Baby is here.

[[email protected]]

Lucy
6:32 PM
5/16/06
7lbs 5 oz
20 1/4 inches

She is doing great and I am fine also.
Her birth was much more dramatic than previous births. I birth in
hospitals but except for my first couple babies they have been pretty
low intervention/low key/ low risk. Lucy changed all that.
As many of you know this pregnancy has been a challenge from the start
with hyperemesis and home IV therapy for 9 weeks, moving in the middle
of the pregnancy, breaking my foot at 35 weeks..... I really thought
that nothing else could possibly happen. Wrong.

On Friday the 12th I was feeling 'funny'. Like I had been hanging
upside down on a trapeze. I took my BP and it was 150/90. I could bring
it down to 140/85 if I rested for a while. I went about my day and
evening and tried to relax. Sat 13th really started to feel crummy, BP
was staying high. Had neighbor take me to hospital as dh was
unreachable for the better part of the day. BP in hospital was 178/95.
They kept me for a few hours, it came down if I was horizontal. They
released me with the promise that I would stay on complete bedrest
until I could see my OB.

By the time I saw my OB on Tuesday I had full on PE (high BP, protein
in urine, decreased output,hyperreflexive, floaters, headache etc....no
swelling and 6 lb weightloss though-later when my kidneys perked up
again and I started to diurese I couldn't imagine where all that fluid
was coming from-despite all the interventions in labor they really
didn't give me much IV, I must have been hiding it somewhere)

Anyway we decided to induce. It was going to be tricky. I'm a VBAC.
Grand-multip and now pre-eclamptic. Balancing the mag sulfate and the
pitocin to get my uterus contracting enough to get her out but not so
much as to injure her or me...
Hats off to my OB, most docs would have insisted on the C-section.
We took it slowly. Mag first (awful, evil stuff) with foley, then abx
for GBS, then pit (low and slow). Pit for a few hours until I got to
3cm/80%/-2 then AROM. Left the pit at the low dose it was at and let
the AROM do the trick. AROM at 4:30 at 3cm, baby born vaginally at 6:32
with no pain meds. Once they took the foley out at 8cm I freely labored
and pushed in any position on the bed. I don't think they ever saw a
woman hooked up to so much !@#$ be so acrobatic :-) My doulas were
phenomenal, I don't think I could have managed without them. Dh was
quite a calming, sympathetic presence too (although he did talk too
much and was shushed quite a few times)

there is a lot more to her story but that's hte long and short of it.
She's a wonderful baby. Nurses like a champ, already back to her birth
weight, lots of quiet alert time and is happy as long as she is
held/warm/full and not having her diaper changed. :-)

Karen

[Jamie Clark]

Welcome and congrats!~
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1, Password:
Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

[carlye]

Congratulations, Karen, and welcome, Lucy!

What an ordeal to go through, all in a few days! Now I understand your
(very helpful) comments about PE... sounds like it was quite a mess --
but a mess with such a lovely outcome. :-) Congratulations.

-Carlye
DD 9-29-04
DS EDD 6-2-06

[Leslie]

That's quite a story! I'm so glad you are both okay and that you
escaped a section!

Leslie

[Engram]

Congratulations and welcome Lucy!

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Lucy
> 6:32 PM
> 5/16/06
> 7lbs 5 oz
> 20 1/4 inches
>
> She is doing great and I am fine also.
> Her birth was much more dramatic than previous births. I birth in
> hospitals but except for my first couple babies they have been pretty
> low intervention/low key/ low risk. Lucy changed all that.
> As many of you know this pregnancy has been a challenge from the start
> with hyperemesis and home IV therapy for 9 weeks, moving in the middle
> of the pregnancy, breaking my foot at 35 weeks..... I really thought
> that nothing else could possibly happen. Wrong.
>
> On Friday the 12th I was feeling 'funny'. Like I had been hanging
> upside down on a trapeze. I took my BP and it was 150/90. I could bring
> it down to 140/85 if I rested for a while. I went about my day and
> evening and tried to relax. Sat 13th really started to feel crummy, BP
> was staying high. Had neighbor take me to hospital as dh was
> unreachable for the better part of the day. BP in hospital was 178/95.
> They kept me for a few hours, it came down if I was horizontal. They
> released me with the promise that I would stay on complete bedrest
> until I could see my OB.
>
> By the time I saw my OB on Tuesday I had full on PE (high BP, protein
> in urine, decreased output,hyperreflexive, floaters, headache etc....no
> swelling and 6 lb weightloss though-later when my kidneys perked up
> again and I started to diurese I couldn't imagine where all that fluid
> was coming from-despite all the interventions in labor they really
> didn't give me much IV, I must have been hiding it somewhere)
>
> Anyway we decided to induce. It was going to be tricky. I'm a VBAC.
> Grand-multip and now pre-eclamptic. Balancing the mag sulfate and the
> pitocin to get my uterus contracting enough to get her out but not so
> much as to injure her or me...
> Hats off to my OB, most docs would have insisted on the C-section.
> We took it slowly. Mag first (awful, evil stuff) with foley, then abx
> for GBS, then pit (low and slow). Pit for a few hours until I got to
> 3cm/80%/-2 then AROM. Left the pit at the low dose it was at and let
> the AROM do the trick. AROM at 4:30 at 3cm, baby born vaginally at 6:32
> with no pain meds. Once they took the foley out at 8cm I freely labored
> and pushed in any position on the bed. I don't think they ever saw a
> woman hooked up to so much !@#$ be so acrobatic :-) My doulas were
> phenomenal, I don't think I could have managed without them. Dh was
> quite a calming, sympathetic presence too (although he did talk too
> much and was shushed quite a few times)
>
> there is a lot more to her story but that's hte long and short of it.
> She's a wonderful baby. Nurses like a champ, already back to her birth
> weight, lots of quiet alert time and is happy as long as she is
> held/warm/full and not having her diaper changed. :-)
>
> Karen
>

[lucy-h]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Lucy
> 6:32 PM
> 5/16/06
> 7lbs 5 oz
> 20 1/4 inches

Congratulations Karen and welcome to baby Lucy - good choice of name by the
way ;)

Glad you're both ok after such an irdeal

Take care

Lucy
--

Due with a little girl 15.06.06
http://lucys-pregnancy.tripod.com/

[Anne Rogers]

you've achieved an unusual feat, PE is very rare in later pregnancies with
no prior history, unless there is a new partner, that along with an induced
VBAC, wow!

congratulations, glad everything is going well now!

Anne

[[email protected]]

I was pretty peeved that this PE showed up out of nowhere also. Teased
my doc that he jinxed me having mentioned at the previous visit that he
sees more PE with redheads.
Anyway, I have one confirmed autoimmune disease and I believe from my
reading that this PE was probably a) autoimmune in nature and b)
exacerbated by my crummy nutrition (not nearly enough protein in my
diet) and complete lack of weight gain-the day I was induced I was 7
lbs under my pregnancy start weight.

[Nina Pretty Ballerina]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I was pretty peeved that this PE showed up out of nowhere also. Teased
> my doc that he jinxed me having mentioned at the previous visit that he
> sees more PE with redheads.
> Anyway, I have one confirmed autoimmune disease and I believe from my
> reading that this PE was probably a) autoimmune in nature and b)
> exacerbated by my crummy nutrition (not nearly enough protein in my
> diet) and complete lack of weight gain-the day I was induced I was 7
> lbs under my pregnancy start weight.
>

wow, you are a medical marvel. well done, congrats and welcome baby lucy

[carl jones]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Lucy
> 6:32 PM
> 5/16/06
> 7lbs 5 oz
> 20 1/4 inches
>
> there is a lot more to her story but that's hte long and short of it.
> She's a wonderful baby. Nurses like a champ, already back to her birth
> weight, lots of quiet alert time and is happy as long as she is
> held/warm/full and not having her diaper changed. :-)
>
> Karen


Hugs Karen. Congratulations on the birth of Lucy. You did quite well for
pre-eclamptic mom.

too bad about the magsulfate but there was really nothing you could do about
it! Lucy sounds like a wonderful baby.

Carl

[lucy-h]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I was pretty peeved that this PE showed up out of nowhere also. Teased
> my doc that he jinxed me having mentioned at the previous visit that he
> sees more PE with redheads.
> Anyway, I have one confirmed autoimmune disease and I believe from my
> reading that this PE was probably a) autoimmune in nature and b)
> exacerbated by my crummy nutrition (not nearly enough protein in my
> diet) and complete lack of weight gain-the day I was induced I was 7
> lbs under my pregnancy start weight.

Is weight loss a factor then? I have lot loads of weight since being pg, and
am now only just what I was before i fell pg, despite being 37 weeks pg.
I've had lots of morning sickness throughout, and have done lots of walking,
but I feel healthier than before I was pg....

Lucy

--

Due with a little girl 15.06.06
http://lucys-pregnancy.tripod.com/

[sharalyns]

Congratulations! and welcome to Baby Lucy!

FYI--the theory for my case of PE was too much stress the entire
pregnancy and my body just couldn't handle the added physical stress of
the pregnancy coupled with the fact that the women in my family all go
PE when we're carrying boys..

I'm so glad you managed a VBAC--that's fabulous! :-)

And isn't mag just the most evil stuff there is? *shudders* just
thinking about it.

Sharalyn
mom to Alexander James (9/21/01)

[[email protected]]

I don't think the weight loss was a factor itself just another effect
of me not being able to eat well which I also don't think CAUSED the PE
but possibly pushed me over the edge or exacerbated it.
Lots and lots of women lose weight or don't gain any weight with their
pregnancies and have no complications.
Especially if the lack of weight gain is due to better food choices and
exercise. I *know* I didn't get enough protein in my diet, not even
close, In the critical weeks that my placenta was forming I was totally
NPO and surviving on daily IV's. From 12-20 weeks I was still not
eating much at all and from 20-39 weeks it was day-day, some good days,
some bad and still vomiting 2-3 days/week.

[[email protected]]

The first 15 minutes dealing with that bolus are just AWFUL, it felt
like someone was pouring boiling water over me. The next 24 hours
weren't bad. The damn foley hurt so much that it distracted me from
just about everything else.

[Joybelle]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Lucy
> 6:32 PM
> 5/16/06
> 7lbs 5 oz
> 20 1/4 inches

Congratulations, Karen!! I'm sorry it didn't go so well, but I'm happy it
turned out very well. Lucy is an adorable name.


--
Joy

Rose 1-99
Iris 2-01
Spencer 3-03
Grant 9-05 www.caringbridge.org/visit/grantphilip

[lucy-h]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I don't think the weight loss was a factor itself just another effect
> of me not being able to eat well which I also don't think CAUSED the PE
> but possibly pushed me over the edge or exacerbated it.
> Lots and lots of women lose weight or don't gain any weight with their
> pregnancies and have no complications.
> Especially if the lack of weight gain is due to better food choices and
> exercise. I *know* I didn't get enough protein in my diet, not even
> close, In the critical weeks that my placenta was forming I was totally
> NPO and surviving on daily IV's. From 12-20 weeks I was still not
> eating much at all and from 20-39 weeks it was day-day, some good days,
> some bad and still vomiting 2-3 days/week.

Oh ok, thank you for clearing that up :) While I still get some morning
sickness, and I probably have a bit too much salt in my diet, I am eating
more fruit than ever before and getting a lot more exercise. Fingers crossed
:)

Sorry you had to suffer with it though, I hear it's not pleasant.

I hope little Lucy's doing well :)

Lucy
--

Due with a little girl 15.06.06
http://lucys-pregnancy.tripod.com/

[PattyMomVA]

> wrote and I snipped:
> Lucy
> 6:32 PM
> 5/16/06
> 7lbs 5 oz
> 20 1/4 inches
>
> She is doing great and I am fine also.

Karen, congratulations on Lucy's birth! And, welcome to Lucy. (How many
children do you have now?)

I'm sorry to hear about the PE. Do the symptoms resolve when the baby is
born, or are there lingering effects?

Take care,
-Patty, mom of 1+2

[[email protected]]

My BP returned to completely normal within 8 hours of her birth.
It doesn't always work that way though. A close friend of mine had PE,
delivered her daughter, went home, after a couple days had a wicked
headache, went back to the hospital and her BP was so high she ended up
in ICU for 3 days.

Oh, and Lucy is Lucky Number Seven!

[Leslie]

I'm another who had PE with continuing high BP after birth. I had to
take meds for it and was on bedrest the first month after William's
birth.

Leslie

[[email protected]]

PattyMomVA wrote:

> Karen, congratulations on Lucy's birth! And, welcome to Lucy. (How many
> children do you have now?)

> I'm sorry to hear about the PE. Do the symptoms resolve when the baby is
> born, or are there lingering effects?

My PE didn't completely resolve for 4-5 months afterwards, when my bp
finally came down enough to go off of meds. It frequently "unmasks"
underlying chronic hypertension, and some women have had lingering
kidney damage.

Theoretically delivery of the placenta sets the healing in motion, but
sometimes enough damage has been caused that there isn't full recovery.
Postpartum PE is particularly dangerous since the placenta's already
been delivered, and so there's nothing to be done but wait it out.

--
C, mama to three year old nursling

[[email protected]]

Anne Rogers wrote:
> you've achieved an unusual feat, PE is very rare in later pregnancies with
> no prior history, unless there is a new partner, that along with an induced
> VBAC, wow!

As we age we can develop underlying disorders like autoimmune diseases,
chronic hypertension, liver or kidney problems, etc. Those can all
raise risk of PE. Plus, I think the "dangerous partner" theory hasn't
been confirmed in followup research, but it's been a while since I
looked at that. They think all the additional PE risk can be explained
by just increasing maternal age IIRC though.

--
C, mama to three year old nursling