So we left off being on bed rest for the weekend. Well it was now Monday when we went to see my OB (thank goodness) that's what I thought anyways. The relief I was wanting to have was not really happening. Immediately Dr. Sloan told me that my blood pressure had sky rocketed, and that she was now thinking I had preeclampsia. She said nothing had changed in the belly, so it still had not grown in almost a week. It was then that she proceeded to tell me that I needed to be admitted back to the hospital, but not for delivery only for 24 hour observation AGAIN. I couldn't believe it I started to think that I wished I would have just stayed home. I did not want to go back to Labor and Delivery unless I was delivering a baby. Let me just say how stressful it is when you are being told a million things, in which none of them sound good mind you. Long story short I had landed back in the hospital only with the intent of 24 hour observation. They ran blood tests, and urine tests etc... Well good and bad news the good news results came back great, bad news is that there was no objective to keep me now until delivery time. Thankfully the following morning (Tuesday) Dr. Sloan had come to make her rounds again. Chris and I were so distraught that morning knowing we had to go home with no monitoring of Devin's heart and mine. The only thing keeping me sane at that point was hearing my baby's heartbeat constantly, so that I knew he was okay. Dr. Sloan let us know then that she had a doctor from maternal fetal medicine coming to do an ultrasound. She said that with his diagnosis of preeclampsia and low amniotic fluid (which I had) that it would be cause to keep me and we would plan a C-Section that Friday morning. Well finally we had some idea what was going on and there was a plan, not a plan I was looking forward to but it was better than being left in the dark most of the time.
Hospital Day 3
It was now Wednesday morning and I was going stir crazy knowing that in two days I was going to deliver a baby. What got me all upset though was that I knew he would be tiny, and that he wouldn't be coming home with me. I will say it was a bitter sweet moment for Chris and I both. I can say that things otherwise were running smoothly, I distinctly remember my breakfast that morning :) It was french toast, raisin bran cereal, orange juice, and a fruit cup. Not to bad for hospital food if I do say so myself. Breakfast was usually served around 8:00am every morning, sadly enough I had been to the hospital so much at this point that I had a schedule. Well needless to say after my belly was full and I was getting ready to dose off, in came Dr. Sloan. I knew at that moment something wasn't right, because there was no reason for her to make rounds to me, at least I didn't think so. Well I was wrong again, and of course another surprise was thrown my way. Apparently in the night while I was sleeping Devin's heart rate had dropped 3 times, this was not good she had stressed. Although she made clear that his heart rate was doing just fine today, but she didn't like what she saw. I mean really could anything get any worse at this moment, Chris had already left the hospital that morning for work. So my mom and my friend Jilliane happened to be in the room when the big news was given to me. She thought since the heart rate dropping could be a sign of a sick baby her exact words were, "So how about a C-Section like todayish"? My jaw drop straight to the ground I know it did. Well she made it clear that you can't have eaten for 6 hours so we would schedule it for 2 in the afternoon. Well that once yummy breakfast was now sitting in my throat, I truly felt sick and then came those tears again. Instantly everything turned into chaos, my mom was on the phone for an hour straight informing everyone. I just remember feeling really faint and almost beside myself, like I couldn't believe what was happening. I watched the clock tick for at least 4 hours straight, that's all I could do it was awful. This is what all lead up to that very special moment of delivery.
The Delivery ( C-Section) 3:45p March 25Th 2009
Well at this point I was ready to just do this, I was so scared that it didn't matter anymore. The quick run down is that I had never even had an IV before. I also had never even had to be admitted to a hospital for anything or, stay for a long period of time. Well of course I was given quite the experience on everything for the first time. I just thought for a brief moment that I would go over what the C-Section was like. First of all the spinal block was alot less scary than I thought. It was the numbing shot that was given before the actual spinal block. It was amazing I went numb within 20 seconds. After I was laid on the on the bed the blue curtain went up, and I knew the surgery was beginning. They did what they call the needle test, they poked me starting with my arm. They then proceeded to do the test from my arm to my shoulder, and then down to my stomach until I couldn't feel it anymore. Dr. Sloan then old me that she was pinching very hard, and asked if I could feel it? I answered "no", she said "Oh good, because if you knew how hard I was pinching you would be mad at me, then laughed". I think she was trying to break the ice for me, because she knew how scared I was for this whole process. I had cried in the room earlier to her when she broke the news to me. Almost at every prenatal appointment I would tell her how I had never had anything done and how terrified I was. She would always say back "Well then this will be quite the event for you", then we would laugh about it. Little did I know it really would turn out to be quite the event for us. Back to delivery, they had started cutting apparently I couldn't feel any pain. I could feel touch though, also pushing, tugging, pressure. I was actually starting to get nauseated, so I asked a nurse to give me anti-nausea medicine. Just then I heard the Doctors say to Chris and I "Are you two ready to have a baby"? We just held each others hand and said "Yes were ready, let's do this". Just then I felt the most incredible pressure, I have never felt anything like it in my life. I clenched Chris's hand and closed my eyes, just then I heard the sound every mommy wants to hear at delivery. For being a preemie my little Devin let out the loudest strongest cry, who says early babies don't have strong lungs :) because mine sure did. It was then that they brought him around the curtain fresh out of the belly and whaling. Chris and I just cried we were so excited. At that moment the NICU, or nothing else for that matter crossed our minds. It was then that our beautiful Devin James Duncan had arrived, we had waited so long to meet him and he was finally here. This now leads us to the most grueling 28 days of my life the NICU stay and our stories, please read on.
Hospital Day 3
It was now Wednesday morning and I was going stir crazy knowing that in two days I was going to deliver a baby. What got me all upset though was that I knew he would be tiny, and that he wouldn't be coming home with me. I will say it was a bitter sweet moment for Chris and I both. I can say that things otherwise were running smoothly, I distinctly remember my breakfast that morning :) It was french toast, raisin bran cereal, orange juice, and a fruit cup. Not to bad for hospital food if I do say so myself. Breakfast was usually served around 8:00am every morning, sadly enough I had been to the hospital so much at this point that I had a schedule. Well needless to say after my belly was full and I was getting ready to dose off, in came Dr. Sloan. I knew at that moment something wasn't right, because there was no reason for her to make rounds to me, at least I didn't think so. Well I was wrong again, and of course another surprise was thrown my way. Apparently in the night while I was sleeping Devin's heart rate had dropped 3 times, this was not good she had stressed. Although she made clear that his heart rate was doing just fine today, but she didn't like what she saw. I mean really could anything get any worse at this moment, Chris had already left the hospital that morning for work. So my mom and my friend Jilliane happened to be in the room when the big news was given to me. She thought since the heart rate dropping could be a sign of a sick baby her exact words were, "So how about a C-Section like todayish"? My jaw drop straight to the ground I know it did. Well she made it clear that you can't have eaten for 6 hours so we would schedule it for 2 in the afternoon. Well that once yummy breakfast was now sitting in my throat, I truly felt sick and then came those tears again. Instantly everything turned into chaos, my mom was on the phone for an hour straight informing everyone. I just remember feeling really faint and almost beside myself, like I couldn't believe what was happening. I watched the clock tick for at least 4 hours straight, that's all I could do it was awful. This is what all lead up to that very special moment of delivery.
The Delivery ( C-Section) 3:45p March 25Th 2009
Well at this point I was ready to just do this, I was so scared that it didn't matter anymore. The quick run down is that I had never even had an IV before. I also had never even had to be admitted to a hospital for anything or, stay for a long period of time. Well of course I was given quite the experience on everything for the first time. I just thought for a brief moment that I would go over what the C-Section was like. First of all the spinal block was alot less scary than I thought. It was the numbing shot that was given before the actual spinal block. It was amazing I went numb within 20 seconds. After I was laid on the on the bed the blue curtain went up, and I knew the surgery was beginning. They did what they call the needle test, they poked me starting with my arm. They then proceeded to do the test from my arm to my shoulder, and then down to my stomach until I couldn't feel it anymore. Dr. Sloan then old me that she was pinching very hard, and asked if I could feel it? I answered "no", she said "Oh good, because if you knew how hard I was pinching you would be mad at me, then laughed". I think she was trying to break the ice for me, because she knew how scared I was for this whole process. I had cried in the room earlier to her when she broke the news to me. Almost at every prenatal appointment I would tell her how I had never had anything done and how terrified I was. She would always say back "Well then this will be quite the event for you", then we would laugh about it. Little did I know it really would turn out to be quite the event for us. Back to delivery, they had started cutting apparently I couldn't feel any pain. I could feel touch though, also pushing, tugging, pressure. I was actually starting to get nauseated, so I asked a nurse to give me anti-nausea medicine. Just then I heard the Doctors say to Chris and I "Are you two ready to have a baby"? We just held each others hand and said "Yes were ready, let's do this". Just then I felt the most incredible pressure, I have never felt anything like it in my life. I clenched Chris's hand and closed my eyes, just then I heard the sound every mommy wants to hear at delivery. For being a preemie my little Devin let out the loudest strongest cry, who says early babies don't have strong lungs :) because mine sure did. It was then that they brought him around the curtain fresh out of the belly and whaling. Chris and I just cried we were so excited. At that moment the NICU, or nothing else for that matter crossed our minds. It was then that our beautiful Devin James Duncan had arrived, we had waited so long to meet him and he was finally here. This now leads us to the most grueling 28 days of my life the NICU stay and our stories, please read on.
