Weekly NSTs came and went. Lots of quiet time in the car to spend processing, thinking, dreaming up situations and imagining what it would be like when Daisy arrived.
Our next followup with MFM was at 34 weeks. I didn’t feel well that day, and neither did my second born who had gotten sick a couple times earlier in the day. I vividly remember feeling like my clothes were suffocating me, and we took the hour long trek up the highway, while I wore my robe so I wouldn’t feel restricted by clothes. I even joked on my Facebook that I wished going pants-less wasn’t taboo 😉 When we arrived and walked back, I suddenly became very dizzy and vomited in the ultrasound room. I felt better after, but not 100%. The doctor was concerned that I was dealing with food poisoning since I had some fruit the day prior (and at the time, there was an active recall of fruit trays, something we’d eaten at my Blessingway the day before).
I was okay the rest of the appointment. Baby was measuring big still, we were still dealing with the poly, but otherwise, she looked good. No news is good news, right?
We’d barely made it home that evening and I began vomiting profusely. I felt horrible! I made sure to head to bed early, but I remember waking several times throughout the night begging for morning to come. I didn’t want to lie down, I didn’t want to sleep, but I knew I needed to. At 6 am, I decided I should probably get up to start my day. I started having contractions but thought it was dehydration from the night before. So, I did what anyone would do who knows someone “in the biz” and texted my friend lol! She wanted me to stay home from work and to time my contractions. So, again, I did what any “normal” person would do, and I showered and headed to work!
When I arrived, I notified management that I was pretty positive I was in labor. That I would stay til they were able to reschedule my day, but that I needed to head to my OB. I know everyone reading this that doesn’t know me is probably thinking I’m crazy – I am – and in my defense, I figured that worst case, an OB office was downstairs and I was a mile from a hospital.
They got my day rescheduled and I called my doc. The nurse wasn’t concerned but said to come in after lunch. In the mean time, I laid down and took a small nap. All the while, my nurse friend is probably wanting to shake me out of frustration that I hadn’t headed in yet.
We arrive at 230 and the NST says everything is normal. PHEW! Just dehydration. The OB decides to do a cervical check *just in case* since we drove an hour. They were planning to run a test to see my likelihood of going into labor, but the doctor takes off her gloves, and exclaims, ”Well, we won’t be needing that test! You’re 5 centimeters!”
You could have heard a pin drop.
But how? I was 4 cm last pregnancy and begging for pain meds, begging for the epidural! This time was so different! We were immediately admitted and the first steroid for her lungs was administered. Prophylactic antibiotic for gbs since I hadn’t been tested yet. And contraction delayers.
We met with the NICU team and they notified us that she would be automatically admitted and possibly transferred to the big campus if they couldn’t stop my labor.
I’ll skip a couple days here, and just say that they did, and I was sent home on contraction delayers at 5 cm, an hour away. On bed rest. That was a cute “suggestion” 🙂
Of course I wasn’t allowed to work at the tongue tie clinic on bed rest but I did return to home visits, limiting myself to one a day, and I warned every client beforehand. Oddly enough, nobody turned down a visit, and most gave me a, “Well I’m a nurse/doc/live 2 miles from the hospital” excuse to help me feel better!
We had another ultrasound 3 weeks later and they set my induction date for 39 weeks. I defied all the odds (my odds) and lasted til my induction date!
Induction day came…
We started pitocin at 11:30 am, and after lots of walking and ball bouncing, I was a strong 7 cm around 6:45 pm. The midwife decided it was a good time to break my water, and she warned me of the cord prolapse possibility. She said she would keep her hand there to feel for the cord as she broke my water, and if the cord came out, she would jump on the bed, holding the baby’s head, and we would race to the OR. Talk about fear!
I burst into tears when she said everything was fine. What an emotional ride! And then suddenly, things got real. Let’s just say, I went from 7 cm with waters intact, to baby in arms in about 30 minutes. Intense does not even begin to describe it! I felt like a rockstar for having a natural delivery (and on pitocin, too)!
My sweet Daisy girl was finally here. And she was gorgeous, chubby, and perfect in every way! My other two births were medicated and my girls were very sleepy. Not Daisy! She was wide awake, talking, and she latched (swoon!) immediately.
But I’m not delusional. I knew better than to think she was transferring anything. So I had the nurses bring a pump as soon as we moved to the postpartum unit so I could get started. And there I was again. Same song and dance as with my first baby, triple feeding right from birth. But this time, I was at peace. I was educated. I was prepared. And it felt right.
Feeding Miss Daisy 