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On Jan 6, 2009 we found out we were pregnant after trying for approximately 8 |
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On Jan 6, 2009 we found out we were pregnant after trying for approximately 8 months and we were overjoyed. My pregnancy was watched by my GP for the first 30 weeks until I had to go see an OB/GYN. I normally have lower blood pressure but through the pregnancy my blood pressure had gone up to more normal levels which didn't concern my GP but she was keeping an eye on it just in case. I met with the OB/GYN at 30 weeks and everything was normal, same with the 33 and 35 week check ups. My ankles and feet had started to get quite swollen but the doctor wasn't concerned since it is normal for pregnant women to have swollen feet. After my 35 week check up (which was a few days after 35 weeks) the doctor said to come back in 2 weeks but I asked if I could come back sooner since I thought once you hit 36 weeks you were suppose to go in every week until delivery. She agreed and I was given an apptointment for when I was 36 weeks 4 days along (a Tuesday). The weekend before my appointment I started to get blotchy vision on occasion and my feet were swollen more. I didn't think too much of it and knew my appointment was coming up so I didn't worry. I went for my appointment and she checked my blood pressure and it had gone way up. She made me sit for a few minutes and redid it, with the same results. Next thing I know she was telling me to go to the hospital and she would be calling them to let them know I was coming in. I had to go home quickly first to get my boyfriend (and the hospital bags, just in case) so I got to the hospital around 5pm. They checked my blood pressure again and it was still high, so they did some urine and blood tests and gave me a blood pressure pill to see if it would go down. It did start going down so the nurses said that I probably wouldn't be induced and my boyfriend could go to work (we needed the money). This was around 6pm. He left for work and they let me eat, which was awesome. About 7pm the doctor on call came in, checked my blood pressure again (it was high again), told me that there was protein in my urine and I had preeclampsia. Since I was so close to 37 weeks and was 1 cm dilated, they decided to induce. The doctor stripped my membranes (without telling me first) and gave the orders for pitocin to be started. At this time I started freaking out, crying and didn't know what was happening. I called my boyfriend and a friend and told them what was happening. At 8:30pm, they start the pitocin and my boyfriend and friend arrived. Instant relief to finally have someone there with me. We walked the hallways to try and get labor started and then went back to my room so I could try to get some sleep. They had monitors hooked up to my belly but kept missing his heartbeat if I moved so they put an internal monitor on his head. 5:30am and my water breaks and with it comes a huge blood clot, which the nurse just took away and didn't tell me anything about what it meant. 6am and labor starts (hard, contractions were 2-4 minutes apart the entire labor). Between 8-9am, my doula arrived which really helped me relax and concentrate on the contractions. It took from 6am to 1pm to go from 1-5 cm and from 1-2pm to go from 5-10 cm. When I gave birth there was the neonatal team, 3 doctors and numerous nurses in the room plus my boyfriend and doula. After only 7 minutes of pushing, my baby boy arrived weighing 5 lbs 11.5 ozs. I got to hold him for just a minute or so cause I started to hemorrhage badly. They were having a lot of issues stopping it but finally they were able to. My iron levels dropped so much that they almost had to give me a blood transfusion. It took about a week for my blood pressure to come down and I am still having low iron issues to this day (almost 1 year later). He had nursing issues (couldn't latch on), his blood sugars were very low and he had moderate jaundice but within 2-3 weeks everything was normal. He will celebrate his first birthday in just a few weeks. If I hadn't requested that doctor appointment, who knows what would have happened. I am so thankful that everything turned out ok. |
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