Our wonderful little surprise was due to join us February 24 however, she made an early appearance and arrived on Groundhog Day, February 2 at 12:20 am. My water broke on February 1st around 10 am, Blaine rushed home from work, we grabbed the bags that I had already packed and headed to the hospital. After the hospital staff determined that my water really did break, they admitted me to labor and delivery. I had no contractions and made no progress for most of the day. We consulted with the anesthesiologist who confirmed that I could not get an epidural until possibly after midnight due to the fact that I was on blood thinners and had my shot at 7 am. There really weren't many options for pain other than narcotics and even then I could only have them an hour before delivery. The kids came up to the hospital and visited for a while and stayed until it looked like I wasn't going to have her anytime soon. I remember them discussing the way the contraction monitor worked, it was a debate about whether it used Doppler or ultrasound technology.
When they initially checked me I was only getting started, the doctors offered to speed up labor by offering me pitocin but I declined hoping I could get my epidural. I started getting a few stronger contractions around 11 pm, they checked me again around 11:50 at that point and I was dilated to 4 and 80% effaced. Then all of the sudden everything kicked into high gear, my contractions started coming on full force and I was having a hard time dealing with them. My husband wanted the anesthesiologist to come in and see if I could get the epidural but I was nervous about getting it because I was worried that I would get a hematoma and end up paralyzed (that is sometimes a side effect of being on blood thinners). The nurses were about to give me the narcotics in my IV but Blaine stopped them which was a good thing since they should not be administered within an hour of birth. Calls were made and within minutes everything and everyone was in place for the delivery of Aliya. It was fast and furious and then it was over and I was holding her in my arms. Jessica missed the crazy delivery part and showed up just afterwards.
She was 36 weeks 6 days, one day shy of being considered term but she encountered the problems of a late preterm baby. An extended bout of jaundice, an inability to maintain her body temperature and being a poor nurser led her to be admitted to PCMC. We were released from the hospital on Friday and she was admitted to the other one on Sunday. During the first 8 of her 9 days she was in the hospital which also meant that Blaine and I were there too. I am so glad that my kids were able to take care of the household and be responsible while we were going through so much stress. Emotions were running high and everything was very uncertain but we got through it and emerged much stronger on the other end. I got to see to scientific/analytical side of my husband in action, that part of him was stressful for me to deal with but it was also important for it to exist because he really helped figure out what the problem was with the baby. The doctors were pushing to have a spinal tap to check for infection, we were not comfortable with them performing that unless we could see that there was a valid reason to do so. Our pediatrician was glad that we did not give them permission to do so. She was not very happy with the way that her treatment was going. The hospital had her under Bili lights but that was not ordered by our Dr. so she had them removed. It was a struggle to feel like we had some control over the situation. When we showed up to the emergency room no one had actually gone over a plan of action with us as to how they were going to handle the situation, we only found out once they admitted her to the hospital. They had to try 5 different times to draw her blood for the tests they needed to run, it was heartbreaking. She really was lethargic especially after they put her under the heat lamps. We noticed that she would perk up after receiving a bolus in her IV so we mentioned it to the nurses and kept pushing them to give her more fluids. Once they did and we supplemented her with some formula her temperature stabilized to where she didn't require being placed under the heat lamps.
The hospital had me meet with a lactation consultant who set me up on a strict feeding/pumping schedule. It was just the ticket to get my supply built up even though we did have to supplement her with bottles of formula.
We have such sympathy for parents who have had to go through even more difficult and serious circumstances. The conditions in the room are really meant for one parent. There is a couch that pulls out into a single bed and a rocking chair that does not recline. Blaine gave me the couch so that I could get some sleep since I was nursing and he set himself up to sleep in the chair. He had to keep on his shoes when he was sleeping because the rubber soles kept him from sliding off from his semi-propped/leaning position. Also, he had to run home a couple of times for medications, clothes, etc. in addition to needing to leave the room to pick up food for us to eat. Every time I needed to nurse the baby, he had to move the rocking chair next to the baby's bed since she was hooked up to monitors and had her IV line that had to come with her. The whole situation was frustrating. It was such a relief when she put on a little weight and was able to keep her temperature stable on her own, it was then that we were released to go home.
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