On Tuesday, May 21, I went to the doctor for a normal pre-natal appointment. It was my 37 week appointment, and I was 37 weeks 3 days along in my pregnancy. During the appointment my blood pressure was pretty high, 140/92, and there was protein in my urine. These factors, along with my insane swelling, were indicators that I had pre-eclampsia. My doctor sent me across the street to the hospital to be observed in Labor and Delivery. I called Matt, and told him what was going on, of course, he heard the words "labor and delivery" and tuned everything else out, thinking it was "go time."
I got into Labor and Delivery and they made me give another urine sample, and then hooked me up to some machines. They were monitoring my blood pressure every 10 minutes and they were monitoring the baby's heartbeat and any contractions that I may have been having. Matt got to the hospital in record time, after leaving impromptu sub plans for the next day. After a couple hours, and yet ANOTHER urine sample and a blood sample, it was determined that I did in fact have pre-eclampsia and it was decided I would be induced the next morning at 4 am.
It was a sleepless night, since I was a little scared about being induced. This was not the birth I had planned for or expected. I wanted to go into labor on my own, labor at home for as long as possible and show up at the hospital and labor in a tub. Instead I was woken up at 4 and allowed to take a shower, and then hooked up to pitocin and had my labor started that way.
I was determined to have this baby without pain meds. I figured if I couldn't control anything else, then I could at least have the natural birth I wanted. At noon the doctor came in and broke my water. The contractions that didn't seem that bad, painful, but manageable, intesified, and within the hour, about 8 hours into my labor, I decided I wanted the epidural. I got the epidural around 1 in the afternoon, and then I promptly fell asleep. I woke up and enjoyed Jeopardy, but I was getting really tired of being in labor.
Finally around 8 pm, it was time to start pushing. Matt, the amazing husband that he is, stood and held my left leg and helped encourage me. After such a long labor, and seeing scary numbers on the blood pressure monitor all day (at some point the bottom number was over 100), I was exhausted. Finally at 9:03 pm, I pushed Arthur into the world. For being almost 3 weeks early, he was a hefty 9lbs 4oz. And since he was so early, the NICU people were in the room, and he was immediately swept away from me as soon as he was out. Matt couldn't even cut the cord until later he symbolically cut the cord.
I was a mess after the delivery. I had a 4th degree tear, and as they stitched me up, they gave me morphine and told me for the next kid, if it's as big as Arthur, it would be an automatic c-section. By the time I was able to hold Arthur for the first time, I was so weak, I only held him for a second. The rest of the night is kinda blurry, and I know I pretty much passed out and slept until about 3 am. During the time I was sleeping, however, the lactation consultant helped Arthur nurse for the first time, and he nursed for about an hour while I slept. And I was able to get the skin-to-skin bonding I so wanted, I was just asleep for it.
The next day I was on strict bed rest, because of my blood pressure and the fact they had me on magnesium all day for it. We stayed in the hospital until late Friday night, and we were finally able to come home.
Right now, I have no desire to have any more kids, but I'm hoping that that feeling will go away, because I would love for Arthur to have a sibling some day. Matt and I are very thankful for modern medicine right now, because as Matt has pointed out, if I had this baby 100 years ago, there could have been a completely different outcome. My blood pressure was not pretty.
I'm doing better now, my blood pressure is back to normal, and all my swelling is gone. Arthur is an amazing baby, and I love spending all my time with him.
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