. I felt like a celebrity! We stopped at the nursery door and Kelly (my recovery nurse) asked for "Baby Smith" and brought her to me. It was love at first sight! We took some pictures and exchanged some kisses but then she had to go back into the nursery for a little while longer to warm up. About 30 mins later, they brought her to me and asked me to nurse her, so I did (though she faked me out, but we didnt know this til later). We had a small group waiting in the waiting room to meet her so we asked them to come in. It was Amanda, Michael, and Landon, Tom and Brianne, Laurie, and Savannah's Aunt Kara. They all took turns loving on her and commenting on how tiny she was.
I was not prepared for how painful the recovery from a c-section would be. I made it through though and am now prepared for the future if I have to do it again. Hopefully next time I will get the experience of a natural birth :)
