Our Greatest Blessing
Here is the story on how our greatest blessing entered the world...
At my 38-week appointment on Wednesday, September 4, it was determined that my blood pressure had slowly been creeping up for several weeks. At this point, it was 146/82. I had the last clinic appointment of the day and was sent over to the hospital for a non-stress test. Everything looked good, and we walked out with an induction date. Leading up to that day I was strangely calm. I keep telling myself it's because I'm such a planner and it was nice to have an end date in sight. It made preparing things at school easier as well.
We made our way to OAHS on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:30 PM for a scheduled induction. At 8 PM, the first round of cytotec was administered. At that time, my blood pressure was still high at 145/95. Between 8 and midnight, the nurse was in every 30 minutes to read the monitor. I was told, "Try to get some sleep. You'll need it tomorrow." Yeah right...how could I sleep?! Gary had no problem sleeping on the couch, but I was awake most of the night. Probably because I was hooked up to the monitors and couldn't really move a whole lot without them going off. At midnight, a second round of cytotec was given. By 1 AM, contractions had picked up quite a bit, and I was unable to get any sort of rest. We walked the halls, tried a bath, sat on a birthing ball, all with no relief. An IV dose of fentanyl was also given early in the morning. This made me extremely dizzy, nauseous and caused my blood pressure drop pretty low. Throughout the night, the doctor was called a couple of times to verify everything was on track. He was "off" that night and the next day, so he was on call for baby watch.
At 8 AM, contractions were 2.5-3 minutes apart, lasting about 50 seconds, and I was dilated to a 3. By this point, I had requested an epidural (not in my "plan" at all!). My nurse had told me earlier in the evening that typically they do not give epidurals until you are dilated to a 5. I thought that time would never come! 12 hours after I had arrived, and I was only at a 3. I thought we were going to be there forever. However, the doctor said I could get the epidural now. Praise the Lord! Shortly after that, anesthesia came in to place the epidural. It was instant relief. Well, after the pain of actually getting the epidural wore off. I was finally able to sleep for a little while. I also had a piece of toast for breakfast. However, shortly after, nurses kept coming in and reading the monitor. By 9:30 AM, babies heart rate was around 140 and was considered a "Category 2". This meant that it needed to be monitored closely because her heart rate was dropping at various points during contractions, but it was coming right back up. At this point, contractions were still 2.5-3 minutes apart, lasting about one minute, and I was dilated to a 4. The doctor tried to break my water but was not confident that he had done so.
By 11:30 AM, the doctor and several nurses were in to monitor contractions. The doctor again tried to break my water without any luck. Now babies heart rate was dropping and not coming back up after each contraction. A fetal scalp electrode was placed on babies head to monitor her heart rate with more detail. At this time, we discussed that if babies heart rate did not improve, that we would have to have an emergency c-section. They had me try laying on my back and each of my sides to see if one position would be better than another. Because of the epidural, I could not move and needed the help of 3-4 people to move to each position. Talk about a difficult maneuver!
All of the nurses and doctor in the room remained calm during this time. I knew something was up because so many people were in the room. For the most part, they were watching the monitor and discussing amongst themselves. I heard someone say, "We need to go prep the OR". One of the nurses then came over and explained what was happening in "layman's" terms. Basically the babies heart rate was dropping with each contraction and not coming back up like it had been. At 11:50 AM, it was determined we needed to move forward with a c-section immediately.
Gary was given scrubs and I was prepped for surgery. It was a very fast process, and looking back now, I definitely see how much of an emergency situation it was. I was taken back to the OR by 12:05 PM, and Gary was brought in a few minutes later. The whole procedure went so fast and was almost a blur. The anesthesiologist stayed by my head and talked to Gary and I throughout the procedure. 4-5 other nurses prepared the area where baby would be taken when she was born. One thing I vividly remember was a light above me and a TV monitor off to the side. I remember saying to Gary, "I can't look up. I can see everything they're doing in the reflection." Probably the weirdest sensation was when the anesthesiologist said "You'll feel lots of pressure now. That's Dr. Stacy sitting on you. Not literally, but she is using her body weight to guide baby out." McKenna Rhoda entered the world at 12:36 PM and Gary was able to stand up and watch. She was immediately given to the intensive care nursing staff. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 19.25 inches long.
At 12:42 PM, a CPAP was put on McKenna, and at 12:49 PM she was given oxygen. She had trouble breathing on her own for awhile. Her breathing looked so labored and her stomach moved almost rhythmically. Once she was stabilized, Gary was able to go over and take some pictures. Eventually one of the nurses just took the camera to take photos. I asked Gary why he wasn't taking pictures and he said "There's so much going on over there I can't see anything anyways."
Eventually Gary took McKenna to the recovery room, and I followed shortly after. She latched so well during this time, and I was sure this was going to be the start of a great nursing journey. Boy was I wrong! More on that later...
We later found out there was very little amniotic fluid, thus the difficulty breaking my water. My placenta also ended up being abnormally small. We are so incredibly thankful we moved forward with the c-section, otherwise we could have had a so very different outcome.
The morning following her birth, it was determined that McKenna had low blood sugar levels. This meant her heel had to be pricked to check her sugar levels before and 30 minutes after each time she ate. She hated this so much, and her little heels were black and blue by the time we left. At the time, we didn't know how many times she had been pricked, but after receiving her hospital bill, we saw she ended up with around 38 heel pricks. Oh how she screamed anytime someone touched her little feet! It took a few days after we got home for her to calm down when anyone touched her feet.
The way this was explained to us was...they test for gestational diabetes part way through pregnancy, and I passed no problem. At some point during the second half of my pregnancy, they believe I may have unknowingly developed it and thus, McKenna was accustomed to a higher amount of insulin. Once she was born, her body did not know how to regulate her sugars well enough because she was used to the higher amounts she had been getting from me. So she basically had a sugar crash and had to regulate on her own.
Throughout our stay, we continued trying to nurse. On a couple occasions, she would do really well. But most of the time, she would just scream and scream. We had various nurses and the lactation consultant in our room for hours trying to get McKenna interested. Because we knew she was not getting enough food, we had to give her 3-6 ML of formula through a syringe with each feeding as well.
Our last night there we were told to ring our buzzer when we were ready to send her to the nursery. About 10:30 PM we did so. Long story short, we had a nurse come in twice between 10:30 and midnight (not our nurse) and make some interesting comments...“You’ll never know what it’s like to be a parent unless you keep baby in your room. I make all my patients keep their baby on the last night before going home.” “We’re too busy to have your baby in the nursery. Nothing’s wrong with her, so she can stay in your room until we’re ready. I’m not even scheduled to work tonight, so we all have to make the best of it.” “I know I’m not your nurse, but I’m going to have you keep baby in your room tonight.” “She loved her pacifier in the nursery, so try giving her that.” When we said she wasn’t supposed to have a pacifier she said, “Oh yeah, she never got one.” It truly would not have been that big of a deal if she simply said something like, “You know, we are really busy tonight, and it would be best for now to keep baby in your room.” We later found out that several babies were born that night. Apparently Friday the 13th is crazy in a hospital just like school! Three babies were born on September 11 and a couple more throughout our stay. It was a busy place!
McKenna was not having it at all that night. She would not sleep or eat and cried all night. At 3 AM, I was up walking around the room with her. The sweetest nurse came in and said, "I thought she was going to the nursery?!" I know she had been working all day and was in at night with all the babies being born. She just took McKenna like it was no big deal. I remember her saying, "Mom, you just sleep and give us a buzz when you wake up." When she came back in at 6:30 AM, she said that during that time, McKenna had taken 20 ML of formula from a syringe and would have taken more. Basically we determined that she was literally starving. She was also becoming jaundice and had slightly elevated bilirubin levels. Not enough to do any form of light therapy, but enough that her pupils and skin were yellowish.
By September 12, McKenna has lost 5% of her body weight and weighed 6 lbs 8 oz. The morning of September 13 she had lost 7% and was 6 lbs 5 oz. At discharge on September 14, she was 6 lbs 4 oz. The nurse/lactation consultant came in the morning we were discharged, and we decided that since McKenna was not having a successful time nursing, we would begin pumping as soon as we got home. So, that's where we're still at today. Don't get me wrong, it's so nice to be able to let other people feed her! But again, it wasn't the "plan". For awhile after birth, I felt like a failure, or that I was doing something wrong. It didn't take long for me to realize that a fed baby is all that truly matters, and if pumping is what it was going to take, pumping it is.
Because she had started becoming jaundice, we had to return to the hospital on Sunday, September 15 for a bilirubin check. All was good! We have so many positive things to say about OAHS! From the nurses in the clinic at prenatal appointments, to the people we encountered in the hospital, it was great. Everyone...go have your babies in Ortonville :) They truly care about you as an individual and provide exceptional care in our rural area.
McKenna is 8 weeks old today, Wednesday, November 6 and is all about the smilies lately. We are enjoying all of our new firsts and our new normal. So far she's made the 8+ hour trek to Spearfish (during their first major snow storm of the year), attended a 2-day student council forum in Brainerd, had two hotel stays, been to a funeral and a wedding, attended a baby shower at LqPV, and received tons of love from so many friends and family!
The big takeaway I have learned is that the best plan is to have no plan! Those of you who really know me will know this is so not me. But it's life and we're loving it!
At my 38-week appointment on Wednesday, September 4, it was determined that my blood pressure had slowly been creeping up for several weeks. At this point, it was 146/82. I had the last clinic appointment of the day and was sent over to the hospital for a non-stress test. Everything looked good, and we walked out with an induction date. Leading up to that day I was strangely calm. I keep telling myself it's because I'm such a planner and it was nice to have an end date in sight. It made preparing things at school easier as well.
We made our way to OAHS on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:30 PM for a scheduled induction. At 8 PM, the first round of cytotec was administered. At that time, my blood pressure was still high at 145/95. Between 8 and midnight, the nurse was in every 30 minutes to read the monitor. I was told, "Try to get some sleep. You'll need it tomorrow." Yeah right...how could I sleep?! Gary had no problem sleeping on the couch, but I was awake most of the night. Probably because I was hooked up to the monitors and couldn't really move a whole lot without them going off. At midnight, a second round of cytotec was given. By 1 AM, contractions had picked up quite a bit, and I was unable to get any sort of rest. We walked the halls, tried a bath, sat on a birthing ball, all with no relief. An IV dose of fentanyl was also given early in the morning. This made me extremely dizzy, nauseous and caused my blood pressure drop pretty low. Throughout the night, the doctor was called a couple of times to verify everything was on track. He was "off" that night and the next day, so he was on call for baby watch.
At 8 AM, contractions were 2.5-3 minutes apart, lasting about 50 seconds, and I was dilated to a 3. By this point, I had requested an epidural (not in my "plan" at all!). My nurse had told me earlier in the evening that typically they do not give epidurals until you are dilated to a 5. I thought that time would never come! 12 hours after I had arrived, and I was only at a 3. I thought we were going to be there forever. However, the doctor said I could get the epidural now. Praise the Lord! Shortly after that, anesthesia came in to place the epidural. It was instant relief. Well, after the pain of actually getting the epidural wore off. I was finally able to sleep for a little while. I also had a piece of toast for breakfast. However, shortly after, nurses kept coming in and reading the monitor. By 9:30 AM, babies heart rate was around 140 and was considered a "Category 2". This meant that it needed to be monitored closely because her heart rate was dropping at various points during contractions, but it was coming right back up. At this point, contractions were still 2.5-3 minutes apart, lasting about one minute, and I was dilated to a 4. The doctor tried to break my water but was not confident that he had done so.
By 11:30 AM, the doctor and several nurses were in to monitor contractions. The doctor again tried to break my water without any luck. Now babies heart rate was dropping and not coming back up after each contraction. A fetal scalp electrode was placed on babies head to monitor her heart rate with more detail. At this time, we discussed that if babies heart rate did not improve, that we would have to have an emergency c-section. They had me try laying on my back and each of my sides to see if one position would be better than another. Because of the epidural, I could not move and needed the help of 3-4 people to move to each position. Talk about a difficult maneuver!
All of the nurses and doctor in the room remained calm during this time. I knew something was up because so many people were in the room. For the most part, they were watching the monitor and discussing amongst themselves. I heard someone say, "We need to go prep the OR". One of the nurses then came over and explained what was happening in "layman's" terms. Basically the babies heart rate was dropping with each contraction and not coming back up like it had been. At 11:50 AM, it was determined we needed to move forward with a c-section immediately.
Gary was given scrubs and I was prepped for surgery. It was a very fast process, and looking back now, I definitely see how much of an emergency situation it was. I was taken back to the OR by 12:05 PM, and Gary was brought in a few minutes later. The whole procedure went so fast and was almost a blur. The anesthesiologist stayed by my head and talked to Gary and I throughout the procedure. 4-5 other nurses prepared the area where baby would be taken when she was born. One thing I vividly remember was a light above me and a TV monitor off to the side. I remember saying to Gary, "I can't look up. I can see everything they're doing in the reflection." Probably the weirdest sensation was when the anesthesiologist said "You'll feel lots of pressure now. That's Dr. Stacy sitting on you. Not literally, but she is using her body weight to guide baby out." McKenna Rhoda entered the world at 12:36 PM and Gary was able to stand up and watch. She was immediately given to the intensive care nursing staff. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 19.25 inches long.
At 12:42 PM, a CPAP was put on McKenna, and at 12:49 PM she was given oxygen. She had trouble breathing on her own for awhile. Her breathing looked so labored and her stomach moved almost rhythmically. Once she was stabilized, Gary was able to go over and take some pictures. Eventually one of the nurses just took the camera to take photos. I asked Gary why he wasn't taking pictures and he said "There's so much going on over there I can't see anything anyways." Eventually Gary took McKenna to the recovery room, and I followed shortly after. She latched so well during this time, and I was sure this was going to be the start of a great nursing journey. Boy was I wrong! More on that later...
The morning following her birth, it was determined that McKenna had low blood sugar levels. This meant her heel had to be pricked to check her sugar levels before and 30 minutes after each time she ate. She hated this so much, and her little heels were black and blue by the time we left. At the time, we didn't know how many times she had been pricked, but after receiving her hospital bill, we saw she ended up with around 38 heel pricks. Oh how she screamed anytime someone touched her little feet! It took a few days after we got home for her to calm down when anyone touched her feet.
The way this was explained to us was...they test for gestational diabetes part way through pregnancy, and I passed no problem. At some point during the second half of my pregnancy, they believe I may have unknowingly developed it and thus, McKenna was accustomed to a higher amount of insulin. Once she was born, her body did not know how to regulate her sugars well enough because she was used to the higher amounts she had been getting from me. So she basically had a sugar crash and had to regulate on her own.
Throughout our stay, we continued trying to nurse. On a couple occasions, she would do really well. But most of the time, she would just scream and scream. We had various nurses and the lactation consultant in our room for hours trying to get McKenna interested. Because we knew she was not getting enough food, we had to give her 3-6 ML of formula through a syringe with each feeding as well. Our last night there we were told to ring our buzzer when we were ready to send her to the nursery. About 10:30 PM we did so. Long story short, we had a nurse come in twice between 10:30 and midnight (not our nurse) and make some interesting comments...“You’ll never know what it’s like to be a parent unless you keep baby in your room. I make all my patients keep their baby on the last night before going home.” “We’re too busy to have your baby in the nursery. Nothing’s wrong with her, so she can stay in your room until we’re ready. I’m not even scheduled to work tonight, so we all have to make the best of it.” “I know I’m not your nurse, but I’m going to have you keep baby in your room tonight.” “She loved her pacifier in the nursery, so try giving her that.” When we said she wasn’t supposed to have a pacifier she said, “Oh yeah, she never got one.” It truly would not have been that big of a deal if she simply said something like, “You know, we are really busy tonight, and it would be best for now to keep baby in your room.” We later found out that several babies were born that night. Apparently Friday the 13th is crazy in a hospital just like school! Three babies were born on September 11 and a couple more throughout our stay. It was a busy place!
McKenna was not having it at all that night. She would not sleep or eat and cried all night. At 3 AM, I was up walking around the room with her. The sweetest nurse came in and said, "I thought she was going to the nursery?!" I know she had been working all day and was in at night with all the babies being born. She just took McKenna like it was no big deal. I remember her saying, "Mom, you just sleep and give us a buzz when you wake up." When she came back in at 6:30 AM, she said that during that time, McKenna had taken 20 ML of formula from a syringe and would have taken more. Basically we determined that she was literally starving. She was also becoming jaundice and had slightly elevated bilirubin levels. Not enough to do any form of light therapy, but enough that her pupils and skin were yellowish.By September 12, McKenna has lost 5% of her body weight and weighed 6 lbs 8 oz. The morning of September 13 she had lost 7% and was 6 lbs 5 oz. At discharge on September 14, she was 6 lbs 4 oz. The nurse/lactation consultant came in the morning we were discharged, and we decided that since McKenna was not having a successful time nursing, we would begin pumping as soon as we got home. So, that's where we're still at today. Don't get me wrong, it's so nice to be able to let other people feed her! But again, it wasn't the "plan". For awhile after birth, I felt like a failure, or that I was doing something wrong. It didn't take long for me to realize that a fed baby is all that truly matters, and if pumping is what it was going to take, pumping it is.
Because she had started becoming jaundice, we had to return to the hospital on Sunday, September 15 for a bilirubin check. All was good! We have so many positive things to say about OAHS! From the nurses in the clinic at prenatal appointments, to the people we encountered in the hospital, it was great. Everyone...go have your babies in Ortonville :) They truly care about you as an individual and provide exceptional care in our rural area.
McKenna is 8 weeks old today, Wednesday, November 6 and is all about the smilies lately. We are enjoying all of our new firsts and our new normal. So far she's made the 8+ hour trek to Spearfish (during their first major snow storm of the year), attended a 2-day student council forum in Brainerd, had two hotel stays, been to a funeral and a wedding, attended a baby shower at LqPV, and received tons of love from so many friends and family!
The big takeaway I have learned is that the best plan is to have no plan! Those of you who really know me will know this is so not me. But it's life and we're loving it!
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