Rushing to deliver twelve weeks early

It was the end of week three of bed rest at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. The goal was to make it three more weeks, but like the rest of this pregnancy, nothing would go as planned.

It was our typical Friday night in the hospital. After dinner, Michael and I watched Dateline and fell asleep soon after it was over. Around 1:30 am, I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed I had started bleeding again. I thought, oh great, here we go again. This was the third time it happened that week. I called the nurse, and she put me on the monitor. The baby’s heart rate sounded good, but my contractions were stronger than I had ever felt. That’s when the nurse decided to call the doctor on call.

About an hour later, the doctor came in, and like so many times before, he talked to us about the worst case scenario if I were to deliver then, but decided it would be best to wait and see what happens. Then he IMG_1146told me to try to get some rest. Um, ok. Like that was really going to happen. My contractions weren’t really consistent, ranging from extremely intense to rather weak. I figured they would eventually stop like they had earlier in the week.

However, around 4:00am, I got up to go to the bathroom and had a few big gushes of blood. When the nurses came to see, Michael said he heard both of them gasp and express their concern over how much blood was there. One of the nurses put her hand on my shoulder and said that it was most likely that the doctor would deliver the baby today. An hour later, he confirmed that it was not worth the risk and to prepare to go to labor and delivery.

Off to Labor & Delivery

We called my parents, who were at my grandparents’ house on the Westbank, and told them to get to the hospital as soon as possible. These nurses weren’t wasting any time! They wheeled me down to Labor & Delivery at 5:45am and immediately started pushing fluids and prepping me for a c-section since the baby was breech. Just an hour later, they wheeled me down the hall to operating room. I met the neo-natalogist who would be taking care of our baby as soon as she would be born, along with two of the NICU nurses who would be helping.

IMG_1156At that time, the anesthesiologist came in to start the spinal, and the nurse sat me up on the side of the bed. I already had a bit of anxiety about this part, and it was starting to get worse. The nurse told me to put my head on her shoulder, while the doctor started talking his way through it so I would know what to expect. The poor nurse; I was holding on to her so tight! I felt so much pushing and really thought I was going to fall off the table. I felt a shock down my right leg, and then both legs became warm and tingly. They told me I could sit up, but as soon as I did, my vision blurred, my ears started ringing, and I was dizzy. The nurse helped me lay down, and after some deep breaths, I started to feel normal … well, as normal as possible, again. The nurses asked what names we had picked out so that they would know as soon as the baby was born.

She’s Here!

Photo by Mindy Rathe Photography
Photo by Mindy Rathe Photography

I remember there being a lot of people in the operating room. Finally, they let Michael come in! He sat on my left side and was able to see everything that they were doing. Everything happened so quickly. At 7:23 am, the doctors pulled the baby out and said “Addison Rose has arrived!” I started crying. For fourteen weeks, we were told the grim statistics and how she would most likely not be able to breathe and have major lung issues. So when I heard her cry, it was such a relief! Our little 2 lbs, 2.5 oz. baby girl was crying!

After they put me back together, the nurses wheeled me through the resuscitation room so I could see her and touch her on the way down the hall to recovery. It seemed like forever, but around 4:00pm on Saturday afternoon, I was finally able to go visit our sweet baby girl in the NICU. I don’t even know how to describe the emotions I felt as Michael was wheeling me across the hospital to the NICU to visit Addison for the first time. After scrubbing in and getting our temps checked, he wheeled me back to Nursery Pod 10. We visited with her for a little while, and we were able to “hold” her by placing our hands on her and talking to her. I didn’t want to leave but had to get back to my room to rest. Addison had been such a fighter through this whole pregnancy and has more than exceeded everyone’s expectations!

Celebrate Your Birth Story! What’s Yours?

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