One Week Down...

A week has passed since our little Adam made his unexpected entrance into the world and I am so glad that so far he has been doing as well as is possible for how early he came. The doctors were able to remove a ventilator the first night, and if all goes well he will lose one of his larger IVs today. Doing well doesn't necessarily move up when they think he might be released, but it sure doesn't make it longer - 7 weeks is plenty long as it is. Speaking of long, here is a picture to give you an idea of how tiny our little guy is: his length and size as compared to Joe's hand.So to finally document, here is the story of how Adam came to be here in his little Isolette:

This pregnancy being more difficult than my other two has not been a secret, so there was always a concern that he could come early, but I was little prepared for it when he did at 30 weeks. Last Sunday, August 22, it was noon and we were just getting out of church. One of my friends came and touched my belly and it was at that moment I felt the first little "gush" of fluid. Given my pregnancy history I just regarded it as annoying more than as a sign that something was wrong. We went home, I got the kids lunch, I updated my blog, and I had a few more inconvenient gushes. At around 4:00PM I started to realize that I was experiencing this a little more than seemed "normal" and it was then that the idea that my water had broken first crossed my mind. My experience did not mesh with water breaking stories I had heard in the past so I got on the computer to research a little, and started to worry. Deciding to lay down for a little bit to see if that affected anything I told Joe, jokingly, that we might be having the baby today. I believed that if and when we went to the doctor they would tell me that it was just fluid around my placenta, the baby was fine, and to go home. However while laying down I experienced a much larger gush, asked Joe, on the phone with his mom, to have her come watch the kids, and headed there to be told the opposite.

A funny side note - when we got to the labor and delivery wing, I had to undress and provide a urine sample - I know, cool right? What wasn't so cool was when, in the process of changing, I accidentally knocked over someone else's sample. Aren't I awesome? At least in the stress of the moment we had something to laugh about.

So, upon checking me, a nurse verified that it was my water that had broken. We were then informed that as a result of my water breaking and because it was too soon for Adam to be born, my labor was going to try to be stopped and I would have to stay in the hospital for up to 7 weeks until they could no longer prevent the baby from coming. That idea was overwhelming to us and I should have started to panic, but I think I was too in shock to process what was really happening. The idea that the process of having this baby had started, how it was going to affect Joe and my kids, not to mention myself was just craziness.

At this point I was officially admitted to the hospital, hooked up to monitors and given medication to stop my labor. Maybe the baby knew he could endure 7 weeks in the hospital better than I could because through the night contractions started and continued to increase in strength, and decrease in distance apart. When my nurse came in around 6:00 the next morning I was checked at a 4. She called the doctor who, when she checked on me the previous night, said she would be surprised if I made through the week, and determined that this labor could probably not be stopped and to go ahead and give me an epidural.

Heaven. Ahhhh the relief I experienced with that epidural was heaven. Zheila (pronounced G-la) my nurse told me that at that point the plan was to leave me alone. They didn't want to check me anymore than they had to for fear of dialating my cervix more and really didn't want to do anything that would speed up labor. So Joe and I spent the morning talking about the ramifications of what was going to happen from here until and then after the baby was born. We had been visited by the NICU staff and told a little bit about what to expect and were really just still trying to process everything. Our kids had spent the night with Grandma McBride and they were going to stop by and visit and in the meantime I just watched the monitor show my contractions steadily moving on. Here's where the story get's good:

Around 11:45 I noticed that my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and I was starting to feel them - nothing too painful, but I was aware of them. At that time, Joe's mom called to say they were there and asked Joe to go meet them to let them in to say hi. Also, at the same time I felt another famous gush, and realizing that no one had checked on me for a while decided to call the nurse under the idea that it was better safe than sorry to have her come make sure everything was still fine. Joe walked out, Zheila walked in and it was then that Adam's heart rate dropped from 150 to 90.

Zheila was quickly followed by two nurses who started moving me all over the place to try to figure out what was going on with the heart rate. My doctor came in not a minute later and while they were checking my tummy, she checked my cervix. The moment she touched me I felt the baby's head come down. She said, "Oh wow, she's complete plus one, she needs to go now, unhook her and get her to the OR stat." I didn't realize doctors actually say "stat" but apparently they do because she said it several more times. As the nurses were franctically trying to unhook all my stuff, she kept saying "I said stat. She's complete plus one, we need to move her now. Stat." The nurses were not the only frantic ones. I was FREAKING out. Joe had left me, they were saying it was imperative I deliver this baby fast, they were going to move me to where Joe couldn't find me (having prearranged to have me deliver in an Operating Room so the NICU staff could be right there) and I didn't know what to do. Amid the chaos I was able to grab my phone and text Joe to "COME NOW!!!!!!!"

Joe meanwhile had met his mom and our kids at the door and turned around to come back in. The receptionist informed him he would have to wait because they were dealing with an emergency and it was then he got my text, asked what room the emergency was in and, upon giving my room number 4509 to the nurse, was told to run.

At 11:59 I was wheeled into the operating room as Dr Lesser changed her clothes. The nurses started debating whether to move me to the operating room or to leave me on the bed. I was watching everything still in shock. Dr. Lesser entered the room told them to leave me on the bed, and get the stirrups up.

Now with my two other deliveries my pushing experience was really rather calm. I was told to push, told I had done well, to take a break, and to push again in what now seems like a very relaxed, peaceful manner. Calm is not a word I would use to describe this experience. As soon as the doctor was ready, four nurses surrounded me, pushed me into a ball, held my legs and started screaming at me to push. "Push! Push like your life depends on it! Push like you have never pushed before!" Not one of them was staying silent, and as I would pause to take a breath they continued: "Push again! Push HARD! PUSH!" Luckily I didn't endure the screaming very long as less than a minute later and about 10 seconds after Joe made it into the room, Adam was born at 12:05PM.

My baby was immediately handed off to the NICU staff and my tears just as immediately started. The relief of being done was overcome with the anxiousness of wanting to know if my baby was okay. Joe went into watch as they started resuscitating him and I lay there helpless wondering what was happening to my little boy. The only thing I could do was pray, fervently, that he would be okay and allowed to live. I was transfered back to my room where minutes later I was told that Adam was stable and that they hoped he remained so. As I mentioned at first he has done as well as possible from there on out.

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A week in, the road has been stressful. Between trying to take care of my kids at home and getting to visit Adam at the hospital and dealing with the emotions that accompany leaving your child in a hospital, I have definitely experienced ups and downs. I am so grateful that, if Adam had to come early, that he is doing well. I am so grateful that we have felt so much love and support from friends and family. I am so grateful that I have a Heavenly Father that hears and answers prayers and, while this is not the road I wished for, will continue to bless us to be able to make it through this experience and get Adam home safe and healthy.