Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A Mighty Shift

So one time I was pregnant. 

I so cleverly snuck that information into a recent post. 
You know. 
'Cause I'm awesome like that.

I decided I was going to wait until I had a good ultrasound picture to announce that I was, in fact, pregnant with another beautiful baby girl. 

Somehow I managed to walk away with only one picture from our 20 week ultrasound--an arm.

Yeah. I didn't really grasp the significance of the arm bone either. Thanks, doc. 

But before I get ahead of myself... let's flash back to week 16 of the pregnancy.

I had some light spotting, but was told that it wasn't too unusual. We decided to just wait and see if it went away on its own. Which it did.

Mostly.

A couple weeks later, though, the bleeding really started to pick up, which prompted our doctor to move up our 20-week ultrasound a day.

It looked like I had a partial placenta previa--something that could potentially resolve on its own, or cause mild bleeding for the rest of the pregnancy. Great. Just when I thought I'd so cleverly managed to take a break from my monthly gift. :)

But the bleeding didn't stop. It got worse. In a pretty hardcore way.

I had another ultrasound because of it. I got great pictures of the baby at this one. :) The problem wasn't placenta previa. It was a subchorionic hemorrhage. The baby was great though. Good heartbeat. Good growth.
Long story short, I was told that as long as I could feel the baby move, things were fine for now. We would just need to keep monitoring the situation, since it could really turn ugly at any time.

Thursday May 5th was a pretty good day. I made Kirby chicken cordon bleu for dinner--DELISH. With cheesy potatoes. Heaven. 

At about 1AM on the 6th I woke up with extreme pain in my lower abdomen that wouldn't release. I hobbled into the bathroom to run a hot bath. It sort of helped. Enough so that the contraction released a little. But it didn't take long for regular contractions to start coming every 2 minutes. I waited for about 45 minutes, timing the contractions in the front room, hoping they would go away.

They didn't.

So I woke Kirby up and he got Emily up and we headed to the hospital.

They tried giving me a couple shots of something to slow/stop the contractions, but that didn't work. So I was admitted to labor and delivery and put on magnesium. 

Nasty stuff. 

But it stopped the contractions. I was on the Mag for 48 hours--long enough for the two steroid shots to take effect in case the baby came early. The steroids help get the baby's lungs ready for breathing in case of a premature birth. 

I also got 4 blood transfusions since my hematacrit was 22. 
I had a hematacrit of 42 in February. 
Turns out going into labor may have saved my life.

My Mother's Day present was getting weaned off the Magensium, and learning that my mom was going to fly out that night so that when (hopefully) I was sent home I could be on legitimate bed rest.

Just when I was feeling fabulous (getting weaned off magnesium will do that for you), I had a relapse. They put me back on the magnesium again, but the dosage I was at before wasn't helping. They bumped up the dosage, and the contractions came less often and were less intense. 

After another ultrasound on Monday, the neonatal specialists felt like it would be the best course of action to move me to a hospital where they were better equipped for earlier babies, and then wean me off the magnesium again and let nature take its course. 

I got to ride in an ambulance, guys. Not speeding with the sirens, but in an ambulance no less.
It's a good thing they had medicine to keep me from getting motion-sick!

Monday night was awful. I felt a little bit better on Tuesday as the magnesium was pulled back. I was finally allowed to eat fluids, so Kirby got me a Jamba juice. A little later I was allowed eat real food, so before the doctors changed their minds Kirby ran to Applebees and got me some chicken wings. Shortly after I downed the wings the contractions started to pick up, and we knew we were on our way. 

I got all epidural-ized, and before long I was moved to the operating room. Unfortunately, the baby's heartbeat was dipping during the contractions, so it was deemed safer to do a C-section.

So Wednesday, May 11th at 2:48am our dear sweet Sydney Lee Davison was brought into this world weighting 2 lbs, 2 oz and measuring 14 inches long. 


She's doing amazingly well. She's on the C-Pap machine, but hasn't needed supplemental oxygen.  

Now it's just a waiting game.
What is estimated to be about a 10-week waiting game. 

I will hopefully be able to hold her tomorrow, and I can't wait.

I'm doing well, too. By tomorrow morning I will be tube-free and hopefully semi-mobile.
It turns out that there are way too many every-day movements that require the use of abdominal muscles.

21 comments:

Kristin Hanson said...

Wow. What an amazing story, one that makes you sit and reflect on the miracles performed through modern medicine and our Father in Heaven. Our prayers are with you and little Sydney. She's named well - my Grandmother's name is Sydney Anne and her 4'11" & 3/4" frame is packed full of fight and more perseverance than giants have.

Adriane said...

SQUEEEEEE! I was just thinking about texting you for an update, but then I was worried that you wouldn't still be awake, etc. etc. You are in the hospital you know...

I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO excited to see a picture of Sydney. So excited! And I'm really really glad that you went into labor so they could save your life!!!

I love you!

Kristin Hanson said...

ps not that I would go as far as to assume that you would have named her after my Grandmother, I'm just saying it's a good name for a strong little girl :)

Rachel // Maybe Matilda said...

Oh my goodness, Sydney is just too precious! We'll be praying for you both, and I hope you get to hold your little honey tomorrow :-) Congratulations on a beautiful little girl!

Erin_C said...

what a beautiful tiny little miracle! what an experience, though. i'm sorry you had to go through all of that. i'm glad she is doing well and we are thinking of and praying for you guys!

Jewelyn said...

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad everything is going well! She is soo tiny! It will be so neat to see her grow and change! We're thinking of you guys! (P.S. Cody's sister-in-law had her oldest at 27 weeks and she is a beautiful, healthy, and energetic five-year-old now.)

Rob & Kristi Nelson said...

Ok your story made me cry! I hope you and your baby are doing well soon. I agree magnesium is a living nightmare. I only hade one small dose I can't image what your poor body felt like after that. I am glad you are both alive and well.

Amanda S. said...

Good luck with everything and I hope they go smoothly! Sounds like the way things have gone so far has been truly miraculous.

Bobby and Melissa said...

Your attitude amazes me, you are an amazing woman! I am SO glad that YOU are okay and that Sydney is doing well. It's amazing the way the Lord works. She's so sweet and tiny! We'll keep praying for you and Sydney :) Love ya!!!

Mrs. S said...

What a beautiful little girl! Our prayers are with you and your little family.

Melanie said...

You are amazing and she is a beautiful little girl. Here's praying the next 10 weeks go by quickly!

Meli said...

Lauren, you are brave and so positive! your little baby is an angel.

Lisa said...

Oh my goodness, I am so out of the loop--didn't even know you were pregnant. I don't even know what to say. You are amazing! Congratulations on your beautiful baby! I'm so glad you're both doing so well considering. I'll be keeping you all in our prayers. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

The Ranson Family said...

Lauren, you are amazing. Syndey is a strong little girl...what a blessing she is doing well.

Mari said...

What a crazy story! I am praying everyday that things continue to be good and get better and better. She is beautiful!

April said...

oh wow! what a beautiful miracle! I'm so glad she is doing so well! :) I'm glad you are doing well! You are both amazing! :) Keep going strong!

Amy Jane said...

ohmygooodnesswhatacrazyordeal. one word. I'm glad to see you're both doing okay :) Thinking of you guys! :)

meagan said...

I am continually in awe of the marvels of modern medicine. I am so glad that you are doing okay and am praying for your sweet little family. Sydney looks adorable with all her little wrinkles. (:

And if it eases the pain at all, I can tell you about that one time my mom had a C-section with only nitrous oxide... it's obviously a pretty epic story (:

Unknown said...

I love her name. She is beautiful. I know a 9 yr. old perfectly healthy boy that was born as early, and I always think about what a walking miracle he is. I hope that you feel a lot of peace and love during this time.

Annegirl said...

Lauren! My heart goes out to you! I am glad she got here safely! We will be praying for you guys! While every baby is a miracle, premies are EXTRA so! She is precious. Hang in there!!!

beapinkal said...

Oh Lauren, i didn't even know you were pregnant. I wish you all the best and will keep you and your family in my prayers.
love BEA

 

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