I am writing this post from the NICU room at the hospital. The past 6 days have been a whirlwind of emotions. We received the most wonderful gift less than a week ago and I have never been more in love. Our lives have changed for the better. I want to take a moment and share the story of how Finely was born and why she was born 6 weeks early.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
My high-risk doctor had told me that if I had two more high blood pressures in a row that they would have to go ahead and induce me. They said baby looked good and since she was 34 weeks she would do really well. I wanted more than anything to meet my baby but at this point, I was getting really scared about my health. And let’s be honest, after 18 days in the hospital, I just wanted out. I had a couple of high BP’s during the course of the day. At one point my nurse went to call the doctor to see what we should do. He said that they were not crazy high yet so we were just going to wait it out. I was a little frustrated because my BP was getting higher but nothing was happening. However, I trusted my doctors and knew they were making the right call.
7:00 pm: Ryan walked into the room at 7:01 and put my food on the bed and I was just about to eat when my nurse walked in to take my BP. It was 200/109 which is seizure/stroke range. She took it again and it was even higher. At this point, I was getting very worried about my health. My nurse hurried out then three other nurses walked in and told me to put on the hospital gown because it was go-time. I immediately called my mom and barely had time to process what was going on. They rolled in a sonogram machine to see if she was breached (she was 3 days prior) and they hooked me up to the IV. Finley had tuned and was not breached anymore which we were excited about. However, my doctor told us that if they induced me, I would be in labor for about three days because my body was not ready to give birth this early. They needed to deliver ASAP because my BP was so high so the only option was for me to have a C-Section.
8:00 pm: I was rolled into the delivery room without Ryan. I kept telling myself that I was going to be okay. Going back there by myself was not my most favorite thing. My nurse was amazing and talked to me the whole time and she held my hands while they were doing the epidural. The epidural was very painful and I started to feel very fatigued. Again, I kept telling myself I was going to be okay. But in reality, I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through. My nurse put the medicine in and my whole lower body went warm an then it went numb. After I laid back down they brought Ryan in and I had a sigh of relief. Just having him there with me made me so much more relaxed. They started the procedure and it was a feeling like nothing before. I did not feel any pain but I felt them tugging and pulling. I kept waiting to hear my baby cry so that I knew she was out and healthy.
8:21 pm: Finley entered the world. I heard the doctor say “breath. breath.” That is the most terrifying thing to hear after giving birth. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck so she was not breathing right away. However, it did not take long for her to start breathing. This is another reason I am so glad we went ahead and did a C-Section. I was 100% okay with having a C-Section because it was all about me being healthy and baby being healthy. I did not care how I delivered, I just wanted Finley and myself to be okay. The first time I held my baby was a dream. A dream that I had dreamt about since I was a little girl. In fact, I feel like I am still dreaming. They let me hold her for a few minutes before taking her to NICU. The hardest part was that I did not get to see her for 24 hours after giving birth. My BP was so high, so after my surgery that put me on magnesium so I would not have a stroke. I could not leave my bed and Finley was in the NICU so we were apart the first 24 hours. The only thing that made that bearable was knowing that her NICU nurses were amazing and knowing that her daddy was in there with her any chance he got.
9:00 pm: I sat in the recovery room and looked at Ryan. My first thought was “what just happened”? Earlier that night, I didn’t know I was having a baby. And there I was, 2 hours later, in the recovery room as a new mom. The whole process was so fast. I still can’t believe it. However, we are so blessed that she is here and that she is healthy! We love our Finley so much!
xoxo,
Alyssa Littlefield
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