My last pregnant picture!!! Around 11pm Jan. 31st, approximately 14 hrs before delivery.
I gave birth to Creedence Francis on Friday February 1st at 1:12pm after DAYS of labor. He weighed 2lbs 14.8oz and is 14 1/2 inches long.
I was on hospitalized bed rest for 4 weeks due to PROM(premature rupture of membranes), with a short break inbetween where they let me go home because I had stopped leaking fluid, but I started again.
I don't even know my exact birth story, because the few days before he was born are pretty blurry to me. All I know is it was 3 nights, and after the first night the contractions completely stopped during the day, started again the next night, got realllllyyyy bad, I got the epidural because I had just been in too much pain for too long but they wouldnt give me anything until I was actually dilating. I got to 4cm before the magnesium they gave me to stop bleeding in his brain stopped my contractions. Once they took me off it, the following night they started up again. I was up allll night in pain, but I wasn't changing so they wouldn't do anything about it(pain med wise). They went from being 1 minute apart, to 15 minutes apart, to 3 minutes apart, to 10 minutes apart, alllll night long. By the time Friday morning came they were about 10-15 minutes apart, and I wasn't dilated any more at all. I told DH to go to work because he had already taken off half of Wednesday and all of Thursday, and I was feeling kind of hopeless. As soon as he left they started to get worse and worse which I didn't even think was possible, and I started texting DH telling him how much pain I was in and how I wished he was there. I didn't expect him to leave work, but luckily he decided to and he surprised me around noon telling me he was on his way! While he was driving there(he was about 25 minutes away) the contractions got even MORE painful. They decided to start the epidural again, and it DIDN'T WORK. I started texting him begging him to hurry and asking him where he was inbetween every single one. My loud moans turned to complete bloody screams, and the nurses decided it was serious. They paged the doctor to come check me, and DH showed up just in time for her to tell me I was 10 cm and to start pushing!!!! I have a text in my phone to my aunt(who is a maternity nurse at that hospital and was supposed to come in when I was in labor) at 1pm saying "I'm 10cm. They want me to start pushing". I had him at 1:12pm!! He was sunny side up and came out cheek first, so one side of his face got very bruised and swollen and the doctors had their freaking hands inside me the whole time I was pushing, digging around trying to help him out the right way.
They had a whole NICU team in the room, so they showed him to me, handed him off, and the NICU team worked on him while I tried to deliver the placenta. The damn thing wouldn't detach so they told me to just sit for a little while and hopefully it would.
Here is a picture of him still in my room while the NICU team was working on him
Before they wheeled him up to NICU, they let me hold him!!!!
One of the doctors stood there pumping his little breathing tube by hand while I held him and kissed him. It was amazing because they told me I wouldn't get to hold him, probably for a few days. I also got to do kangaroo care later that same day!!!
Anyway, after a few hours and a lot of painful ushing on my belly and tugging on the umbilical chord, they decided it wasn't detaching and they needed to put me to sleep to manually take it out(since the epidural wasn't working that was the only other option). I got reaallllyyyy nervous because I've never been put to sleep before and I didn't want that. I finally agreed because it was the only option, but while they were wheeling me into the OR I changed my mind again. I asked the doctor to just try ONE more time.
Well, she surprised the hell out of me by just shoving her whole freaking arm into me and doing what they were going to do while I was asleep. I was screaming bloody murder, but it was more discomfort than actual pain and I just wanted it all to be over with so I could go see Creedence. It took about a half hour of her repeatedly sticking her hand/ arm inside me and pulling out pieces, while another doctor used an ultrasound to find them. They finally decided to use a hose, like a d&c, to suck any remaining little pieces out. That was the LEAST painful part.
Anddd I have to get off the computer now but since he's been born he's graduated from a breathing tube down his throat, to the 2 little nubs going into his nose. He's also getting taken off antibiotics today(it's a precaution because my water was broken for so long) and he has gone from strictly being fed through an IV, to 3ml of colostrum, to now 9ml of colostrum!!! They go up 1ml every 6 hours, and once he gets to 28 he will be completely off iv food and only on breastmilk. He also had jaundice, which they just turned off the lights this morning but said he might have to go back under. He is VERY happy to not have to wear a mask anymore lol
Overall he's doing great! Here are some more pictures, they may not be in EXACT order.
First pumping session I got a TON!!
Cute little feet
Remember the blanket I crocheted for him during my hospital stay? He has it in there with him
20447 posts
14124 posts
56428 posts
6937 posts
13367 posts
992 posts
3132 posts
9388 posts
12266 posts
39104 posts
17628 posts
56241 posts