I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant, just a couple weeks after my husband, Jeret, was sent off to Iraq to go to war. He had been in the Navy for years, and this was his first actual time at war.
We had only been married a year and a half, and this was our first baby. I didn't know what to expect. With Jeret gone, not knowing when he was going to get home, it was terrible!
I was so excited, and Jeret got the news as soon as possible, and he was overjoyed. His biggest fear, though, was if he would make it home in time to be there when I had the baby. And, unfortunately, he wasn't. He had been home when I was 6 months pregnant, got to see ultrasound pictures and went to a doctor's visit with me, but wasn't home for long!
I went into labor on July 31, which started out as mild abdominal pains, and led to horrific back pains, which led to my water breaking. I quickly called my doula and my parents.
My doula (Marcie) arrived 15 minutes after my call, and my parents arrived about half an hour after my call. I wanted a shower, so Marcie said it was OK. Then we were off to the hospital, since my water had already broken and I seemed to be moving along quite well. I didn't know how Jeret would find out yet, and I felt so bad for him and I actually felt bad for myself.
When we got to the hospital, I got so emotional and thought a lot about my baby being born without her daddy there. I was checked and already dilated to 5 centimeters. I received an ultrasound, fetal monitoring and an epidural. And at 12:23on August 1, I gave birth to our first daughter.
She weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and was very healthy! Jeret and I had decided months ago that if it was a boy, it was going to be Mitchell Jay, and if it was a girl, it was going to be Malorie Ava. So that was her name!
Six days after I had Malorie, I was able to get a chance to talk to Jeret. It was the first time I heard him cry like that. Ever! He was so happy to be a dad!
Malorie is my little princess, and Jeret met her for the first time when she was 5 months old. It was an emotional time for him, and they had such a bond from the first moment they laid eyes on each other.
Jeret has been home three times since then, and he's actually to be expected in the next two to four months to be home again. That's something to look forward to. Maybe once he gets home, we'll try for our second baby and have a little brother or sister for Malorie to play with.
Malorie knows where her daddy is and what he's doing (as she says, he's helping our country), but it's still very difficult watching her grow up on my own, and it's extremely difficult for Jeret, to miss her first word, her first steps, her first evreythings. But, with that said, Malorie will definitely always be Daddy's Little Girl!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Christmas Pregnancy
I was 19, my boyfriend was 23. We lived together in a small one-bedroom apartment, and we were doing all right.
Well I skipped a period, which wasn't unusual for me to skip periods for up to five months. When I skipped my period the sixth month, I took a pregnancy test and I was pregnant. I didn't know what the weird sensation was coming from inside of me. I didn't know much of anything.
My belly started to round out a little, and by the middle of the 7th month it was popping out pretty far. I went to the doctor, and Joel was ecstatic.
I was due on Christmas, so we didn't tell any of our family. We wanted it to be a surprise for all of them. We had Thanksgiving at my parents' house, and Joel stood up to make a toast (everyone had wine except me – that upset me). Apparently he had been planning this for a while. He looked at me and got down on one knee, and said, Jodie, you are what I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Will you make me a thankful man every year from now until we die and be my wife? I started crying, got up and gave him a hug and kiss and said yes.
My grandma knew there was something going on because I was wearing baggy clothes and odd stuff like that, but she didn't say anything. Joel and I moved into a bigger place, had done some secret baby shopping ourselves and had the nursery all done.
One day my mom dropped by (three days before Christmas). I quickly threw a sweater on and shut the nursery door, and she came in. We talked for a while and she left. Two hours after she left is when the pain started. I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for two weeks now, but this was intense. I remember at my last appointment I was 2 centimeters dilated, but still not very soft.
I timed my contractions, and called Joel's cell phone and told him to come home right away. My contractions were 15 minutes apart, and I still had plenty of time. My doctor told me not to come in until they were about five minutes apart.
My contractions were getting more and more intense, but still were very far apart. About five hours later they stopped altogether, so we went to bed. At about 3:15 a.m. I started getting really intense contractions, about 10 minutes apart, so I quietly got up, went to the bathroom and started to deal with the contractions.
I went to the kitchen to get some water and halfway there, I had to go to the bathroom. I turned around and something warm started running down my leg. I thought my bladder was leaking, so I ran (waddled) to the bathroom. I sat down, and released my bladder, but I felt something else dripping. I took toilet paper and wiped. I had finally lost my mucous plug, so I figured it was my waters leaking.
I stood up, and felt a big pop and a gush, followed by an intense round of three contractions that lasted one minute and were right on top of each other. I yelled for Joel, but of course he sleeps like a rock. So in between contractions, I was trying to wake him up.
I finally got him awake enough for him to hear me tell him, Hospital now! We got in the car. Luckily the hospital was only 10 minutes away.
We got to the registration desk, and I was taken into my room. I got into my gown in between contractions, which were coming every two minutes or so now. I climbed up on the bed on my hands and knees, and began to push. The nurse told me not to push and I told her it was easy for her to say. Finally they got me to stop pushing so they could check me. I was 8 centimeters already. By now it is 6:30 a.m.
At 10:30 a.m. I was at 9 centimeters, and had to use the bathroom, but they wouldn't let me. I know now why. Five minutes after they said no I got the urge to push. I was at 10, but the only way I was comfortable was on all fours. So they adjusted all the IVs and I started pushing on all fours.
The doctor came in and told me to push, push, push so I did. I wasn't screaming at this point, but I was moaning pretty loudly, until I got a contraction and I felt the baby's head start to come out. Then I let out a scream.
Joel was sitting at the head of the bed with me, telling me I was doing well. I was screaming because it was burning. The doctor said, OK, stop pushing, so I did. And the doctor said, Dad, would you like to see your baby be born? Joel ran for the opportunity.
I gave out a loud moan and pushed. The shoulders came out, the abdomen and finally the legs. It's a girl! (that was Joel). I started to cry and readjusted back to my back. I held my baby and I just cried. Joel cut the cord.
Ashlynn Joelle was born December 24, 2002, at 10:52 a.m. (20 minutes of pushing). She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.
At 12:30 p.m. after I had rested up some, Joel called my mom and told her that she needed to come down to the hospital right away. He didn't tell her why, just told her the room number. Fifteen minutes later my mom burst through the door, yelling, Is everything OK, is everything alright? And then she realized what floor she was on, and looked at me, looked at Ashlynn and she began to cry. All I said was, Merry Christmas, Grandma.
My mom called everyone between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. I had over 40 visitors in and out of my room. My mom and dad loved the surprise, and came back with clothes and toys and everything. We took her home two days later.
She will be 2 this year, her brother is 10 months and I am 8 months pregnant right now. Joel and I are happily married, and just moved into a new two-story, four-bedroom home that we bought and paid for in full. (How we did that with two kids I don't really know.)
I'll be writing about the birth of my second and third child later. Right now, I am tired and need to go to bed.
God bless you all, and Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.
Well I skipped a period, which wasn't unusual for me to skip periods for up to five months. When I skipped my period the sixth month, I took a pregnancy test and I was pregnant. I didn't know what the weird sensation was coming from inside of me. I didn't know much of anything.
My belly started to round out a little, and by the middle of the 7th month it was popping out pretty far. I went to the doctor, and Joel was ecstatic.
I was due on Christmas, so we didn't tell any of our family. We wanted it to be a surprise for all of them. We had Thanksgiving at my parents' house, and Joel stood up to make a toast (everyone had wine except me – that upset me). Apparently he had been planning this for a while. He looked at me and got down on one knee, and said, Jodie, you are what I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Will you make me a thankful man every year from now until we die and be my wife? I started crying, got up and gave him a hug and kiss and said yes.
My grandma knew there was something going on because I was wearing baggy clothes and odd stuff like that, but she didn't say anything. Joel and I moved into a bigger place, had done some secret baby shopping ourselves and had the nursery all done.
One day my mom dropped by (three days before Christmas). I quickly threw a sweater on and shut the nursery door, and she came in. We talked for a while and she left. Two hours after she left is when the pain started. I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for two weeks now, but this was intense. I remember at my last appointment I was 2 centimeters dilated, but still not very soft.
I timed my contractions, and called Joel's cell phone and told him to come home right away. My contractions were 15 minutes apart, and I still had plenty of time. My doctor told me not to come in until they were about five minutes apart.
My contractions were getting more and more intense, but still were very far apart. About five hours later they stopped altogether, so we went to bed. At about 3:15 a.m. I started getting really intense contractions, about 10 minutes apart, so I quietly got up, went to the bathroom and started to deal with the contractions.
I went to the kitchen to get some water and halfway there, I had to go to the bathroom. I turned around and something warm started running down my leg. I thought my bladder was leaking, so I ran (waddled) to the bathroom. I sat down, and released my bladder, but I felt something else dripping. I took toilet paper and wiped. I had finally lost my mucous plug, so I figured it was my waters leaking.
I stood up, and felt a big pop and a gush, followed by an intense round of three contractions that lasted one minute and were right on top of each other. I yelled for Joel, but of course he sleeps like a rock. So in between contractions, I was trying to wake him up.
I finally got him awake enough for him to hear me tell him, Hospital now! We got in the car. Luckily the hospital was only 10 minutes away.
We got to the registration desk, and I was taken into my room. I got into my gown in between contractions, which were coming every two minutes or so now. I climbed up on the bed on my hands and knees, and began to push. The nurse told me not to push and I told her it was easy for her to say. Finally they got me to stop pushing so they could check me. I was 8 centimeters already. By now it is 6:30 a.m.
At 10:30 a.m. I was at 9 centimeters, and had to use the bathroom, but they wouldn't let me. I know now why. Five minutes after they said no I got the urge to push. I was at 10, but the only way I was comfortable was on all fours. So they adjusted all the IVs and I started pushing on all fours.
The doctor came in and told me to push, push, push so I did. I wasn't screaming at this point, but I was moaning pretty loudly, until I got a contraction and I felt the baby's head start to come out. Then I let out a scream.
Joel was sitting at the head of the bed with me, telling me I was doing well. I was screaming because it was burning. The doctor said, OK, stop pushing, so I did. And the doctor said, Dad, would you like to see your baby be born? Joel ran for the opportunity.
I gave out a loud moan and pushed. The shoulders came out, the abdomen and finally the legs. It's a girl! (that was Joel). I started to cry and readjusted back to my back. I held my baby and I just cried. Joel cut the cord.
Ashlynn Joelle was born December 24, 2002, at 10:52 a.m. (20 minutes of pushing). She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.
At 12:30 p.m. after I had rested up some, Joel called my mom and told her that she needed to come down to the hospital right away. He didn't tell her why, just told her the room number. Fifteen minutes later my mom burst through the door, yelling, Is everything OK, is everything alright? And then she realized what floor she was on, and looked at me, looked at Ashlynn and she began to cry. All I said was, Merry Christmas, Grandma.
My mom called everyone between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. I had over 40 visitors in and out of my room. My mom and dad loved the surprise, and came back with clothes and toys and everything. We took her home two days later.
She will be 2 this year, her brother is 10 months and I am 8 months pregnant right now. Joel and I are happily married, and just moved into a new two-story, four-bedroom home that we bought and paid for in full. (How we did that with two kids I don't really know.)
I'll be writing about the birth of my second and third child later. Right now, I am tired and need to go to bed.
God bless you all, and Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
A Beautiful Homebirth
I took a pregnancy test at the end of April 2002, when I had menstrual-like cramps but no period, and realized that I'd been cranky for weeks, which is uncharacteristic of me. I was expecting to wait the 90 agonizing seconds for the results, but it turned positive almost immediately. I brought my husband into the bathroom to show him the double pink lines. He laughed and I cried, happy and scared all at once, since I was only 21, and it was unplanned.
The idea of being a mommy grew on me very quickly, and I remembered the night that our baby must have been conceived – an overwhelming moment of complete union with each other and everything and a feeling that the power of our love had expanded well beyond the two of us. The most fun part of telling everyone was calling one of my best friends (who was six weeks more pregnant than me) and telling her that we would get to do it all together!
The months flew by without a hitch, and for the most part, I really enjoyed pregnancy, especially feeling the baby move around inside me. The constant bathroom visits and heartburn I could've done without, but I survived.
We knew from the start that we wanted to have a homebirth with midwives. We worked with two midwives, and they are amazing women – compassionate, knowledgeable and experienced. We felt empowered to participate fully in the whole pregnancy and birth.
My friend gave birth at home with the same midwives six weeks before me to a healthy 7-pound, 12-ounce boy. Her labor was 27 hours long, so I mentally prepared myself for a long labor as well.
My due date of December 11 came and went. I'd been having false (preparation) labor on and off for weeks, so I was getting pretty frustrated by this time, taking herb tinctures, doing acupressure, taking walks and everything else I could think of to put myself into labor, and nothing worked!
At my 41-week visit, my midwife (who's been attending births for 27 years) told me that my baby was waiting for the full moon in two days. Sure enough, on the day of the full moon, I began to feel crampy and had a heightened awareness. By bedtime, I still didn't feel like I was in labor, but I had a bloody show right before I crawled in. I'd been waking up every morning at about 2 a.m. and unable to sleep again for a few hours since the beginning of my third trimester, so I was pretty sure it would be the same this time, only I would be in labor.
I woke up at 2 a.m. not just in labor, but also in full-on, mind-blowing, hard labor. I called my midwife right away, but she didn't really believe I was in active labor, because I was laughing. Well, I was just so excited to finally be in labor, but I agreed to call her back in an hour or if things started to pick up.
My contractions stayed at five minutes apart and a minute long for about 15 minutes and then went to two minutes apart to a minute-and-a-half long. Before I knew it, I was just kneeling on the floor with my face buried in the sofa groaning and yelling through my contractions. My husband called the midwife again and told her to get on her way. We then called my doula and my friend, who would be attending.
We had planned a water birth and rented a big heated tub. So he was running around trying to get the thing set up, and I was yelling for him to hurry up, but there was a problem. Our hose had been outside buried in the snow the day before and still hadn't thawed out. He used most of the hot water trying to thaw it while I rocked and rocked and yelled and hollered.
My massage therapist showed up first and started pressing on my sacrum immediately, which was a big help. Then the first midwife showed up to check me. Lying on my back even for that long was agony! But I was already 6 centimeters dilated! Huge relief, because I didn't think I could take many more hours of this kind of pain. I was totally immersed in just coping with it.
I resumed my position of face in the couch. The midwife immediately called the other midwife, who lived about 75 miles away, and told her she'd better get over if she wanted to see the birth! Meanwhile, my friend and her baby had shown up, and I'd gotten her and my hubby running back and forth with buckets trying to fill the tub. They were just doing it to appease me, since I was yelling at them to Fill that tub now! But the water heater had pooped out long ago. Finally, I acknowledged the fact that the water birth wasn't going to happen.
I was on the toilet when my water broke, and I remember thinking that I would never have to be embarrassed again in my life, because there I was, huge as a whale, naked as a jaybird, on the toilet, yelling, grunting and sweating in front of four other people!
When I started pushing, we moved back to the favorite face-in-sofa position, but this time, my husband was on the couch holding me, and I just buried my face in his lap and gave it *&%@! This is when I found my cavewoman. With every push came a holler so loud I was sure the police would show up. I think I genuinely frightened everyone in the room, but it's the only way I made it through it.
I was a firm advocate of drug-free childbirth during my pregnancy and still am as far as the health of the baby is concerned, but I can definitely sympathize with women who use pain medications during labor. It hurts! I didn't have the option, since we were at home, but I kept wondering when those endorphins everyone kept talking about were going to kick in!
I pushed for about 35 minutes, and the second midwife made it just in time to help our baby boy out. He was born at 6:30 a.m., just four and a half hours after I woke up in labor! He was a healthy 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and I had no stitches, thanks to the competency of my midwives, I'm sure.
The sun came up shortly after to a beautiful blue-skied, snowy, sunny morning. We crawled into bed and slept and slept after the midwives helped us clean everything up. Solomon's daddy kept looking in on us every few minutes, shaking his head in wonder at our beautiful new life
The idea of being a mommy grew on me very quickly, and I remembered the night that our baby must have been conceived – an overwhelming moment of complete union with each other and everything and a feeling that the power of our love had expanded well beyond the two of us. The most fun part of telling everyone was calling one of my best friends (who was six weeks more pregnant than me) and telling her that we would get to do it all together!
The months flew by without a hitch, and for the most part, I really enjoyed pregnancy, especially feeling the baby move around inside me. The constant bathroom visits and heartburn I could've done without, but I survived.
We knew from the start that we wanted to have a homebirth with midwives. We worked with two midwives, and they are amazing women – compassionate, knowledgeable and experienced. We felt empowered to participate fully in the whole pregnancy and birth.
My friend gave birth at home with the same midwives six weeks before me to a healthy 7-pound, 12-ounce boy. Her labor was 27 hours long, so I mentally prepared myself for a long labor as well.
My due date of December 11 came and went. I'd been having false (preparation) labor on and off for weeks, so I was getting pretty frustrated by this time, taking herb tinctures, doing acupressure, taking walks and everything else I could think of to put myself into labor, and nothing worked!
At my 41-week visit, my midwife (who's been attending births for 27 years) told me that my baby was waiting for the full moon in two days. Sure enough, on the day of the full moon, I began to feel crampy and had a heightened awareness. By bedtime, I still didn't feel like I was in labor, but I had a bloody show right before I crawled in. I'd been waking up every morning at about 2 a.m. and unable to sleep again for a few hours since the beginning of my third trimester, so I was pretty sure it would be the same this time, only I would be in labor.
I woke up at 2 a.m. not just in labor, but also in full-on, mind-blowing, hard labor. I called my midwife right away, but she didn't really believe I was in active labor, because I was laughing. Well, I was just so excited to finally be in labor, but I agreed to call her back in an hour or if things started to pick up.
My contractions stayed at five minutes apart and a minute long for about 15 minutes and then went to two minutes apart to a minute-and-a-half long. Before I knew it, I was just kneeling on the floor with my face buried in the sofa groaning and yelling through my contractions. My husband called the midwife again and told her to get on her way. We then called my doula and my friend, who would be attending.
We had planned a water birth and rented a big heated tub. So he was running around trying to get the thing set up, and I was yelling for him to hurry up, but there was a problem. Our hose had been outside buried in the snow the day before and still hadn't thawed out. He used most of the hot water trying to thaw it while I rocked and rocked and yelled and hollered.
My massage therapist showed up first and started pressing on my sacrum immediately, which was a big help. Then the first midwife showed up to check me. Lying on my back even for that long was agony! But I was already 6 centimeters dilated! Huge relief, because I didn't think I could take many more hours of this kind of pain. I was totally immersed in just coping with it.
I resumed my position of face in the couch. The midwife immediately called the other midwife, who lived about 75 miles away, and told her she'd better get over if she wanted to see the birth! Meanwhile, my friend and her baby had shown up, and I'd gotten her and my hubby running back and forth with buckets trying to fill the tub. They were just doing it to appease me, since I was yelling at them to Fill that tub now! But the water heater had pooped out long ago. Finally, I acknowledged the fact that the water birth wasn't going to happen.
I was on the toilet when my water broke, and I remember thinking that I would never have to be embarrassed again in my life, because there I was, huge as a whale, naked as a jaybird, on the toilet, yelling, grunting and sweating in front of four other people!
When I started pushing, we moved back to the favorite face-in-sofa position, but this time, my husband was on the couch holding me, and I just buried my face in his lap and gave it *&%@! This is when I found my cavewoman. With every push came a holler so loud I was sure the police would show up. I think I genuinely frightened everyone in the room, but it's the only way I made it through it.
I was a firm advocate of drug-free childbirth during my pregnancy and still am as far as the health of the baby is concerned, but I can definitely sympathize with women who use pain medications during labor. It hurts! I didn't have the option, since we were at home, but I kept wondering when those endorphins everyone kept talking about were going to kick in!
I pushed for about 35 minutes, and the second midwife made it just in time to help our baby boy out. He was born at 6:30 a.m., just four and a half hours after I woke up in labor! He was a healthy 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and I had no stitches, thanks to the competency of my midwives, I'm sure.
The sun came up shortly after to a beautiful blue-skied, snowy, sunny morning. We crawled into bed and slept and slept after the midwives helped us clean everything up. Solomon's daddy kept looking in on us every few minutes, shaking his head in wonder at our beautiful new life
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Fast Labor and Delivery
My first child, Dylan Scott, was a difficult 12.5-hour delivery. So, with my second child, I assumed that birthing her would be much of the same. How wrong was I!
I worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day, but before leaving work I told my co-worker who had recently delivered her fourth child in an ambulance, that I thought I was having contractions and that they had been going on all day. However, the contractions were not very close together, nor were they very strong.
My friend tried to convince me to allow her to drive me to the hospital at that exact moment. But I refused. I wanted to go home and shower before I went into the hospital for another 12-hour delivery.
By 6:45 p.m. I reached labor and delivery and they examined me. The nurse said that I was dilated to 3 1/2 centimeters and that I had the option of being taken into the hospital at that point or I could walk around and be checked again in two hours. I chose to walk around.
So my mother, my mother-in-law and I went to pick my husband up from work. We arrived back at the hospital around 7:45 p.m., and my mothers wanted me to walk the stairs to get my labor moving.
At this point my discomfort level had greatly increased; however, it was not unbearable. And I felt as though I needed to use the restroom; however, all I could do was tinkle a little.
I decided at that point that it was time to return to labor and delivery. Upon arrival at 8 p.m., the nurse said that I was dilated to 7 centimeters. The nurse was walking out of the room, and said that she would be back with the instruments she need to insert the standard IV.
Meanwhile, I was standing next to the bed, and began having a very strong contraction. I called to the nurse attempting to leave the room, and she rushed over to push me back onto the bed. They immediately rushed me down the hall to the delivery room.
My husband had carted off to update the grandmothers and almost missed our daughter being born. My bed barely reached the delivery room when my daughter arrived into this world at 8:13 p.m.
All of the nurses were gasping, and I thought that something was wrong with Brianna Nicole. So I was hitting my husband in the arm, exclaiming, What is wrong with my baby? There was absolutely nothing wrong with Brianna.
The gasping was caused by the scene that the nurses/doctors had just observed. No one in the delivery room had ever seen it happen. Apparently, I had what is called a veiled birth, meaning that my water had never been broken and that my daughter was born in the sac (just like a kitten is born). Apparently, this is very rare, and they say that my daughter will be a very special child. And obviously she is very special to me!
I worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day, but before leaving work I told my co-worker who had recently delivered her fourth child in an ambulance, that I thought I was having contractions and that they had been going on all day. However, the contractions were not very close together, nor were they very strong.
My friend tried to convince me to allow her to drive me to the hospital at that exact moment. But I refused. I wanted to go home and shower before I went into the hospital for another 12-hour delivery.
By 6:45 p.m. I reached labor and delivery and they examined me. The nurse said that I was dilated to 3 1/2 centimeters and that I had the option of being taken into the hospital at that point or I could walk around and be checked again in two hours. I chose to walk around.
So my mother, my mother-in-law and I went to pick my husband up from work. We arrived back at the hospital around 7:45 p.m., and my mothers wanted me to walk the stairs to get my labor moving.
At this point my discomfort level had greatly increased; however, it was not unbearable. And I felt as though I needed to use the restroom; however, all I could do was tinkle a little.
I decided at that point that it was time to return to labor and delivery. Upon arrival at 8 p.m., the nurse said that I was dilated to 7 centimeters. The nurse was walking out of the room, and said that she would be back with the instruments she need to insert the standard IV.
Meanwhile, I was standing next to the bed, and began having a very strong contraction. I called to the nurse attempting to leave the room, and she rushed over to push me back onto the bed. They immediately rushed me down the hall to the delivery room.
My husband had carted off to update the grandmothers and almost missed our daughter being born. My bed barely reached the delivery room when my daughter arrived into this world at 8:13 p.m.
All of the nurses were gasping, and I thought that something was wrong with Brianna Nicole. So I was hitting my husband in the arm, exclaiming, What is wrong with my baby? There was absolutely nothing wrong with Brianna.
The gasping was caused by the scene that the nurses/doctors had just observed. No one in the delivery room had ever seen it happen. Apparently, I had what is called a veiled birth, meaning that my water had never been broken and that my daughter was born in the sac (just like a kitten is born). Apparently, this is very rare, and they say that my daughter will be a very special child. And obviously she is very special to me!
Sorry!
A kind reader brought to my attention a story that I had posted earlier, The (Home)Birth of Sextuplets. I now realize that that story is fictional. I have been trying to delete it from my blog, but as a new blogger, I do not know how to yet. Until I find out how, please ignore that story. Thanks for reading!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Stillborn Twins
A NOTE FROM ME: I noticed that I had some visitors! I just wanted to thank you for visitng and for reading! Please come back soon!
I found out I was pregnant when I went to the doctor with the stomach flu that I just couldn't get rid of. Three weeks later I had an appointment for my first ultrasound. We found out that we were 13 weeks pregnant and with twins. We were so excited.
We did a lot of research because we knew that it is common for twins or multiple children to be born early, and we wanted to be ready. But nothing could make us ready for what was in store for us.
We went to the doctor with some minor bleeding and the doctor listened for the heartbeats and there was only one, so we got another ultrasound done, and our baby was dead. We got that baby removed with a vacuum extraction. It would have been a boy. We named him Jaidin Nathen Kade. He only weighed 7 ounces.
It was hard to go on after the death of him, but we knew that we had to. We had another baby to care for.
Things were going fine until our 23rd week when I started feeling really sick, with high temperatures and vomiting. We went in for a checkup and discovered that I was really low on amniotic fluid. A week later our baby passed.
I had a vaginal delivery. It was real smooth and simple because the baby was so small. It was another little boy, what we have always dreamed of having. Aaidin William Kade weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces.
We are still trying to get over our losses. It is so hard. I am only 17 years old, and I know that I am young, and still in school. But these were my children. My angels in heaven!
I found out I was pregnant when I went to the doctor with the stomach flu that I just couldn't get rid of. Three weeks later I had an appointment for my first ultrasound. We found out that we were 13 weeks pregnant and with twins. We were so excited.
We did a lot of research because we knew that it is common for twins or multiple children to be born early, and we wanted to be ready. But nothing could make us ready for what was in store for us.
We went to the doctor with some minor bleeding and the doctor listened for the heartbeats and there was only one, so we got another ultrasound done, and our baby was dead. We got that baby removed with a vacuum extraction. It would have been a boy. We named him Jaidin Nathen Kade. He only weighed 7 ounces.
It was hard to go on after the death of him, but we knew that we had to. We had another baby to care for.
Things were going fine until our 23rd week when I started feeling really sick, with high temperatures and vomiting. We went in for a checkup and discovered that I was really low on amniotic fluid. A week later our baby passed.
I had a vaginal delivery. It was real smooth and simple because the baby was so small. It was another little boy, what we have always dreamed of having. Aaidin William Kade weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces.
We are still trying to get over our losses. It is so hard. I am only 17 years old, and I know that I am young, and still in school. But these were my children. My angels in heaven!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Restroom Delivery
After experiencing several complications and bed rest with my pregnancy, I never would have dreamed my baby Jalee would enter the world in this manner.
On May 5, 2004, I arrived at the hospital having some contractions. I knew they were a little different than the ones I had experienced the three months prior to giving birth.
My doctor checked me and told me this was just the beginning of labor. I was not in a good labor pattern yet and my cervix was only 2 to 3 centimeters dilated. "Go home, have a bath and eat something. Let me know if you have any change."
I did; I also took a walk and went to bed. I woke up at 12:30 a.m. (May 6) and knew it was time to go to the hospital. While waiting for my husband to get dressed, I was planting my face into the pillows with my bottom up.
We hit construction on the freeway, made a wrong turn at the hospital campus, and couldn't find parking at the emergency entrance.
After finding a wheelchair, we went up the elevator to Labor and Delivery. The nurse told me to go into room 11, undress and give her a urine sample.
I sat down on the toilet and yelled, "Jesse, her head is out." He said, "Bullsh**, let me see." I stood up, and my baby girl fell into the toilet just two minuets after arriving. My husband was so scared that he picked her up with one hand and started to run. I said, "Stop, she's still attached."
At this point the nurse had pushed the panic button; there were about 30 nurses and doctors trying to get into the tiny restroom.
Jalee was a trooper. She came out screaming and is as healthy as can be. While they were delivering the placenta, I looked at my husband and said, "So much for the epidural."
I left the hospital without even an IV.
On May 5, 2004, I arrived at the hospital having some contractions. I knew they were a little different than the ones I had experienced the three months prior to giving birth.
My doctor checked me and told me this was just the beginning of labor. I was not in a good labor pattern yet and my cervix was only 2 to 3 centimeters dilated. "Go home, have a bath and eat something. Let me know if you have any change."
I did; I also took a walk and went to bed. I woke up at 12:30 a.m. (May 6) and knew it was time to go to the hospital. While waiting for my husband to get dressed, I was planting my face into the pillows with my bottom up.
We hit construction on the freeway, made a wrong turn at the hospital campus, and couldn't find parking at the emergency entrance.
After finding a wheelchair, we went up the elevator to Labor and Delivery. The nurse told me to go into room 11, undress and give her a urine sample.
I sat down on the toilet and yelled, "Jesse, her head is out." He said, "Bullsh**, let me see." I stood up, and my baby girl fell into the toilet just two minuets after arriving. My husband was so scared that he picked her up with one hand and started to run. I said, "Stop, she's still attached."
At this point the nurse had pushed the panic button; there were about 30 nurses and doctors trying to get into the tiny restroom.
Jalee was a trooper. She came out screaming and is as healthy as can be. While they were delivering the placenta, I looked at my husband and said, "So much for the epidural."
I left the hospital without even an IV.
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