Oliver's Birth Story: Part I

Oliver's arrival into this world isn't at all what we expected. Nevertheless, he came!! And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Our little family of 3 was SO EXCITED for our bundle of joy to arrive. Maybe some of us were more excited than others.

Thursday, October 9th

I was down to weekly check-ups with my OB doctor. I went to my appointment and a routine ultrasound was performed to see how baby's bones were growing. Since I was taking diflucan (can cause fetal bone malformations) to treat Valley Fever, the doctor wanted to keep a closer eye on baby's bones to make sure they were growing properly. Baby's bones looked great! However, the ultrasound tech voiced some concern about the amount of amniotic fluid, or should I say the lack of amniotic fluid. 

During my one-on-one chat with the doctor, she told me my amniotic fluid measured 7.4, which was on the low side of the spectrum (5-20cm). My doctor made an immediate appointment for the next morning with a maternal-neonatal specialist to have her check out my amniotic fluid level on a more accurate/expensive machine. 

I was told that there could be 4 reasons why amniotic fluid decreases:

1) water breaks (which definitely did not happen...I would know)

2) not drinking enough water (I could kick that up a notch)

3) baby's kidneys are not working properly to excrete fluid (the more expensive machine would show kidney function more accurately)

4) placenta not functioning properly (unknown reasons)

Friday, October 10th

Annelise came to visit for the weekend to throw me a super awesome baby shower. We had a full day of fun things to do in Phoenix and to prepare for the shower the next day. Little did we know that we'd never get to do any of it.

Annelise tagged along with me to my appointment with the maternal-neonatal specialist first thing in the morning. She was a big help entertaining Calvin. The doctor performed two exams: 1) a very thorough ultrasound and 2) a 45 minute monitoring session. 

Ultrasound results:

Baby's kidneys were working normally, the umbilical cord was working normally, and there was no indication of a tear where water possibly could be leaking. Unfortunately, my amniotic fluid measured 5.2 (lower than the day before).

45min monitoring results:

Baby's heart beat showed some signs of being stressed. The doctor showed me a graph of two lines: one for the baby's heart beat and the other for contractions. Each time I contracted (What? I was contracting??) the baby's heart reacted poorly. Not enough to go into emergency delivery, but it was a concern. She explained that since there was not enough amniotic fluid to cushion the blow, contractions were harder on the baby. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even realize I was contracting. But according to the graph, I contracted about every 5-10 minutes. How could I not know? I can't really explain it. I just felt tight all the time, so maybe I have been feeling these contractions for awhile...maybe this was my body's way of knowing something was wrong and these subtle contractions were prepping me to get the baby out sooner than expected.

The doctor told me to check myself into a hospital immediately and receive IV fluids. Hopefully the amniotic fluid will increase and I can keep the baby cooking longer, but if it decreased then I would need to get the baby out as soon as possible via induction or C-section.

So, instead of having a fun day with my sister, she dropped me off at the hospital and took over taking care of Calvin. (Thanks Annelise!)

Once Jake got word about me being admitted into the hospital, he left work immediately. He went home to pack clothes and essentials for staying the night at the hospital and arrived at my side as soon as possible. Once again, we were hanging out at a hospital patiently waiting for answers.

Saturday, October 11th

Saturday morning, an ultrasound tech checked out my amniotic fluid level. With constant fluids being pumped into me, there was no improvement: 5.1. Since the baby was doing fine, the doctors wanted to keep me on IV fluids at a higher rate and see if there was any improvement the next day.

I sat in a hospital bed all day being filled with fluids (which made me pee way more than a pregnant lady ever wants to pee) and strapped to monitors to watch baby's heart beat and my contractions (which I still didn't really notice were happening. Weird). 

I was really bummed that I had to cancel the awesome baby shower that Annelise had planned for me, but I'm glad I had siblings nearby to visit me and be with Calvin while Jake and I remained at the hospital.

Calvin could only last so long in a confined space...

...Annelise and Chris took him to go play at Oktoberfest being hosted nearby in Tempe. He had way more fun there.

Most of the day it was just Jake and I. It was nice to have some peace and quite to ourselves. Unfortunately, I had lots of time to think about all the things I needed and wanted to get done before the baby arrived - which made me feel frustrated and completely useless.

Sunday, October 12th

Sunday morning my amniotic fluid measured 3.4 (Below the safe range). 

BABY TIME! 

To be honest, I was slightly bummed. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to be cooped up in a hospital on monitors and IV fluids for days. I wasn't supposed to be induced early. I wasn't supposed to have a preemie baby. Overall, I wasn't supposed to feel so unprepared.

After I got over it, I realized that this is exactly what was supposed to happen. And I'm grateful for excellent doctors and nurses who have carefully watched over me and baby to ensure a successful pregnancy and delivery.

Labor & Delivery Details

At noon, a cervidil was placed to add hormones to help kickstart my contractions. Since I was already having slight, consistent contractions. The cervidil made it so that I could definitely start to feel the contractions. 

For 8 hours, I laid there definitely feeling the contractions get progressively stronger every 1-5 minutes. With the cervidil in, I was unable to know how far I progressed. But I wanted to keep the cervidil in as long as possible to be sure I progressed enough to get an epidural and have a break from all the pain. Jake, my Mom (yay! she arrived in time!), and I took a lap around the Labor and Delivery floor - a much needed walk. 

That was the longest, most painful lap of my life. Every 1-3 minutes I felt a really strong contraction. They were getting longer and stronger. Each time I felt one I stopped walking, winced my face, and focused very intently on my breathing. Some contractions made me sweat, some brought tears to my eyes, but they were all painful and occurring rather quickly (sometimes one right after another). An hour later, I made it back to my room and was eager to get that cervidil out of me and see how far I had progressed. 6cm dilated and 100% effaced! I was ready to do the rest on my own.

9:30pm the anesthesiologist placed an epidural. Phew! Pain was instantly relieved. Thank you modern medicine! However, it only worked on the left side of my body. The nurse suggested laying on my right side hoping that gravity would help bring it to the other side and numb me up. But that didn't work. So I continued to painfully feel each contraction. I freaked out a little bit, thinking, "Whoa! I didn't sign up for this!!" My sweet husband firmly held my hand, looked me in the eyes, and told me, "You can do this!" And that moment helped me get over my circumstance and focus on what needed to be done: get that baby out!

Around 10:20pm, I was feeling nauseous and I knew I was going to throw up (not surprised - that happened during Calvin's labor as well). Combined with the contractions and the force of throwing up, the baby was ready to deliver!! My nurse encouraged me to hold the baby in while we waited for the doctor to arrive (about 10 more minutes). The doctor arrived just in time. Two pushes later the baby was out and handed directly to me (captured in this moment below). I remember telling Jake, "We did it!!" with that big smile on my face. He looks like a proud Papa Bear.

Baby #2's labor was definitely the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. But I felt so accomplished! I even felt like I could've done it all without the epidural (that only worked on one side). 

Who am I kidding. I'd rather not feel the pain if I have the option.

I got to hold my precious boy for 2 hours before the nurses took him away to weigh him, bathe him, and make sure he was doing okay. That was the longest I got to hold him for the next 9 days.

Oliver Charles Scott 

born October 12, 2014

10:41pm

6 lb 1 oz

19 inches long

The nurses noticed that Oliver's breathing was remaining irregular and that his lungs needed a little extra attention. They rushed him to the nursery to be evaluated. Jake tagged along with the nurses. 

Later, Jake came back to tell me the news. Oliver wouldn't be returning to me that night. His lungs needed to be monitored and he needed the assistance of extra oxygen to breathe properly and maintain the right amount of oxygen levels.

My emotions were all over the place. I had a million worries and concerns, but knowing that Oliver was given the care that he needed and knowing he was being closely monitored gave me great comfort.