My sister Elizabeth was married two weeks ago, and I saw my cousin Mary where she told me that I really needed to update my blog! So, I thought that I would post some pictures of our newest member, compliments of one of my best friends Rachel. Audrey was due on Brianna's due date, but Brianna was the latecomer out of all my children at 5 days early.Since I started having strong braxton hicks contractions at 35 weeks, I was sure that she would be one of my earlier arrivals, but 38 weeks came and went. The night before Brianna's birthday, I started having more contractions but
I'd had them the whole week and again, they stopped. On Brianna's birthday, we woke up early and Curtis made a special breakfast for Brianna and we had breakfast. I started getting contractions and noticed that they were getting longer and stronger, so I just mentioned to Curtis before he left for work that I would give him a call if they kept going that way.
Well, they did keep getting stronger and longer so I gave him a call and told him to start working on a substitute and come home. I didn't want to be calling him in a panic telling him he had to get home right now so that we could go to the hospital. Meanwhile, the addresses for my sister's wedding weren't completely put into the database for labels, so I was getting the last of them entered in. I told my Mom that once that was done, then I could feel like I could go to the hospital. Curtis got home, and I sent him to the mall with Brianna so that she could get a free build-a-bear, with a birthday coupon that she had, and told him to go with her to pick out some earrings at Claire's. I wanted her birthday to be special, even if Mom was in labor! We went into the hospital at about 2:30 and I was about 4.5 cm dilated. Since I was group B strep positive this time, they started the iv antibiotics and told me that if I started flushing, it was a known side-effect and not an allergic reaction. What they didn't mention was the swelling and intense itching! I could barely get my wedding ring off, and it was cutting off my circulation, I swelled so fast. They told me that they could give me Benadryl for the horrible itching, but I told them, I would see if the itching would decrease and then I tried really hard not to itch. I'm happy to say that the itching did go away! My midwife got there two hours later due to an office visit that she had to take her time on....and I was convinced I must only be a 5 since the labor was not that intense, but, I was dilated to a 7! At an 8, I decided to go ahead and break the water at which time, I made both Curtis and Claudia, my midwife, work really hard for me! Curtis would push on my back and Claudia, my midwife was pushing on my knees. Before I knew it we were in the pushing phase, and thanks to Claudia with great directions, I didn't tear at all, and didn't need any stitches, even though she was born completely posterior (which make their heads a lot bigger, due to the face-up position). She was born at 7:02 pm and weighed 7 lb. 14 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. She looks like a mix of Jeffrey and Brianna.We got to have her with us for about 1 1/2 hours before she went to the nursery, and that's where we hit a few road bumps. The nurses noticed that she was really red and so they did a quick check on her hemoglobin levels, which came back quite high. Then they pulled a hematocrit count and it came back high. Basically, she had too many red blood cells and they get concerned about their oxygen levels because when their blood is to "thick" it doesn't carry oxygen as efficiently. Sometimes, she was dropping into the 80's in her oxygen saturation and so they put in an iv and put saline into her blood to thin it out. The saline didn't bring up her oxygen levels where they wanted them to be, so the pediatrician performed what they call "reduction." Basically, they pulled blood out through the umbilical cord vein and replaced it with saline. After they did that, they put her on iv antibiotics for 48 hrs. and she had to be in the newborn special care nursery.
I was really sad that I couldn't have her with me so I spent a lot of time in a rocking chair in the nursery. They were really great though. All of Audrey's nurses were so nice and wonderful. I gave them explicit instructions that I didn't want her to cry and that I wanted them to call me no matter what time of night, and I'm glad to say that they followed my wishes instead of thinking that I didn't know what I wanted!
She was discharged at 1:30 am in the morning after I was discharged at 7 pm. The nurses looked at my chart and said it looks like we're discharging you to the parent's waiting room? The pediatrician thought I was crazy when I said that we would be taking her home at 1 am if he would discharge her, but I explained that I was stuck at the hospital anyway due to nursing, when he asked wouldn't I rather go home and get a good night's rest?
Her bilirubin was in the moderate risk level, which didn't surprise me since her red blood cells were too high. She went on the bilirubin blanket and that seemed like it was forever. It was fifteen days to be exact that we were literally plugged in to a wall. Our bedroom had an eerie, alien-like glow from the neon blue light! Audrey was so excited to be off the lights when my cousin and one of my best friends took newborn photos that she was awake most the time.
The first two weeks have been very long due to all that but we are loving having a new baby in our family again.
