Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Birth of Our Daughter

Those that read my blog may have noticed an absence of me writing. That is because our baby girl was born May 20, 2017. If you read my past posts, you would have known that my due date was June 17, however my csection was scheduled for June 12. Yes, she arrived early. I am finally back to blogging after being away for almost a month. This post is the story of the day that our daughter, Leliana Rose, was born.

Saturday morning, May 20th, started off differently than most mornings leading up to this day.  I slept through my husband waking up with our four boys for breakfast. I never sleep through that and am usually the first one awake. You see, the night before (Friday the 19th) I was having contractions and decided to try to sleep them off. After all this was my 5th pregnancy so I was able to tell if what I was feeling was actual labor or if it just false labor. I did not sleep well Friday night and had a hard time staying asleep so come Saturday morning I was very tired. My wonderful husband (I will have post soon solely on him) let me sleep while he took care of the boys that morning. I ended up waking up around 8:30 a.m. When I woke up I was happy to see that I was 36 weeks pregnant exactly which meant only 3 weeks and 2 days until Leliana would arrive. I got up and I ate a light breakfast of toast and butter because I still felt awful. I could also feel that I was still having contractions consistently. After eating I decided to take a shower to see if that would help and also to prepare, in case Leliana was born that day. The contractions did not go away so we prepared a bag because we knew we needed to go to the hospital. We found a friend to come keep our boys at our house, however another friend came to sit with the boys until the other friend got there so we were able to leave quickly to go to the hospital. This was probably about 11 a.m.

The ride to the hospital was rough, because my contractions were consistent and fairly intense. Once we got to the hospital, they sent me to the OB triage/OB ER. This is basically for women who are pregnant and have a medical emergency. It is also for pregnant women who might be in labor, but aren't ready for the actual labor and delivery floor. Once we checked in and got to a room, a nurse came in to hook me up to the contraction/heart rate monitor right away. She found Leliana's heart beat right away, which was comforting to hear. The nurse also saw right away how intense my contractions were. The hospitalist OB (the OB for hospitals so regular OB's aren't at the hospital all the time) came in fairly quickly and she checked me for dilation and progress as far as labor goes. I was not dilated and did not have any progression (my cervix was high and thick). The hospitalist decided to give me a round of fluids because maybe the contractions were caused by dehydration. It is true, I was dehydrated because I still was throwing up here and there toward the end of my pregnancy. The nurse came and tried to stick me for an IV. After two times, she gave up. This repeated through 3 more nurses who tried twice and failed. Finally, the 4th nurse was able to get an IV going. This meant I was stuck 9 times. My veins like to roll and run away so I can be a hard stick, plus I was dehydrated, too. Once they got the fluids going I was on the fluids for two hours while having my contractions monitored as well. Once the fluids stopped around 3 p.m., the hospitalist checked again for progression and when there wasn't any, she decided to send me home. I was still contracting, but according to her they had slowed down in timing. Though they may have slowed, they were still pretty intense even after the fluids. I was still uncomfortable, but we obliged and went home.

The hospital is 25 minutes away from our house. By the time we got home, the contractions became closer together again. I called my OB office and spoke to the answering service. The guy who answered called my OB doctor who called me back within 10 minutes. My OB doctor asked what was going on. I told him about my contractions and what they did at the hospital. He was shocked that they didn't give me anything to stop the contractions, except fluids. Usually they give a shot (Brethine) to help stop or slow down contractions. After learning that, my doctor told me if the contractions don't ease up to go back after an hour or two. After an hour we were headed back to the hospital. At this point it was about 5:45 p.m. The travel time to the hospital did account for the full two hours. We went back to the OB ER and the nurses were surprised (possibly) to see us again. We got the process started again, hooking me up to the contraction/heart rate monitor. Of course the monitor showed that I was having strong contractions. The hospitalist came and checked for dilation and progression. Inside of the time we left the hospital and went back, I had progression. My cervix was thin. At this point, the hospitalist realized I shouldn't have been sent home. Within 10 minutes they ordered to start an IV. The nurse tried once and failed. However, she returned and said I was being moved to labor and delivery so they could get an IV started over there. At this point, 10 times of being stuck with a needle. By the time I got moved to labor and delivery it was about 7:30 p.m.

Once I was moved to labor and delivery, my actual OB came in. He saw the intensity and timing of my contractions. We discussed the risks of an early birth (I was 36 weeks exactly which is considered late preterm). The risks of Leliana being born early were a NICU stay, if she were in the NICU the uncertainty of how long her NICU stay would be, and the potential issues a 36 week baby could have once born. On the other hand, we discussed the risks of waiting to deliver. This would be my 5th csection so if I got sent home after trying to stop labor, then labor could pick up and irritate my uterus or worse my uterus could rip and both Leliana and I would be at risk. The risks of waiting were much worse since it would be a lot of stress on my body and I have Crohn's Disease so my body has enough stress. After going over all the risks, my doctor said it would be best to deliver that day My doctor made sure we were okay with delivering early. Of course, we were on board with it because we wanted what was best for Leliana and I. At this point it was about 8:30p.m. I started getting prepped for my csection. They had to get an IV in which meant being stuck more. I was stuck three times by a nurse and twice by the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist got it the second time That's right 15 times I got stuck. By the time we got the IV going it was about 9:30 p.m. My doctor did paperwork and let some more fluids run through. Around 10:30 p.m., they took me to the OR for my csection.Since this was my 5th csection, I knew what to expect. They did more prepping and about 10:45p.m. they were ready to start. My doctor started the csection and then a few minutes later my husband came in and took his position by head and held my hand like he did four time before.

Leliana Rose was born at 11:06 p.m. on May 20, 2017. She weighed 6lbs., 4.5oz. and was 19 inches. She was born exactly 3 days before my birthday (my 30th birthday this year at that). Leliana was a perfect birthday present for me and just the perfect gift to complete our family. As we knew, she did have to go to the NICU which was for the best. I have future posts about her NICU stay which ended up being a 17 day long stay. Like I said, I will write different posts about her NICU stay.

I am happy to be writing again. If I don't write as often, it is because we are getting used to being a family of seven!

All in all, my last birth experience went well. For those that read my blog, you know that back in November (November 17) I went for my first ultrasound for Leliana (we didn't know she was a girl) and my doctor's assistant could not find a baby. We saw an empty gestational sac, but no baby. My husband and I were heartbroken and so was my doctor's assistant. She had me come back a few days later and the ultrasound tech immediately saw a baby. We believe it was a miracle. Six months later, Leliana was born and she has been a miracle for sure. Her life, so far, has touched a lot of people. We are so thankful for all of our kids and how they entered this world. All of our kids are miracles, because with my Crohn's disease it was uncertain how my body would handle pregnancies and if I could ever get pregnant. We serve a wonderful God and God is very good! God has blessed our family with 5 beautiful children. Below are pictures from Leliana's birth.

First time we were at the hospital while being monitored.

Rob in his surgery outfit.

Leliana just born!

The nurse holding her for a picture.

She's got daddy's finger already.

This was a few days after she was born and the second time the boys saw her through the NICU window. They didn't meet her until she got home from the NICU.




43 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the brith of your baby girl. Welcome back to the world of blogging!

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  2. congratulations! She's a beauty. Hope you're well and enjoying these early weeks with her x

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  3. Awee congratulations! This post made me kind of emotional as one of my cousins gave birth in the past few weeks as well. Wishing you and Rob good luck xx

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  4. So sweet. A big CONGRATULATIONS! You guys already look like the best proud parents ever!

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  5. CONGRATS! My little girl is due 07/18 and I am so excited. Enjoy every moment of it mama!

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  6. Hi Jessica,
    We have six children. Three boys and three girls. This past week my wife, Katie, miscarried. Although any miscarriage is difficult, it was very, very early, making it easier. We hope she gets pregnant again soon.

    Each birth story is so unique. Thanks for sharing yours with others! Psalm 127 and 128.

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    1. You are right, any miscarriage is difficult. I am so sorry for you loss and will keep you and Katie in my prayers.

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  7. Oh Sweetie .. so many congratulations on your new daughter! I always love reading birth stories .. there's a bit of drama in every one. I'm so glad all turned out for the best. ps: I take my hat off to you .. 4 boys and a newborn (a moment of silence, I stand in awe!) x

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  8. Congratulations on your gorgeous family, what a beautiful brood.

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  9. Congratulations on the birth of your gorgeous daughter, sounds like an eventful labour

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  10. Congratulations. Hopefully as a new mum with four boys that you’ll still have time to blog.

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  11. Congrats on your new arrival. She is beautiful! With my first one, I was in hard labor for 3 days before they finally did a C-section. Yep - that's not a typo. My second, I kept going into early labor and had to take breathine to prevent labor. Glad yours was easier.

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  12. Wow congrats on your newest addition. Isn't it crazy how babies can come sooner then planned.

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  13. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!

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  14. Congratulations lovely! What's it like having 5 little ones? I'm so broody right now, and seeing your little cutie doesn't help! Haha

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  15. Congrats on your little girl! Glad to hear you listened to your body and were pushy with the doctors and kept the two of you safe.

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  16. Congratulations she is so beautiful. I am so happy she is home now and everything is okay.

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  17. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! She is beautiful! A mom of 5 is a challenge but you seem to have it all together. Good for you and best wishes with your new addition in your beautiful family.

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  18. What a beauty. I love reading birth stories and this one is great.

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  19. Awww.. Congratulations. She's such a cute baby! God bless you!

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  20. lovely story up here about your experience, cute baby and big congrats to you. i love this so much.

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  21. Such a beautiful birth story! Congratulations

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  22. She is just beautiful! Congratulations! We have 10-month-old twin girls who spent 2 weeks in the NICU - I know that journey well!

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  23. Congrats on your baby girl! What a joy and beautiful birth story!

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  24. Congratulations on another child being born. It's always a miracle from God and a gift. I'm so happy to hear that she is doing ok and hope that you get back to the regular writing soon.

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  25. Congratulations on your new baby girl! I love her name, it's so pretty x

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  26. I absolutely love her name. A beautiful name for a beautiful baby!

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  27. Awwwww. She's adorable! I'm sure that she'll be a wonderful daughter because she has an amazing mom. Congratulations!

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  28. Congratulations on the arrival of your bundle of joy! I hope you are both doing well and getting enough rest. Do enjoy the time as it flies away very quickly and before you know it, she's in grade school!

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  29. Huge congrats! Reminds me a little of my son's birth

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  30. I am glad everything ended well and that she wasn't born early! Congrats on your 5th.
    ~ http://viabella-thebeautifullife.blogspot.com/

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  31. As far as I know, giving birth especially on first born normally takes two weeks earlier or later. Congratulations on your safe delivery. I am sure you will be very busy as a mommy.

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    1. She was our 5th baby. I have heard with more babies they can come earlier. She was 4 weeks early.

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  32. She is an absolute beauty, congratulations to you both on your new(ish now) arrival! I hope you have many happy times to come. x

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  33. Aw a massive congratulations hunny, I am so happy for you. Leliana is beautiful and it is amazing that she was an early birthday present for you as well x

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  34. awwwww congratulations on the birth of you little cute baby, this was so interesting to read :) So happy for you! xx

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  35. Congratulations, I'm so happy that the birth went pretty smoothly. Five kids though, well done you x

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  36. congratulations.. she is soo cute.. i bet this is one of the most rewarding experience of becoming a parent.. having such kid was such a blessing...

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  37. Congrats on the addition to your family. I really loved reading your journey till she was born.

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  38. Congrats on your new little one! She looks just like you!

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  39. Birth stories are simply amazing, we had a close call with our third child, Hannah. She was meant to be a home birth, like the other two, but once we got into it there were some pretty serious complications, I almost lost both my wife and our daughter. It was only though the grace of God that they both survived.

    Congratulations.

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