Ant's Arrival

My dear friends I have been meaning to write for days but you will soon understand why I am just now getting to write. If you were following me on twitter you have some idea of how long my labor was. Let's start from the beginning.

Wednesday morning I woke up at 4am due to my blood sugar crashing and needing something to eat. After I ate I went down stairs and was actually productive. The night before MIL asked me for a list of things I needed done. I wasn't in the mood then but thought it was a good idea. I made 4 lists MIL to do, DH to do, hospital bag, and stuff we still needed to buy. When I finished with my lists I got ready for work.

Early on in the morning I had already noticed that my swelling was worse but I didn't think anything of it because on Monday the OB said that would get worse. My co-worker picked me (DH didn't want me driving alone) and we headed to the school. When I got there I did a decent amount of walking around even though I knew I should be sitting due to the state of my ankles. Around 9:40 about 20mins before my first class I headed into the RN's office to show her my feet, just for fun. She looks at my ankles and looks at me and says, "You need to call your OB!"

"I will, I will after my 4th grade class."
RN, "Let's take your blood pressure just to be safe."

I agree and sit down on the bed as they take my BP. The RN promptly tells me I need to call my OB because my BP was 164 over 104. ECK!!! I knew that was bad. I called the office and they told me to go straight to the hospital. The bad part was I had nothing with me but my work stuff. I had left everything at home because I was planning to do my to do lists tonight. As I already wrote in my previous blog my co-worker drove me to the hospital and we were there and admit by about 10:40.

To make things even more complicated DH had a show that morning and when I called him they were just about ready to get started. They OB said DH would have enough time to get there before the baby came. (They were correct)

DH arrived around 2:30 and they had already started my pitocin at that point and also had already turned it off once due to Ant's heart rate (HR) dropping. At some point the OB had checked my cervix and said I was 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. Not any different then I was on Monday at my appointment.

As the day progressed they asked me if I wanted pain meds and I refused them because the contractions weren't that bad until about 10pm. I was also getting tired at that point and wanted to sleep. From what I knew the only way I was going to sleep was if I didn't feel the contractions anymore and the epidural did just that. Soon after getting the epidural my contractions started happen very quickly and Ant didn't like that. His HR dropped again and they turned off the pitocin again. I believe this was the 2nd time this happened. For those who haven't had an epidural before it numbs you pretty much from just below your chest down. It is GREAT contractions relief! But there is a problem with it also. You have to pretty much lay flat so that the meds disperse evenly throughout. When pregnant you can't lay flat so they propped up one side with a pillow. After Ant was happy again they started the pitocin again but quickly discovered that Ant's HR kept decelerating whenever I had a contraction. We tired several different positions but eventually found out the right side was the best. Within that time they turned the pitocin on and off several times.

I did get some sleep that night but not very much. As for my progression I think I was 5cm and 90% effaced by 9:30am. I was frustrated because Ant was suppose to be here by now and my whole right side was numb. The OB said he wanted to break my water and see if that helped me progress. But he didn't want to do it then but after he saw a few patients. He told us he would be back in 1 and half hours. He finally came back at 12:30...I was not a happy camper by that point. I was frustrated and a emotional wreck. He said to me that he looked at what was going on with the baby and his HR. He said we could break my water but wasn't sure if that was going to help. We could go through 3 hrs of pushing and still end up have a c-section. Or we could just have a c-section now.

I immediately said, "C-SECTION." He hesitated and checked me one last time and saw I hadn't progressed at all since 9:30am. So they went ahead and prepped me for an emergency c-section. It was like a whirlwind happen around me. The RNs and the OB were moving quickly to get me prepared. They had just enough time to get me into the OR before the next schedule c-section. In any case I would have been the priority since I had already been in labor for 24hrs.

As they rolled me into the OR I could feel myself getting nervous and excited. My eyes started to well up with tears. I was scared, for c-sections you are awake for the whole surgery. During the surgery I could feel a thing thanks to the awesome work of all the DRs involved.

Through the all whole procedure all I could feel was pressure and some pulling. Before I knew it they were pulling little Ant out of my uterus. Very quickly they brought him over to show me and then wisked him off to clean him off. As the DRs closed me up I could hear little Ant's squeaks from across the room. I tried to crane my head so I could catch another glimpse. Before they took him to the nursery they brought him over for a picture. At this point I still haven't touched him. They took Ant out of the room and Doug followed. I was left on the table with just the DRs closing me up. They were all very sweet and before I knew it I was in the recovery room. In the recovery room they started taking my BP and it was really high again. I did all I could to calm myself done but the number would go down. OB came in to check on me and he said that he thinks it was just due to the surgery and it was nothing to worry about. As I lay in recovery Doug returned and some DRs arrived to give me an update on Ant. Ant was in the NICU due to being hypo glycemic. I was over come with guilt that I caused this. I was sure I had my GD under control and now my son was suffering because of me. He wasn't going to come visit me in recovery to breastfeed but going to stay in the NICU. My heart was breaking and there was nothing anyone could say to make me feel better.

Finally, they wheeled me out of recovery and on the way stopped in at the NICU so I could touch my son for the first time. He was so small 6lbs 13oz. I didn't think he was going to be this small. I touch his little arms and told him, "Mommy loves you." Then I was on my way to the postpartum unit. After I was settle I insisted about pumping and asked if it was possible to hold Ant that night. They told me no and to rest. Instead of resting I woke up every 3 hrs to pump. The first couple times I had success but with each session there was less and less. By morning I was anxious to see Ant but no one would give me any indication until my day RN told me what I had to do to see him. I really didn't get to hold my son for the first 24hrs of his life but since then I have been trying to make up for it. At this moment he is still in the NICU and I am still in the hospital too but things are getting better finally. In a later post I will tell you more about what was going on with Ant. For now we are just hoping he comes home with us tomorrow because I can only imagine the sadness I will feel if I have to leave him here overnight by himself.

Ant is Here

I would like to introduce you to Ant. He was born Feb 25, 2010 at 1:42pm. He was born via c-section after 24 hrs of induced labor. He was 6lbs 13oz and 20.5inches. Right now he is in the NICU due to coming out hypo glycemic. Other then that we are doing great. We expect him to join us in our postpartum room on Sunday. I will share my birth story in a later post.

D-Day

I am writing today from my hospital bed. Today started as any normal day. I was doing my normal Wednesday thing and then I made a detour to the health room before my first class arrived. I was showing the school RN my swollen ankles and she said, "You should call your OB and we should take your BP." Fine by me. They took my BP and to my surprise it was 164 over 104...ECK!!!! So immediately I called my OB's office. They pretty much told me to come directly to the hospital. My co-worker drove me to the hospital and she sat with till DH arrived much later.

I think around 10:30am they checked me in and took me to my room. We went through the basic questions. My RN also hooked me up to the monitor and started my IV. When the OB came in she basically told me that today is the day and that we are inducing. She also did an exam to determine whether we were going to have to loosen up my cervix or if we could just start the pitocin. After a very uncomfortable exam she determined that we could just start with the pitocin.

After I had lunch DH finally arrived around 2:30. Around that time they also started me on pitocin. Now it is 5pm EST and I am still sitting here and my contractions so far aren't so bad...I am hoping I am not jinxing myself. We are also waiting for my OB to come and check me again to decide the next steps.

This will be my last blog as a pregnant women and next time I write I will be a MOM!!! Thank you all for your support and hopefully I will be updating everyone soon. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayer. Ant will be making his arrival very soon.

9 days

We are in the home stretch and Ant will be here before we know it. This has actually been a great weekend. My youngest sister has been here visiting me. We got some great one on one time. Also this weekend we finally got to have the shower that was canceled at the end of January due to snow. It was great to celebrate with friends and I am so glad they were there.

With my induction being 9 days away (unless Ant decides to come earlier), for the most part I am feeling prepared. After talking with my friends who have already had their babies I know we have everything necessary to survive the first few days with Ant. If we are missing a few things, I will just send DH to get them after we are home.

The funniest thing about this weekend is I have had to do a 24hr urine collection. Not to terrible just annoying because I had to carry my jug of urine with me to my shower. Also, I had my friend make room for it in her fridge because it has to stay cool. Now I just hope I remember tonight but in my pregnant daze I might forget to collect. I just can't believe I have pee in my fridge...LOL.

My goal this week is to blog daily. For my DE friends, the fact that he isn't genetically related to me is the farthest thing from my mind. I am just so excited to finally meet my son and get to know him.

37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks
Weight Gain: About 40lbs
Sleep: Most the time I sleep great even though I wake up 3-4 times a night.
Labor signs: Yes, I have many contractions a day. I have been 1cm dilated since 35 weeks.
Belly button: Before pregnancy I had a super innie. Now it is almost flat. I really don't think it will become an outie.
What I miss most: My unswollen feet.
Baby Movement: Ant moves all the time. I think my favorite movement is hiccups. He has them a few times a day. My least favorite movement is when he sticks his foot in my ribs.

Update: Today at the OB I started with a NST. The NST was great because I got to hear Ant's heartbeat for about 30mins. Then we did my normal OB appointment. Weight not bad but my BP was a little high 140 over 72. I guess the office rule is if your top # is over 140 you have to lay on your left side while you wait for the OB.

I really thought my BP was under control now that my blood sugar was but apparently that wasn't true. When my OB came in she measured me 38cm. She check my blood sugars too and said those were good for the most part. We also talked about when they were going to induce me. Originally she just told me my 39th week but she would like to schedule me to come in to the hospital on Monday night March 1st to get my cervix ready and then start pitocin on Tuesday. So if Ant doesn't decide to come earlier he will most likely be here March 2nd, less then 2 weeks away.

Before leaving my appointment they recheck my BP and it was still high. So now I get to do a 24hr urine collection. I was talking to one of my GF's and she said, "Now you aren't just an expert on IF but also on complications with pregnancy." I have to just laugh at this because I never thought the last 3 or 4 weeks would have been so complicated. You would think being under 30 pregnancy should be a piece of cake (ummm cake).

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

The title doesn't even begin to tell you home much snow we have gotten in the last couple weeks. Now we are expecting our 4th storm in 2 weeks. The first 2 storms now seem like dustings compared to the last and the one that is coming. Over the weekend we go 34 inches of snow, almost 3 feet. The picture to the left is our back yard and it is full of snow. Now with my backyard and front yard still full of snow we are expecting another 10-20 inches. Where is all this snow coming from?

One good thing about all this snow is we are finally getting some good work done on Ant's room. This weekend I finally finished his tree mural. (Well almost my friend is going to finish the outline for me on Saturday, if it doesn't snow) We also finally put his crib together. It looks great but the big problem is placing the furniture. The room is a very odd shape because it is long and skinny. To top off the frustration is one of the long walls is taken up by closets and door, while the windows are on the other long wall. To help us out DH made a small diagram of the room and little cut outs. I took the little pieces and moved them around them room. I think we have a plan, maybe.


My appointment this last week was pretty good but my blood sugar wasn't completely under control with just diet and exercise. I think if I was earlier in my 3rd trimester my OB would have given me another week to figure it out but since Ant's arrival is fast approaching she suggested started meds or insulin. I opted for the pill because it is easier. As an IVF graduate needles don't scare me anymore. Since starting the meds my blood sugar has been under control minus one funky breakfast #. My OB and I will talk about this more on Thursday at my appointment (if I can get there).

Due to my GD my OB also wants me to do twice a week NST scans and get a growth u/s. NST scans are 40 minute scans monitoring the baby to make sure he isn't stress. It is actually a lot of fun for me to be hooked up to the monitor because I can hear Ant's heart beat, and see and feel my contractions. During my Monday scan my contractions were pretty big compared to last week. Last week my OB also checked my cervix and I am already 1cm dilated. I know many people walk around for weeks 1cm dilated but it is just exciting that the dilation process is already started.

Thursday I have my 36week appointment and another NST scan. I really hope the snow doesn't prevent me from getting to my appointment. I am excited to see my OB again and see if my cervix has progressed any.