Saturday, July 20, 2013

Hayley Mae's dramatic entrance

I can't believe it's been a week since it all started! Everything has gone by so quickly. I just wanted to jot down Hayley's birth story so I don't forget any details.

Last Saturday evening, I decided I better go get checked out because I had felt like I might be leaking amniotic fluid for a couple days. I set up a babysitter for the boys, thinking it would probably turn out to be nothing and I would be home in a few hours. Boy was I wrong!
My doctor was out of town but the doctor on call had delivered Jackson so I knew I would be in good hands if something ended up happening.
I went to the hospital and they did a few tests to check for amniotic fluid. The first ones came back negative, but I had started having contractions every 2-3 minutes so the doctor said to sit tight until they went away. A couple hours later they were still going strong so he gave me some medication to stop them and told me I would probably be spending the night. I called Jackson's amazing sunbeam teacher and asked if she could spend the night with the boys since Weston was working the night shift.
The next morning, when I was still contracting, the doctor did another test for amniotic fluid that came back positive and he decided to admit me and told me I wouldn't be leaving the hospital without my baby. Seeing as I wasn't dilated or effaced at all an only 35 weeks, I could potentially be in the hospital for weeks. He told me at that point they weren't going to induce labor but they wouldn't stop it either.
I did A LOT of walking around the labor and delivery ward that day to try to get labor started. Weston sleepily showed up after coming home from work, getting the boys ready, and sending them to church with our amazing friends. Around 2:00 tht afternoon the doctor told me that if I wanted, he would start pitocin. I til him yes please since I had no clue how my children were going to be taken care of for days. At 2:30 the nurse started pitocin and told me I had to wait until I dilated to a 2 for my epidural. I spent two pretty uncomfortable hours contracting until I asked her to check me. When she did, I was at a 2 and told her to please call the anesthesiologist. By 5:00 I was resting comfortably through my contractions.
Everything went smoothly through the rest of the evening. The doctor must have really liked us because in between deliveries, he would come hang out in my room and talk medicine with Weston. When I was dilated to about an 8, things started to go downhill. Hayley's heart rate started dropping with every contraction no matter what position I was laying in. The doctor wasn't too worried at first, but as time went on and I wasn't dilating fast enough, I could tell he was getting more and more concerned. He told me I give a couple good pushes and then he started yelling for more nurses and the NICU team to get in the room. The nurses told me I really needed to fucus and push hard to get the baby out. After a couple contractions, the doctor asked for the forceps and I felt him start to yank on my poor baby's head. She finally came out after a couple more pushes--face up and blue because she had a nuchal cord. I didn't hear her cry and they rushed her out of the room to be stabilized. At this point I jut started bawling because I had no idea how she was doing. Finally, the NICU doctor came in and told me she was doing just fine. They just wanted to monitor her for 48 hours. Weston was able to go see her and bring her back to me for a couple minutes after that. She was able to come home with me on Wednesday.
I am so thankful that everything worked out the way it did! I am thankful that my doctor didn't jump the gun and go for an emergency c section. I am thankful that he kept me because who knows what would have happened if I would have been sent home. Hayley is such a goo little baby. The boys and her daddy adore her and we feel so blessed that she is part of our family!