Victoria

This (taken a few hours before her birth):

Turned into this:

It’s hard to believe she is already a month old.

Here is her story:

It was a fairly run-of-the-mill pregnancy. At my 38 week appointment my OB requested an ultrasound to check fluid levels because of what happened with Fiona. I was measuring a week ahead per fundal height (and at every ultrasound, and I had MANY of those) so I was not worried. I scheduled it for Thursday December 4. The ultrasound went well and Baby was estimated to be 7 pounds and 12 ounces and the estimated age was 39 weeks 3 days (I was 38 weeks 3 days) so again, a week ahead.

I just finished running all my important errands that needed to be done before Baby arrived. That night, I finished cooking and freezing meals and had John take a photo me (the one above), I washed my hair because I thought that it might be a while before I had the opportunity again, and John and I discussed how Baby could realistically arrive at any time. It’s almost like I instinctively knew. However, I had plans for the weekend and the following week and was looking forward to enjoying an easy week of sitting around, maybe visiting friends, and relaxing watching HGTV before Baby’s arrival.

Fiona was having a hard night and woke up after going to sleep, needing cuddling. I finally went to bed around 10 and woke up an hour later because I thought I wet the bed. I went to the bathroom and it happened again. I never experienced any labor with Fiona, never had contractions or water breaking, and didn’t really know what to expect. I thought I would never experience those things. When it kept happening, I told John, who was working on his computer in the kitchen, that I thought my water was breaking. Neither one of us had any experience so we looked it up on the internet. The internet confirmed that what I was experiencing was probably water breaking and gave conflicting information about whether or not to go to the hospital.

Because I had a c-section scheduled (local hospital won’t allow otherwise) we decided there was no point in waiting around, so I called my mom to come stay with Fiona. I grabbed my hospital bag (that was sitting packed, for at least a week) and off we went. We checked in through the emergency room and took the elevator to Labor and Delivery where I had to explain that I thought my water broke but wasn’t sure and why it was that I wasn’t sure, even though it wasn’t my first child. It was about midnight.

I was taken to triage to the exact same room and same bed I sat in for four hours before Fiona was born, I was given a hospital gown and attached to monitors. Turns out I was also having contractions that I couldn’t yet feel.

What on earth is that giant ball under my gown?!?

They did a test to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid and checked my cervix. When I lay back for the check, I felt a big whoosh of fluid and the nurse determined that there was no need to wait for the results of the fluid test because my membranes were definitely ruptured. Originally, they said it was possible I would be sent home, but after the gush of water, my OB, who happened to be there that night, canceled that plan. I don’t know what time it was, not much long after arriving, I started to feel the contractions. They were mild at first, then unpleasant as they got stronger. It was kind of exciting because I never felt those before and I was not in full blown hard labor, so still very tolerable. At some point, after different people came to see me, take my blood, insert and IV, and put socks on my feet, I was wheeled into the operating room in a wheel chair! With Fiona, I was in a bed, basically immobile, but this time I had to climb up onto the operating table myself!

The anesthesiologist arrived and it was the same guy who was there during my third miscarriage and my mom’s hip surgery. He said he lives at the hospital. I call him Doctor Feelgood because I think he overmedicated just a little. Before my miscarriage, he gave me a shot of something that made me feel like I was flying, shot out of a cannon. He gave me something again, much milder. My OB came in at some point and Baby came out at 2:26am on Friday December 5. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 20 inches long. The atmosphere in the operating room was jovial. A NICU team is always present at c-sections and the nurse who came in was one of Fiona’s nurses! We saw her at the pool once when we took the same swimming lessons. I recognized her voice and we chatted. I think some of the other staff thought we were crazy. My OB made some remarks about the baby seeming to be bigger than he expected and not coming out as easily, then there was a vacuum and I don’t remember much else, though I was not asleep. Victoria came out pink and crying like a champ. Her APGARs were the same as Fiona’s, 8/9, and she and John went off to the nursery because she inhaled some fluid and a respiratory therapist needed to check her out. Before that I got to hold her a little and John took many photos. I was taken to recovery and she was brought in and put on my chest, where she immediately made a latch. I don’t remember holding her or getting to the recovery room, but there is ample photo evidence, so I know it happened. This is something I really dislike about a c-section. Sure, there is little pain and one doesn’t need to worry about tearing or other issues, but the recovery is far less pleasant.

Some time later, I think after I started regaining feeling in my feet, I was taken to a post partum room and admitted. Victoria was wheeled in with me and slept for the first night. I would have LOVED sleep, as I only got an hour of it before my water broke and it was now Friday morning, but when you have any sort of surgery, the hospital makes it it’s mission to deny you sleep. Someone has to come into the room every few minutes to make sure you are still breathing. They put some weird breath measuring thing on my neck that was very uncomfortable. I told them to take it off, I am obviously breathing because otherwise, I was going to take it off. So the nurses took it off. It was ridiculous. They also had to evaluate Victoria every few minutes. I wanted to tell them to just leave us alone because this was all the sleep I was going to get for the next couple of years, but alas, no luck.

John went home to Fiona, who had a pretty tough night, waking again after we left and discovering that both Mommy and Daddy were gone. He got her breakfasted and dressed and brought her to see me. I am not posting a lot of the photos because I looked pretty rough. No sleep and swollen from IV fluids, with all sorts of wires and monitors. I never asked her, but I am sure it was a little traumatizing for Fiona to see me like that.

I spent the next several days mostly by myself, taking well over 100 photos of Victoria with my phone and pretending like I wasn’t sleeping with her in bed with me whenever the nurses came in to check on us. I had some wonderful nurses, including one who was my nurse when Fiona was born, and an awesome night nurse and tech that helped me out when Victoria was nursing and fussing for three hours in a row, who helped me change her (I couldn’t really stand up to do it, or to even put her in her crib or get her out), swaddled her, helped me go to the bathroom, and then took her out for two and a half hours so I could get some sleep. Earlier, aspirated some spit up milk so I was afraid to put her down or sleep myself.

I was discharged on Monday morning and was wheeled out of the hospital while holding Victoria in my arms (I was told that if I wanted to walk out, I could not carry her, she would have to be in a car seat, so I chose the wheel chair). I cried a little realizing everything I missed out on when Fiona was born.

This whole experience has been so different. Going full term, getting really big (I didn’t think I was, but apparently everyone else thought I was huge), having some labor, how easy going everyone was because the birth was not an emergency, taking the baby home with me, nursing from the start. John and I realized we know nothing about what a normal newborn does or what is normal newborn behavior. When I realized my water was breaking, I did not panic or worry because even though I had my heart set on a birth date of 12/12 (at 12:30) I knew that having the baby a week early was not a big deal. She was full term, she was not small, there was nothing to worry about. My only regret is that I really wish the hospital allowed me to try for a natural birth. I will never know if I can do it and I will not have another opportunity because Victoria is our second and last child. I don’t want to have another surgery and once she sleeps through the night, gets all her teeth, and is potty trained, I am not starting again.

So far Victoria has been a fairly easy baby. She’s cute and cuddly, and already sleeps one three hour block at night in her bassinet.

Here are a million or so photos of Victoria from the last month:

  

 

 

 

  

She looks just like Fiona in the photo on the right.

      

Fiona was reading to Victoria:

  

    

We nurse our babies at the same time:

 

Lots of obligatory “Baby sleeping on John” shots:

  

She has the swirl, just like Fiona:

Actual Homecoming day:

Fiona picked the outfit.

 

Here are some photos of me from my baby shower:

The woman in the first one is a friend I met on my preemie board. I bought that dress at the beginning of the school year to wear to work but only discovered in November that it had pockets.

Soon I will write a post about what else we’ve been doing. Fiona went to a hair salon, went horse back riding, and to a museum. She also became proficient at the monkey bars and can swing hand over hand across them. We gave her a bicycle for Christmas (with training wheels) and she rides it well. We had Chanukah and lit candles. Lots of stuff, but another time.