It happened. I hardly saw it coming. My baby turned ONE! Sure, there were warnings - the walking, the talking, the big boy clothes... but I'm pretty sure this scene wasn't a whole year ago:
How about we take a trip down memory lane and relive it? Ok! Here we go...
Saying I was ready to deliver is an understatement. Our apartment was packed (and 90% moved to Iowa), baby clothes were prepped, and the hospital bag was by the door. My beloved Fourth of July came and went. My due date (7/5) came and went. Again and again, no baby. Laura Kagarise gave me a trick on how to naturally induce labor so I gave it a go but was really just waiting for my induction date, July 10.
My contractions gradually increased during the end of my pregnancy. Saturday, July 6 I was packing up a few more boxes in the kitchen but had to sit down in between to rest. I recruited Rob to help me out and we just took it slow. Let's be honest, everything I did was slow. I was 9+ months pregnant. Anyway, since we had emptied out our fridge days prior and scraped by for the last couple of days, we caved and went to the grocery store to get us through until I was induced. For some reason I will never forget that we ran into Kristen and Keith there!
We got home and Rob made my dinner while I rested on the couch. I spent a lot of time planning what my last meal before delivering would be and let me just say if I had known, I would NOT have chosen vegetable soup, cheese bread, or spinach salad. I ate a little when I could sit up but I was absolutely convinced (until I was admitted to the hospital) that I was not in labor based on what I had read.
I continued to time the contractions and eventually I called my Dr. office. Even though they were consistently 5 minutes apart and 1 minute in length, they said to measure them for another 45 min since they weren't increasing in strength or frequency. When I called back she gave me the green light to go ahead and get to the hospital even though everything was the same. Rob packed, showered, and got us in the car about an hour later.
We got to the hospital around 10:30pm and checked in. I signed in and walked myself to the room (with some help) where they got me a gown and hooked me up to the monitors. I was still only dilated to a 1... bummer. 1hr30 min later? Same. Ugh. She called Dr. Courtney Younglove (on call from my practice) and she ordered another hour of monitoring. 1hr30min later? No change. I guess they did say I was softening so it wouldn't need Cervadil if I made it to my induction date.
Next came one of my biggest fears about labor - the words go home. WHAT?! I was scared and quite frankly, embarrassed. They gave me some medication to suppress the contractions and I changed back into my clothes. The nurse left to print my paperwork and dragged her feet like she did all night which I thoroughly appreciated. Thank goodness she did this time because while she was away I threw up while I sat on the edge of the bed! It prompted her to call the Dr. one more time and this time she said I could stay. :) She had a C-section so she was actually on the way to the hospital and she would assess me when she was finished. So, they gave me some anti-nausea meds and I settled in.
I actually fell asleep somewhat because of the medication, but woke up and breathed through each contraction every few minutes. Eventually Dr. Younglove came in, introduced herself, and gave me the option of a birthing ball or warm shower to get things going. I decided on the shower but honestly it sounded like a lot of work. Before I got up she checked me and I was at a 3 and very soft! Phew! No need to shower, just change back into your hospital gown and let's have this baby!
I was started on my IV and antibiotics (because I was positive for Group B Strep) and I joked with the nurse about getting Pitocin and an epidural started ASAP. She said just ask for it (the epidural, not the Pitocin obviously) and a bit later it was ordered. Just like that. In the meantime the contractions were very strong and I had to breathe through every one. Relax it out.
An eternity later (5:00AM) they finally came to give me the epidural and I warned them about my problematic veins. They used a different needle or something and had no trouble at all. Rob was absolutely terrified for me to get the epidural, especially when they put the needle in a little to the left and I jumped. Of course they got things fixed but he was still so nervous.
*Warning - this is where the whole story gets a little fuzzy.
About 15 minutes after the anesthesiologist left, our nurse was chatting with us and asked what the baby's name would be. We told her and I thought it was weird that she sort of trailed off in her response. She muttered something about a few people coming into the room soon and immediately there were 7 nurses and a doctor in a frenzy. Huston's heart rate had dropped out because I had such strong contractions right in a row that he couldn't recover in between. They rolled me side to side, up on all fours, put an oxygen mask on me, gave me a shot in the arm, repositioned my strap, and put a sticky monitor on his head but had trouble since he was moving around so much (please, story of my last 9 months...). Then they broke my water and commented on how much fluid there was! The monitor still wouldn't stick so they kept repositioning me. Rob says he remembers them discussing getting OR prepped for me and I'm positive that if it went much longer he would've been born via C-section. Thankfully after 8-9 minutes total his heart rate came back up. They checked me again and I was at a 5 or 6.
After all that craziness I was so shocked and confused that I really didn't process what happened. Honestly, I still don't even know what happened. Rob, on the other hand followed everything (too well) and he was genuinely scarred for life. A year later he still has flashbacks to what he has labeled the worst moments of his life, hands down. He eventually collected himself after a while and then called our moms around 7:00ish.
Around 10:00 they checked me again and I was at a 9! Mom and dad popped into my room to say hi quickly then set up camp in the family waiting area. After another check they said I wasn't ready yet and that the uterus wasn't in a good position; there was a lip. The Dr. decided to monitor me from outside - a watched pot never boils, ya know?
The nurse stayed in and chatted for a little while but when she left I could feel more and more so I kept pressing my button to get more medicine with the epidural. Uncomfortable. After a little while the nurse and Dr. came back in and decided to have me push past the lip. They checked me and everything looked great - no lip, and they could see the head RIGHT there!
I started pushing and they called for the nurses ASAP since they could tell it wouldn't be long. I only pushed four times with small or no breaks in between. They were pretty impressed, especially considering he was sunny-side up. While they were stitching me up Rob got a good look at him. I didn't notice at the time but I guess the cord was around his neck and he was limp when he came out. I guess that's why she calmly but firmly told Rob, "If it's ok with you, Dad, I'm just going to go ahead and cut the cord so we can get this moving." His Apgar score was a 5 which is very concerning. Again, I was just in a daze while Rob was absolutely terrified.After 1min15sec he was doing great. What a relief! He was looking toward the window the whole time he was being assessed.
Huston Alan Simms
born July 7, 2013
7lb 11oz 21in at 11:48AM
Rob was so supportive and encouraging. He said the perfect things at the perfect time throughout the whole labor. I couldn't possibly ask for 2 better boys! :)
Right after Huston was born, we had a quiet hour or so of bliss where Rob and I got to meet our little angel before we had family come in and we were transferred to another floor. I will never forget those moments!
However, our little love bubble was popped later that night when Huston was taken upstairs and admitted to the NICU for fear of infection. The labs would take 72 hours so instead of wait for the results they put him on an IV immediately which can't be done on the mother/baby floor. The hospital staff never admitted whether or not he had an infection.
Watching your brand new baby get pierced with an IV in the side of his head is not something I would wish upon my worst enemy. On top of that, it was a tough few days of trekking upstairs, hand washing, pumping, etc. In four nights, Rob slept around 6 hours total. It was rough. Especially since I was discharged before Huston so we had to set up camp in the family room until he could come home.
In the short time I had in my room I also had to make phone calls to ensure our address would be changed and his birth certificate and hospital records would be delivered to the appropriate address. I also had to change my health insurance plan since the NICU stay threw all my arrangements out the window.
Can you imagine how happy we were to be home?! (Well, our home for 11 more days.) Don't get me wrong, things were still tough but we were pretty relieved to have our little guy out of the NICU.
Are you ready?!? One year later, here's my little big guy:
We love you SO much!!!!