8th Posting: Time to Come Out and Play.

Friday, October 29, 2010 will go down as one of the most difficult, exciting, painful, and rewarding days I have ever been through.  Luke David was born.  Here is his story.

I woke up early that day having some mild contractions.  I talked to the nurse about it but she assured me it was most likely Braxton Hicks (false labor pains).  I was okay with that.  They weren't very painful or consistent at the time.  Things were a-changing though. By the time the afternoon came, the inconsistency turned more consistent and the pain was definitely noticeable.  I brought it up to another nurse.  She looked at the monitor which registers the baby's heart beat and if I was having any contraction.  Not many were registering.  Braxton Hicks were brought up again.  Maybe I needed to go to the bathroom, she said.  Or, maybe I was just hungry.  Sometimes those issues can irritate the uterus.  I took her suggestions and got a little relief, but the relief never lasted very long.  It was very frustrating to have a painful contraction and look at the monitor to see it didn't register.  The nurse said she believed I was having them, but I also knew if they didn't show up on the monitoring slip, no doctor would.

By supper time, the pain was surfacing every ten minutes and I was worried.  All my other labors went so fast.  For Ginni, she took the longest because she was my first.  The doctors predicted somewhere around midnight I'd deliver.  I had her at 10:30 in the morning.  Charlotte, a nurse delivered her with one gloved hand and the bed wasn't even set up.  With Emma, the doctor came in just in time to catch her, otherwise it would have been another nurse delivery.   This baby was breech so I knew I had to have a C-section.  If we waited too long, I could see the baby getting stuck.  It made no sense to me why they weren't getting things together for the surgery.  Chris and I told the nurses time and time again that I'd go fast.  Still, we weren't taken seriously.  I wasn't contracting less then 10 minutes apart so there was nothing to worry about.  Well, I guess I showed them.

I went from having contractions every ten minutes to every three minutes with a drop of the hat.  I asked the nurses a couple of times if they'd check me, but my doctor said no to that.  With pPROM you're not supposed to be checked because of the high risk of infection.  My doctor wasn't there and obviously believed I wasn't really in labor.   That's when the nurses got a hold of the doctor on call and asked him several times until he gave in.  Thank you nurses!!!  I was 100% dilated and the baby's rear end was coming down the birth canal.    High gear was put in gear! 

I was rushed down to the OR.  The contractions were so intense at this point and I wasn't allowed to push.  That was the hardest thing not to do.  The anesthesiologist who was supposed to work with me was in another surgery, so they paged a second one.  His pager didn't go off the first couple of attempts.  Most of the time for an emergency C-section, you're in an out in five minutes.  We sat there for an hour waiting for this doctor to arrive.  All the while my contractions were on top of each other.  Imagine being strapped down to the operating table with your arms extended, experiencing massive pain.  Can you say, NOT FUN?  When he did finally get there, I was knocked out instead of the typical epidural.  General anesthesia works a lot quicker than the epidural and time was of the essence.  This baby needed to get out!

I was told I lost a lot of blood.  The baby is also badly bruised because he was so far down the birthing canal.  With that being said, we are both here and recovering.  Little Luke David was born at 7:41pm on October 29, 2010.  He weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 14.5 inches long.  This baby, who supposedly didn't have a chance, never had any measurable fluid, is now on his third day in the NICU and is doing wonderfully.  Everything is going in the right direction.  Of course we're not out of the woods yet, but to so many people, he should have never made it this far!  All we wanted was to give him the best chance possible, and now, we're beyond that.  Now, we get to KNOW him.  We have already made memories and are looking so forward to the many more to come.

Thank you to all who have helped.  Thank you to the many Facebook people out there who urged me on during those long hours of the unknown.  Thank you to those who prayed and sent well wishes.  Thank you to all who supported us and kept us moving forward.

Life is a miracle.  Life is a gift.  We continue on.  Thank you God.

Our Little Boy, Luke David 3pounds 1 ounce. 14.5 inches long. Born October 29, 2010