I tried to nap before heading to the hospital at 12:15 am but my jaw was hurting from grinding my teeth the night before and i was too anxious. Doug and Mom were able to get a few hours but I laid there wide awake. Lots of anticipation for what was going to happen. Was it going to be quick or long? Smooth or complicated? Painful or pain free?
It was raining as we drove to the hospital. The roads were about empty. I told Doug it was odd being out that late and not having a bar involved with our route.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find where to park or where to go one we got there. The lady in newborn class gave bad directions. Not only was the garage name wrong but she completely left off how to get from the garage to the delivery rooms. Being a medical complex there are lots of buildings, garages, and floors. I had to call and get directions. I probably sounded like the most unplanned mom but it wasn't my fault.
My first nurse is an Alabama grad and fan. She got me checked in, in my room, iv'ed up, and the induction process started.
As always the iv sucked. I am not a fan of needles but she was good and got me on the first try. I did do "robot arm" the entire time it was in so I have a very sore arm from babying it for so many days. It hurt and made me lightheaded so I chose to not move it. Sounds reasonable to me. The only time it didn't bother me was during labor. Not sure why... :)
They started the induction medication around 1 am. I got a little crampy but nothing like I was suppose to. By noon the next day there was still no change. Not dilating enough but I was having contractions. However they were not painful.
I was very hungry and not allowed to eat. If i knew i was not going to be able to eat for a very long time i would have spent my last hours at home waiting everything in sight instead of trying to sleep! I hate jello and it was my only solid food option. My others were pop cicles, chicken broth, ice/water, or anything I could think of that was clear liquid (which was nothing ). I kept getting ticked at Doug for eating snacks in the room in front of me. Mom kept offering me food over and over, forgetting I couldn't have anything. It was mild torture.
My jaw was still bothering me from grinding my teeth. We didn't have an ice pack so we improvised... we put ice in a surgical glove then wrapped it in a napkin. It did the job and we used the technique the entire time we were there.
After a long day (Friday), the doctors took me off the induction drugs around 530. They gave me 3 options
C section now
Retry meds tomorrow then c section if it doesn't work.
Come back Monday night and start all over.
We went with option 2. Three was not an option and I was still trying to avoid the first.
I was put on meds for high blood pressure. I think between the anxiety and stress on my body the numbers started increasing. I was being checked every few hours and they never got better so the doctors started the meds to help prevent the numbers getting higher. During labor they just kept the cuff on me and checked in between contractions.
Since we stopped the meds I got to eat dinner so Doug went and got me Japanese . I got out of bed for a few and walked around the room. I tried to relax but it was hard too knowing we had to start all over in the morning.
I got some sleep that evening then the docs came in and gave me some gel to soften my cervix around midnight. Around 5 Saturday morning we started the second round of induction drugs. I was already contracting on my own around 330 and they were more painful than yesterday. So we already has promising progress.
The weather was beautiful outside. Sunny with highs in the 80's. And I was stuck inside, in a bed, with no window looking out. Maybe it was a good thing. The window would have been torture.
At 930 am the docs stopped my meds again bc they were not working. They let me eat some breakfast and then tried one other med at noon. This one was a pill inserted by my cervix that, when disolved, would soften my cervix, help it get in the right position, and make me dilate.
It was really sad when the cleaning lady came in to clean the room and was surprised to see us still in there. I guess no one gave her the difficult cervix in room 110 memo...
Thankfully I had dilated to 3 cm by 4 pm so they gave me more of the new meds to help keep things progressing. The doc was finally able to break my water around 7 pm. It was messy. I am so glad it happened at the hospital. Even the doc was surprised with the amount of water. She had to change me, the sheets and her clothes. Not something I wanted to happen on the couch or bed, at work, or out in public!
I did good until about 10 pm Saturday night. The contractions became more than I could handle and we called for the epidural. The pain and the epidural process was not fun. I was a mess. I was shaking violently and about passed out, part from pain and part from nerves. A needle in your spine is scary! The doctor was very patient with me and very slow. She warned me of everything that was about to happen and checked to make 100% sure i was feeling the right things. Doug did great staying strong for me and getting me through it. They also put a cathader in me since I could no longer feel the need to pee. Thankfully that was done AFTER the meds kicked in. :)
The lady next door had her third child naturally so we got to hear that. She was over and done with before we knew it. I was jealous of her quickness but not of the pain she went through. People are crazy! Take the drugs! Not worth putting your body through that amount of pain!
Around 6 am Sunday I got an internal baby heart rate monitor and contraction monitor. Since I was numb it was no big deal. The epidural meds made me itch like crazy so I was thrilled to get the monitor straps off my itchy belly. At this point we were still trying methods to go naturally versus c section. However, c section was starting to look like the final option.
I started feeling pain again on my right side around my pelvic area around 8 am. I flipped over and pushed the epidural button. Thanfully the meds disbursed to the right spots and i began to feel a lot better.
I was dilated to 8 cm by 10 am and Mason was dropping. They were pleasantly surprised at how far I had come. It was all happening so quickly now. I started pushing around noon and went for two hours. After that I was exhausted and he wasn't coming. I asked what my options were to help get him out and the offered the vacuum. It came with its risks but it was the best option for the point we were at. Once the decision was made the atmosphere in the room changed. It went from Doug holding one leg, nurse holding the other, and doc in the middle to a room of people. I think there were like 10 before it was all said and done. All little worker bees with a specific job to do and on a very tight time schedule.
Even with that help it was still a painful, long process (like 10 minutes). He was just to big for me. The epidural clicker was not working for some reason so i felt a good bit of pain and discomfort. I even had Doug trying to get it working and we got nothing to come out. I ripped quite a bit but he eventually came out. It was another process that tramatized me for life. I remember screaming, "Please Mason! Come out!" There were lots of tears shed. Doug did amazing up until this point. My pain and the sight of what was happening was almost too much for him. Thankfully he hung in there next to me and got me through it.
Mason took his first breath a little early so he got a lot of fluid in his lungs and airways. His color was good and he was crying but they couldn't get him to stop gurgling. After suctioning and patting him they couldn't get anymore out. So they took him to the nicu for monitoring. Thankfully I was able to hold him for a bit before they did.
Shortly after they took him I was taken to my post pardum room. Doug went and got Red Hot and Blue BBQ for dinner and Ryan and Shannon came by to see us. I was tired but still had pain meds flowing through my body. I probably over did it a bit because I could not feel the stress my body just went through. We took a trip up to NICU to see Mason and get an update on his status. All the docs were surprised how well I was doing.
The docs confirmed Mason had fluid in lungs and small patch of air outside one lung. Docs saw nothing alarming just wanted to keep an eye on his breathing since it was so much faster than normal due to fluid. It reminded me of the zombies in I Am Legend when Will Smith's character gave them the possible cures. Their chest would pound rapidly before they stopped breathing. Unfortunately the only treatment is for him to cough it up. His nurse was a UAB graduate so we know we left him in good hands!
Mason got out of NICU around midnight and they brought him to our room. We had lots of visitors overnight so we were still sleep deprived. His breathing was much better. That morning he passed the hearing test. The Pediatrician came by and did Mason's first checkup. He was pleased with his health but told the nurses to call him if his breathing started getting fast again. I was very happy the doctor I preferred to be his primary doctor was on rounds and he was the first to see him. The doctor is from Wisconsin so we figured he was the one to go with.
What we learned about Mason so far:
Loves to be swaddled.
Doesn't cry until you unswaddle
Doesn't cry when he has a messy diaper
Sleeps fairly well.
Not a big crier. More of a sound maker due to fluid in the lungs.
He would much rather sleep than eat.
Loves to eat a little and spit up a lot. He soaked his 2 swaddle blankets, shirt, hat, and bed sheets! Nurses suggested holding him upright for 20 mins after eating to help keep the formula down. They figured it was due to the fluid in his lungs.
Doug got me a box of chocolates as my treat for getting Mason back. It was wrapped in a beautiful Mom packaging.
Hospital food wasn't bad. I had:
Pancakes and bacon
Turkey sandwich and salad
Pizza and salad, chocolate ice cream for dessert
We had more visitors throughout the day on Monday. We literally had someone come in every other hour. I barely got to take a shower. Which was amazing but wore me out. The lactation specialist came to see me and I got the run down on what to do.
NICU came back and got Mason around 6. The nurse didn't like his breathing so they called the Pediatrician who suggested getting another look at his lungs. X-ray showed the air pocket was a bit bigger and causing the lung to collapse. That was causing the heavy breathing. They put him in a 100% oxygen bed and on some antibiotics. This should help the lung absorb the pocket if air. The docs planned to do another x-ray in 12 hours but they wanted to keep him for at least 48 to get a good dose of antibiotics in him.
There were really bad storms all night. After our nicu visit Doug took me to get a yummy Starbucks smoothie to help cheer me up. It helped some but I was still quite sad. I requested a cocktail of pain meds and sleeping pill to help give me a good nights sleep. It did the trick. I probably wouldn't have slept a wink if it wasn't for that.
I woke up on Tuesday, had breakfast, then started packing. We made it to the NICU by 10 for rounds. The X-ray showed the air pocket was smaller and his respiratory rate was lower. Still not sure how long he had to stay but he was looking much better. They were concerned about him being jaundice since his first night in the NICU but now they were pretty sure he was going to need some light treatment. They had not scheduled anything yet, focusing on his oxygen levels first.
It was very hard leaving the hospital without him. A car parked next to us out front had their baby. It made me cry seeing mom in the backseat next to baby when I was getting in the front. Auburn was super excited to see me. I just sat on the curb and let her give me thousands of kisses. She went nuts! It was so great seeing her. I missed her so so much! She responded very well to the smell of Mason (brought home blankets and clothes he had worn). She acted excited when she smelled it and never once acted like it was a toy to rip up or bite.
We got some lunch and unpacked a few things. I got upset again about being home without him. I went and laid down to try and rest. Auburn and Doug came up and napped with me. NICU called shortly after we dozed off and said they were letting Mason eat. So we got ready and went to the hospital for his 6 pm feeding. They let him out from the oxygen for 10 minutes so we were able to hold him while we fed him. It was hard driving back home without him
I can't get the picture of him almost smiling, looking up at me with those beautiful baby boy eyes.. I know it's for the best but still breaks my heart every time.
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