Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bumper's Birthstory

Monday December 6th 2010: It is late afternoon, around three pm, I feel a rush of wetness just as I am getting ready to go to the bathroom. I look down and see a pinkish fluid has stained my underwear.
 "Sweetpea, I am going into labor."  I call out to my husband who has come home early from work to help me with the unpacking.
"Ok, I'll start the car," he replies grabbing the hospital overnight bag.

On the way to the hospital he coaches me on my breathing and keeps me calm. We arrive at the hospital, check in, and find out how much my cervix has dilated.  Several  long and painful hours later, the nurses hand, me a wriggling,, screaming, little blessing of  a  baby girl. My husband smiles at me and says "Congratulations Mama!"
At least that is what I wanted it to be like.

Here is what really happened:


Saturday December 4th, I noticed my discharge had turned the bright red of menstrual blood. Alarmed, I called the after hours number for my ob/gyn. I spoke with the doctor on call. She asked me a few questions, and I let her know I had been lifting boxes and climbing up and down the stairs of our new house.  I should mention we had closed on the house and moved in only three days prior. She assured me that I had probably just torn something by moving around and trying to do too much, and to call back if I soaked a pad in less than an hour.  I didn't, so figured she was right and I took the next day off to rest. Everything seemed like it was getting better, but on Monday afternoon I started bleeding again. Not really wanting to, but knowing it was probably for the best I called the doctor's office again.

This time my doctor told me to go to the hospital, so she could check whether or not I was leaking amniotic fluid.  Feeling foolish, I called my husband to let him know what was happening. He offered to drive me, but I thought I would be in and out in an hour, so I told him to meet me there, grabbed my purse and left.

Sure enough once I got to the hospital there was no sign of the bleeding.  Just to be safe my doctor ordered an ultra sound to make sure nothing was torn. Once again the results came back negative.The baby hadn't dropped and my cervix wasn't dilated. Feeling even more foolish I apologized to my husband for making him take off from work early. I got up to  use the bathroom and promptly began leaking onto the floor. I turned to my husband in irritation, "This is what I was talking about," I told him. My quick witted hubby called  for the nurse .  She tested what had fallen on the floor, and sure enough it was amniotic fluid.

She told me to put my gown back on and get into bed.  I must have been a bit confused because I asked "Can I go home now?".  Through the bathroom door I heard my husband and the nurse call out "No!".
 The nurse looked me in the eye and said "You are not leaving this hospital without a baby."

I was stunned. My due date wasn't until the 23rd. I was not prepared. I had nothing. No overnight bag, no change of clothes, no camera, not even a toothbrush.  The nursery was just an empty room with a crib box in it.

My doctor came in and talked with us about having a C-section. I could feel my heart breaking. I had so wanted natural childbirth., but because I wasn't dilated and the baby hadn't dropped my doctor was concerned about the baby's health and safety.  My husband and I talked about it, and prayed, and in the end went with the doctor's recomendation of a C-section. So at 9:24pm 12-6-2010 our little bumper came into the world, and when my husband placed her in my arms, all I could do was thank God for sending us the blessing of a healthy baby girl. It was not the birth experiece I imagined, it was what God had wanted for me. Later my doctor told me there had been a rupture in the amniotic sac, and  my baby  would not have survived a prolonged induced labor. God knows best and I have no complaints.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Priorities

Last night I did something every parent hopes they will never do: I dropped my five week old infant onto the floor.  I had her in my arms and was going to carry  her back to her room. In the town house where we live, the living room is a step down from the dining area and everything is hardwood. I tripped up the step, and she fell out of my arms, and SMACK onto the floor. I was devastated. I felt like the worst parent in the the world. Right away I called her pediatrician, and they told me to take her to the ER.  So int the freezing rain and sleet I drove our little bumper to the hospital. They gave her a head scan and Praise God she was not seriously hurt.

All of this taught me a lesson: I need to slow down, do one thing at a time and TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!
I dropped her because I was sleep deprived, and not carefully watcing where I was going. I can not take care of her if I do not take care of mysel.f  My life is unmanagable and the only way to help that is to pray and take one day at a time