* warning: this is a long one, grab your coffee now :)
My mom flew into Seattle August 4th and planned to stay until the baby arrived. If he arrived early she would depart on the 21st of August. I have to be honest the moment her plane landed I was ready. I wanted her to be around to help with the baby as long as possible. I only made it to 34 weeks in my first pregnancy so this time by 37 weeks I was ready to have a baby! Alex disagreed. He wanted me to make it to term and not have an early planned cesarean. Now don't get me wrong I did not plan to have an early c section. My plan was to spontaneously go into labor and have a vbac. If I never went into labor my doctor would schedule a cesarean at 39 weeks as it would be too risky for me to go beyond that day. (If you are curious about my riskiness see earlier posts) I woke every morning praying for labor to happen! I couldn't wait to have a contraction, crazy I know. I didn't care so much about the experience of labor I think babies coming into this world is an experience no matter the entrance...or exit as it may be. I just wanted to have the recovery of a vaginal birth. At this point I was visiting the doctor weekly. We did a weekly NST as well. The baby was always great and my TOCO was always flat (this means labor was no where in sight). We checked my cervix at the appointment before and I was closed shut and locked. Even with all that I was still hopeful my water would just magically break the next day and that I would shoot into labor.
Monday, August 10th, I went into L&D around 10 pm. I would like to say that I went because my water broke but that is just not what happened. I had been instructed to check my BP once or twice a day. I checked it that evening and it was around 147/110. I called L&D and they informed me I was over my limit and had to come in. Upon arrival my BP remained high. They checked me in, discussed delivery options and began running tests. Everything came back normal and somewhere in the middle of the night my bp went back to normal as well. My protein was elevated but not enough to diagnose me as preeclamptic. I was sent home with a giant jug to do my very own 12 hour urine sample (nothing more lovely than storing urine in your fridge all day). I had to go in that evening to turn in my sample and discuss the next steps with my doctor. Thankfully my protein came back as normal and so we went back to the normal plan. If I go into labor great if not I would be scheduled. In the mean time I needed to keep checking the bp at home. I was also placed on blood pressure medicine to keep it nice and low.
Wednesday August 12th, I had felt a little off all day. Mom and I had ran some errands around town. It was a good day but I kept feeling like my vision was off, enough so I made her drive. (my mother driving in Seattle could have an entire post of its own) I also had a nagging headache but it was cooler that day so I just decided it was sinus pressure. That afternoon I took a nap in hopes of feeling better but when I woke up I felt worse. My mom even noticed that I looked like I felt...not good. So I took my bp and instantly knew it was game on! My bp was around 153/110. This normally would be high but not terrible. But remember I'm on blood pressure medicine, I shouldn't be having anything over 120/80. I knew this was it. The moment I had prayed wouldn't happen but had planned for either way. I was going to develop preeclampsia again. We got to the hospital as quick as possible and I was right. I had elevated bp and proteins. Thankfully my platelets and liver were doing just fine, that means no HELLP...PRAISE THE LORD!!
So the same doctor who came to me about a vbac two days before came back with the news I expected. I was already risky for a vbac but an induced vbac just seemed to create more risk than I was willing to take. So a cesarean it would be. The moment we all agreed the wheels began to turn.
Alex and I were dressed and prepped! Things were so different this time, while we were having a rushed cesarean we were not at the emergency point so we really got to have the birth experience. He called for mom and brother while I went back for anesthesia. Alex came back into the room as they got me settled onto the bed. The entire staff was professional and so reassuring for me. They set up my bed to where I would be able to see the baby as soon as he was out. My surgery went well. I unfortunately had quite a bit of scar tissue so things went a little longer than expected. I also got sick this time, that was an experience, but the anesthesiologist made it seem like a drop in the bucket. The best part of this entire experience was that I could feel that baby kicking right up until his exit. I think he was excited to see me! They announced that he would be arriving shortly and then we heard the scream. I said he didn't scream fast enough and Alex informed me it was maybe 2 seconds (felt like 20 min). They took him to his table wiped him down, did all the prep work and brought him straight to my chest. My little boy was nursing before I knew it and I was crying like a baby! It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life! He stayed with me the rest of the evening and we began our life as a family of four. God is just so good.
In the end my race was clear. I would get sick again but God would walk me through it just like he had before. I ran my race with a faithful heart, putting all my trust in him. God was with us the entire time and we know he poured his grace into my pregnancy and delivery. I can never be thankful enough for all he has done for me.
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