Birth Story

Birth Story

On Wednesday July 11 we went in for our 37 week check up. I hadn't been feeling well for a couple of days so I was a little anxious about the appointment. My swelling was getting worse and my disposition was getting pretty poor. I was really beginning to wonder how I was going to make it 3 more weeks.

At the appointment my blood pressure was up and I had protein in my urine. Dr. Roose decided to send us to the hospital to be monitored for a while to make sure that Jaelynn was doing okay. I was dilated at this point to a 2 almost 3. We arrived at the hospital and got all check in by 5. Then we waited….and waited and waited. Little did we know things were going from bad to worse pretty quickly.

Around 8 our nurse came in and said they were keeping me and inducing me that night. Then she dropped the big bomb. I had pre-eclampsia and would need to be put on magnesium sulfate to help the blood pressure. I would also have a catheter and be in bed until Jaelynn came. She was doing wonderful but my health was going down hill and we didn't want to put any more stress on her.

We were in our birthing room by midnight and I was beginning to come to terms with the fact that my birth plan was out the window. They started the pitocin and around 2 Kevin and I finally got some rest. The nurse came in again to check on me around 6am and decided to check for dilation. Nothing…. I was beginning to think it was going to be a long day!

Kevin went and had some breakfast….I still couldn't eat so I just rested some more and visited. Our families were present for the labor so we had plenty of company. Around noon the doctor came in to check me. I was still at 2-3 centimeters. She decided to break my water to see if that would get things going. This helped a little and I dilated to 4! I was maxed out on pitocin, hadn't eaten in 24 hours and fighting the effects of the mag. I was ready to have this baby!

Shortly after my water was broke my contractions picked up and I decided to have the epidural. My original plan was to have a natural childbirth but that was out the window. The epi wasn't that bad. I was contracting pretty good by that time and it was actually a relief. I wish I would have known how short lived it would be!

The epi helped my blood pressure to go down but it happened to fast. I started to throw up and got really uncomfortable but just as quickly fell asleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up I was feeling alright. I was still vomiting but not as much. Jaelynn started to have some decels and I was put on oxygen to make sure she was getting enough. Then things got bad.

I started to feel some pressure through the epi. I thought maybe I was finally in transition. The nurse checked me and I was still at a 4. I figured I could keep toughing it out for a bit but then the back labor started. Things start to get really foggy here. I know I was in a lot of pain and getting sick during the contractions. Kevin was amazing through all of this and so was the rest of the family. Some of our friends even got the privilege to see me in this wonderful state! I finally broke down around 8pm and told the doctor I couldn't do it anymore. I was ready for a c-section. I still hadn't dilated beyond 4 and I was out of energy.

I was prepped and whisked away for a c-section. I remember feeling relief. I was going to meet my baby girl. This is the exact opposite of what we wanted but I just couldn't keep going. Kevin was able to be in the room with me and I remember hearing her cry and then him telling me how beautiful she was. Then he brought her over to me and I finally got to see my angel baby. For those of you that don't believe in God all you have to do is look at a new baby. How else could something so perfect be brought into this world? Jaelynn was born at 10:09pm on Thursday July 12, 2007. She weighed in at 6 pounds and 4 ounces and was totally healthy.

We stayed in the hospital until Sunday afternoon and then were able to come home. I have fallen deeper in love with Kevin through all of this. Watching him with Jaelynn makes my heart melt. I look forward to watching my family grow every day! Well…little miss is crying so I better get to her! More updates to come!