The Newest Addition

On July 23, 2009 Cole Joesph joined our family. He was 5 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long and absolutely beautiful! He was about 3 weeks early because I began showing signs of pre-eclampsia again. We had an appointment with the high risk dr. the day after we got back from Florida and my blood pressure was elevated. Since there were no signs of protein in my urine (sorry if that's TMI but its the classic sign of pre-eclampsia) the dr. didn't admit me to the hospital. For the next week though I was in and out of the hospital and saw a different dr. every day (my regular OB wanted me in every other day and the high risk dr. saw me on the days I didn't go to my regular OB - it became exhausting!). My OB admitted me to the hospital for frequent non-stress tests and blood pressure monitoring.

On July 22 my OB said that they found significant amounts of protein in my sample and admitted me to the hospital. I figured that this was it, I was going to deliver today, so before going to the hospital I went home and picked up my bag. I called my family - and to my surprise found out that my brother in law had also been admitted to the hospital (unfortunately, the hospital in the town next to us). He had been stung by a bee and had a reaction to it. Work took him to the ER and they gave him Epinephrin... but the wrong dosage. The nurse gave him 10 X the normal amount which sent him in to shock. He was then admitted for testing to make sure they didn't damage his heart. Yeah, so it was a busy day! Oh yeah, did I also mention that everyone else was out of town on vacation? My in laws were in Dewey with Bryce and my parents were still in Florida. What a mess!

Anyhow- the hospital didn't find any traces of protein at all (tested it twice) and after 3 hours I was discharged. The next day I went to the high risk dr. and they again did find traces of protein. He then decided that due to the things he was seeing on the sonogram (they can actually see the beginning symptons pre-eclampsia on a sonogram before you start showing outward physical signs of it) and the fact that he was convinced that I was spilling small amounts of protein (no matter what the hospital thought) that today was the day to deliver. I, of course, asked him if I could wait till after the weekend when people would be coming home - and was told, nope. He thought that if we waited 3 days that I would then be sick and could need an emergency c-section. He told David that after 3 days my symptoms could possibly include seizures and that if I was his wife he'd have me deliver right now. Well, that sealed the deal and we were off to the hospital.

Of course, I try to fit everything in before I deliver... so on the way to our hospital we stopped by my brother in laws hospital to make sure he was ok and to visit with them. By about noon I was admitted to the hospital and taken to the prep room to get ready for my c-section.

But wait! Throughout this whole pregnancy we had been discussing having a VBAC so I was very confused! One of the reasons I was also delivering early was so that I was healthy enough to have a VBAC instead of a C. Thankfully I mentioned to the nurse my concerns and she called my regular OB and fought for my decision. My OB had thought it would be easier/safer to do a C but the nurse told her that it was my desire to try to be induced and they should do what the patient wanted. So at 1:15 I started pitocin. Since Bryce was born way early by C-section I had never experienced any type of labor so I was very eager to know what I missed (yes, I know... odd). I have to admit - the beginning stages were pretty darn easy. I had always wondered if contractions were worse than my IBS stomach aches - and really, they weren't.... in the beginning.

At 5:00 pm - my water broke naturally and that's when the fun started. WOW. Pitocin induced contractions after your water breaks are INTENSE! That's when I begged for the epidural! My inlaws arrived back from Dewey Beach with Bryce (we had called them in the morning) and the epidural was in place and working by about 5:30. After that - it was smooth sailing! I didn't feel a thing and I was progressing nicely. The OB told us that by midnight we should know if the induction would work or if we'd have to do a C.

Well - I then started dilating fast and to the dr's surprise I was fully dilated and ready to push by 9:30 pm. At 9:43 pm - Cole Joesph entered the world!

It was pretty amazing. I am soooo glad I decided to do a VBAC. If we had had another c-section I would have always wondered what labor was like. All the gals get together and talk about their birth stories and I never had any of the experiences the other ladies had. I always wondered what it would be like - and now I know. Plus, to tell you the truth... it was fun!

P.S. Thank goodness my brother in law ended up being ok and his heart wasn't damaged. He ended up spending almost a week in 2 different hospitals! It was a huge mess.