Aubrey Ruth arrived at 3.01 a.m. on Feb. 14th via c-section after 28 hrs. of back labor. She was 6lbs 13oz and 18.25 inches. Cord was wrapped around her twice...b/c of some trouble urinating & feeding she was transferred to the NICU @ Miami Children's Hospital. Things seem to be improving now though. I'll post more when I get a better internet connection!
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Well I'm still in Miami, but have a computer in the hotel now, so I thought I'd share Aubrey's birth story.
On Thursday the 12th (Aubrey's due date), Huz and I went out for wings, hoping the spicy food might move things along. I'd been having cramps low in my back all day, but didn't associate it with labor. That evening the cramps got worse and Huz suggested we time them. They were getting regular, so we went to bed early and tried to rest, although I still didn't realize they were contractions.
I managed to get about three hours of sleep, and finally woke up around midnight realizing that the pain in my back must be contractions. That's also about when I started throwing up. I got in the tub for a while, which seemed to help. Huz got some more sleep, and I paced the house and tried to wait until my midwife's office opened at 9:00. Around 5:00 I got more uncomfortable and got back in the tub. By 8:00 the vomiting was so severe that I was afraid my being dehydrated was going to hurt my baby, so I went to the hospital to see if they could give me something to make the vomiting stop. My plan was to go home afterwards.
When we got to the hospital they wouldn't do anything without checking me into the LDR ward, so I went up and got all checked in. They gave me some Phenagren (sp?) which stopped the vomiting for a couple hours. Around 11:00 I decided it was time to go home because the vomiting had stopped and my contractions had slowed (probably because they hooked me up to monitors, etc., and I was getting stressed out). Just as I was about to get dressed, my water exploded. So of course they didn't want me to leave, and honestly the pain in my back was so bad I didn't care where I was or what was running out of me. Then the vomiting started up again and they decided I was dehydrated and needed fluids, so in went the IV.
By 5:00 in the evening I couldn't handle it anymore and got an epidural. At midnight they turned the epidural off so that I could push, but Baby refused to descend despite me being fully dilated. Then her heartrate spiked, my midwife recommended a c-section, and down I went to surgery.
We learned that her cord was wrapped around her neck and again around her body, which I guess is why my midwife couldn't get her out.
At 3:01 a.m. on the 14th we had our baby girl. Within 24 hours she had her first helicopter ride to Miami Children's Hospital, where we've been since then. She didn't pee within 24 hours of her birth (probably because we were both dehydrated), so they did a bunch of tests including a baby spinal tap and concluded that she might have an infection. Three days later, we find out that's not the case, but she still wasn't feeding well. Three days after that, she's feeding fine but her bowels are distended...and its just been one thing after another as we try to break her out of the NICU.
She's finally straightened out, and with a little baby prevacid for severe reflux she should be coming home tomorrow or Tuesday. I can't believe how off track things went and how EVERYTHING I had planned went out the window, but I am super grateful that I am that I have a healthy baby.
Everyone at both hospitals was wonderful--my midwife, my doula, my LDR nurse, the flight crew on the helicopter, the NICU nurses, everyone. I hope I can remember to write them all thank-yous when this is over!
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Well I'm still in Miami, but have a computer in the hotel now, so I thought I'd share Aubrey's birth story.
On Thursday the 12th (Aubrey's due date), Huz and I went out for wings, hoping the spicy food might move things along. I'd been having cramps low in my back all day, but didn't associate it with labor. That evening the cramps got worse and Huz suggested we time them. They were getting regular, so we went to bed early and tried to rest, although I still didn't realize they were contractions.
I managed to get about three hours of sleep, and finally woke up around midnight realizing that the pain in my back must be contractions. That's also about when I started throwing up. I got in the tub for a while, which seemed to help. Huz got some more sleep, and I paced the house and tried to wait until my midwife's office opened at 9:00. Around 5:00 I got more uncomfortable and got back in the tub. By 8:00 the vomiting was so severe that I was afraid my being dehydrated was going to hurt my baby, so I went to the hospital to see if they could give me something to make the vomiting stop. My plan was to go home afterwards.
When we got to the hospital they wouldn't do anything without checking me into the LDR ward, so I went up and got all checked in. They gave me some Phenagren (sp?) which stopped the vomiting for a couple hours. Around 11:00 I decided it was time to go home because the vomiting had stopped and my contractions had slowed (probably because they hooked me up to monitors, etc., and I was getting stressed out). Just as I was about to get dressed, my water exploded. So of course they didn't want me to leave, and honestly the pain in my back was so bad I didn't care where I was or what was running out of me. Then the vomiting started up again and they decided I was dehydrated and needed fluids, so in went the IV.
By 5:00 in the evening I couldn't handle it anymore and got an epidural. At midnight they turned the epidural off so that I could push, but Baby refused to descend despite me being fully dilated. Then her heartrate spiked, my midwife recommended a c-section, and down I went to surgery.
We learned that her cord was wrapped around her neck and again around her body, which I guess is why my midwife couldn't get her out.At 3:01 a.m. on the 14th we had our baby girl. Within 24 hours she had her first helicopter ride to Miami Children's Hospital, where we've been since then. She didn't pee within 24 hours of her birth (probably because we were both dehydrated), so they did a bunch of tests including a baby spinal tap and concluded that she might have an infection. Three days later, we find out that's not the case, but she still wasn't feeding well. Three days after that, she's feeding fine but her bowels are distended...and its just been one thing after another as we try to break her out of the NICU.
She's finally straightened out, and with a little baby prevacid for severe reflux she should be coming home tomorrow or Tuesday. I can't believe how off track things went and how EVERYTHING I had planned went out the window, but I am super grateful that I am that I have a healthy baby.
Everyone at both hospitals was wonderful--my midwife, my doula, my LDR nurse, the flight crew on the helicopter, the NICU nurses, everyone. I hope I can remember to write them all thank-yous when this is over!
But YAY!!! About your beautiful new baby girl!!! Congratulations!!!! 
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