birth announcement/story (long)

Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7 lbs,
15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was premature and had
respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's doing great, though, and we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

About 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed via ultraound with severe polyhydramnios
(excessive amniotic fluid). At my 36 week midwife appointment last Tuesday
I measured 48 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable, and was
having trouble walking and breathing. I'd been having contractions for
hours at a time for weeks, and constantly was thinking that labor could be
starting any time.

Around 12:30 am on Thursday morning I woke up with a sharp contraction. I
was pretty sure labor was actually starting because the pain radiated in my
back and legs. From then on my contractions were 7 - 10 minutes apart,
about 45 seconds to a minute long. I was unable to fall asleep between
contractions, so I just kind of restlessly repositioned myself on the bed
all night.

The next morning DD went to daycare. I was unable to really walk or stand
upright, so I hung out on the birthing ball while DH cleaned in anticipation
of his mom coming to stay with DD. My contractions stayed 7 - 10 minutes
apart. We had an appointment at the hospital that afternoon to see a high
risk OB. I was supposed to have an amnio to check for lung maturity and
they were going to drain several liters of amniotic fluid. When we left for
the appointment, my contractions were 6 minutes apart. By the time we got
to the doctor's waiting room, they were 4 minutes apart. DH paged the
midwife, and the doctor checked me. I was 5-6 cm dilated, so off to labor
and delivery I went (around 2 pm). I labored sitting up, listening to
soothing music, and was very calm and in control.

The plan was that I would still have an amnio to drain off some of the
fluid. Three doctors showed up around 5:00 to do it. First the midwife
checked me, and I was 8 cm dilated. The doctors decided they wouldn't do it
afterall, since I was progressing so nicely. So I continued to labor.
Around 6:00 my midwife tried breaking my waters high up (due to my
condition, I was at high risk of cord prolapse if my water broke on the
bottom). She popped something, but it must have been a pocket, because the
trickle stopped after a few minutes.

Around 9:00 pm I started to lose control, but thought that I was way past
the point of epidural, so I started asking to be put out and have a
C-section. The midwife was able to calm me down, and checked me again.
Still 8 cm, baby's head still not engaged. A while later, after consulting
with the OB she works with, she offered me an epidural, which I jumped at.
We discussed it a bit, because we were both disappointed. I had really
wanted an unmedicated birth, but the polyhydramnios was complicating things.
Getting the epidural was the worst part of the whole experience. My
contractions were a minute and a half apart, and were coming in waves.
Whenever the anesthesiologist tried to find the right spot, my back would
involuntarily spasm. I had to lean forward, but because I was so big, this
pushed my uterus on my lungs and I was having trouble breathing. Frankly, I
was screaming bloody murder and was panicking. But eventually, he got it in
and it started working around 10:30 pm.

So I calmly rested for the next several hours. Around 12:30 am (now its
Friday morning) my midwife checked me again. Not only was I still 8 cm, but
the baby had moved sideways, which was confirmed on ultrasound. At that
point, there was an hour and a half discussion of having a C-section. DH
was pro, I was con, and the midwife was more con than pro but acted pretty
impartially. Eventually, I gave up and agreed to the C. So I was all
prepped for the C, my meds were changed, and we met the OB in the OR. After
I was moved to the operating table, my midwife checked me one last time.
The baby was head down again! We called DH back in, and decided that it
would be ok to break my water and attempt a vaginal birth. If I had a cord
prolapse, well, I was all ready for the emergency C. It was amazing, when
my water broke, it was like the floor was flooded. All of a sudden I could
see over the horizon of my belly. So my water was broke at 3:10 am, the
baby dropped immediately, and I was 10 cm dilated by 3:15. I pushed for 45
minutes. It was really difficult to push because I couldn't feel much. But
Kerry was born at 3:45 am.

Then things got nutty again. Kerry was whisked off to the side to be
evaluated (it was suspected there would problems so a team of pediatric
specialists were there). She had fluid in her lungs, went into respiratory
distress and was wheeled past me briefly on her way to the NICU. They
paused ever so slightly so I got a look at her in the little bassinet. They
didn't allow DH to go with her, and it was hours and hours before we saw her
again. I wasn't even sure what she looked like for a day or so, until they
took out her nose tubes. Friday night I got to hold her after her sponge
bath, and by Sunday, I was able to nurse her. She's doing great now, and we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Nancy

Congratulations, Nancy!

Welcome to the world, little Kerry! :-)

--
Brigitte aa #2145
http://ca.geocities.com/bironmonger/
Please excuse the quality. It is under construction and I am still
learning. :-)

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Nancy P wrote:
Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7
lbs, 15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was
premature and had respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's
doing great, though, and we think she's going to be able to come home
tomorrow.
Wow, what a story. Congrats on Kerry's birth, and I'm pleased she's going
to be home tomorrow.

Cathy
EDD Dec 04

Wow!! Congratulations Nancy.

Your birth story was amazing. I'm glad you didn't have to go through with
the C-section.

I hope Kerry comes home tomorrow.

Camille


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"Nancy P" wrote in message
...
Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7 lbs,
15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was premature and had
respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's doing great, though, and
we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, Nancy. I hope you do get to
take her home tomorrow!

Best wishes,

Donna

Congratulations to you and your family. I hope baby Kerry can come home
ASAP.
--
M~Elizabeth

To thine own self be true

"Nancy P" wrote in message
...
Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7 lbs,
15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was premature and had
respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's doing great, though, and
we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Same thing happened to my friend. Her son (her 6th baby) was born at about
36 or 37 weeks, almost 8 lbs, but had respiratory distress too. He was
transferred to a civilian hospital and stayed there for a good 3 weeks - I
guess till what would have been his due date.

Wow, scary. Glad everything worked out well.

Congrats!

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04




About 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed via ultraound with severe
polyhydramnios
(excessive amniotic fluid). At my 36 week midwife appointment last
Tuesday
I measured 48 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable, and
was
having trouble walking and breathing. I'd been having contractions for
hours at a time for weeks, and constantly was thinking that labor could be
starting any time.

Around 12:30 am on Thursday morning I woke up with a sharp contraction. I
was pretty sure labor was actually starting because the pain radiated in
my
back and legs. From then on my contractions were 7 - 10 minutes apart,
about 45 seconds to a minute long. I was unable to fall asleep between
contractions, so I just kind of restlessly repositioned myself on the bed
all night.

The next morning DD went to daycare. I was unable to really walk or stand
upright, so I hung out on the birthing ball while DH cleaned in
anticipation
of his mom coming to stay with DD. My contractions stayed 7 - 10 minutes
apart. We had an appointment at the hospital that afternoon to see a high
risk OB. I was supposed to have an amnio to check for lung maturity and
they were going to drain several liters of amniotic fluid. When we left
for
the appointment, my contractions were 6 minutes apart. By the time we got
to the doctor's waiting room, they were 4 minutes apart. DH paged the
midwife, and the doctor checked me. I was 5-6 cm dilated, so off to labor
and delivery I went (around 2 pm). I labored sitting up, listening to
soothing music, and was very calm and in control.

The plan was that I would still have an amnio to drain off some of the
fluid. Three doctors showed up around 5:00 to do it. First the midwife
checked me, and I was 8 cm dilated. The doctors decided they wouldn't do
it
afterall, since I was progressing so nicely. So I continued to labor.
Around 6:00 my midwife tried breaking my waters high up (due to my
condition, I was at high risk of cord prolapse if my water broke on the
bottom). She popped something, but it must have been a pocket, because
the
trickle stopped after a few minutes.

Around 9:00 pm I started to lose control, but thought that I was way past
the point of epidural, so I started asking to be put out and have a
C-section. The midwife was able to calm me down, and checked me again.
Still 8 cm, baby's head still not engaged. A while later, after
consulting
with the OB she works with, she offered me an epidural, which I jumped at.
We discussed it a bit, because we were both disappointed. I had really
wanted an unmedicated birth, but the polyhydramnios was complicating
things.
Getting the epidural was the worst part of the whole experience. My
contractions were a minute and a half apart, and were coming in waves.
Whenever the anesthesiologist tried to find the right spot, my back would
involuntarily spasm. I had to lean forward, but because I was so big,
this
pushed my uterus on my lungs and I was having trouble breathing. Frankly,
I
was screaming bloody murder and was panicking. But eventually, he got it
in
and it started working around 10:30 pm.

So I calmly rested for the next several hours. Around 12:30 am (now its
Friday morning) my midwife checked me again. Not only was I still 8 cm,
but
the baby had moved sideways, which was confirmed on ultrasound. At that
point, there was an hour and a half discussion of having a C-section. DH
was pro, I was con, and the midwife was more con than pro but acted pretty
impartially. Eventually, I gave up and agreed to the C. So I was all
prepped for the C, my meds were changed, and we met the OB in the OR.
After
I was moved to the operating table, my midwife checked me one last time.
The baby was head down again! We called DH back in, and decided that it
would be ok to break my water and attempt a vaginal birth. If I had a
cord
prolapse, well, I was all ready for the emergency C. It was amazing, when
my water broke, it was like the floor was flooded. All of a sudden I
could
see over the horizon of my belly. So my water was broke at 3:10 am, the
baby dropped immediately, and I was 10 cm dilated by 3:15. I pushed for
45
minutes. It was really difficult to push because I couldn't feel much.
But
Kerry was born at 3:45 am.

Then things got nutty again. Kerry was whisked off to the side to be
evaluated (it was suspected there would problems so a team of pediatric
specialists were there). She had fluid in her lungs, went into
respiratory
distress and was wheeled past me briefly on her way to the NICU. They
paused ever so slightly so I got a look at her in the little bassinet.
They
didn't allow DH to go with her, and it was hours and hours before we saw
her
again. I wasn't even sure what she looked like for a day or so, until
they
took out her nose tubes. Friday night I got to hold her after her sponge
bath, and by Sunday, I was able to nurse her. She's doing great now, and
we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Nancy

Nancy P wrote:

Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7 lbs,
15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was premature and had
respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's doing great, though, and we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Congratulations Nancy, what a story! Welcome baby Kerry...

Mary

So sorry you had Kerry taken away from you so shortly after birth! My son
was taken away for only one or two hours and I was traumitized about that
and had mild problems immediately bonding, and nursing. Glad you were able
to have a vaginal birth, what a close call!! Good luck to you and Welcome
to Kerry!!
Kat
mama to Maggie 11/03/01
and Will 02/10/04


"Nancy P" wrote in message
...
Kerry Frances was born at 3:58 am on 4/23/04, at 37 weeks. She was 7 lbs,
15 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Despite her size, she was premature and had
respiratory distress, so is in the NICU. She's doing great, though, and
we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

About 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed via ultraound with severe
polyhydramnios
(excessive amniotic fluid). At my 36 week midwife appointment last
Tuesday
I measured 48 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable, and
was
having trouble walking and breathing. I'd been having contractions for
hours at a time for weeks, and constantly was thinking that labor could be
starting any time.

Around 12:30 am on Thursday morning I woke up with a sharp contraction. I
was pretty sure labor was actually starting because the pain radiated in
my
back and legs. From then on my contractions were 7 - 10 minutes apart,
about 45 seconds to a minute long. I was unable to fall asleep between
contractions, so I just kind of restlessly repositioned myself on the bed
all night.

The next morning DD went to daycare. I was unable to really walk or stand
upright, so I hung out on the birthing ball while DH cleaned in
anticipation
of his mom coming to stay with DD. My contractions stayed 7 - 10 minutes
apart. We had an appointment at the hospital that afternoon to see a high
risk OB. I was supposed to have an amnio to check for lung maturity and
they were going to drain several liters of amniotic fluid. When we left
for
the appointment, my contractions were 6 minutes apart. By the time we got
to the doctor's waiting room, they were 4 minutes apart. DH paged the
midwife, and the doctor checked me. I was 5-6 cm dilated, so off to labor
and delivery I went (around 2 pm). I labored sitting up, listening to
soothing music, and was very calm and in control.

The plan was that I would still have an amnio to drain off some of the
fluid. Three doctors showed up around 5:00 to do it. First the midwife
checked me, and I was 8 cm dilated. The doctors decided they wouldn't do
it
afterall, since I was progressing so nicely. So I continued to labor.
Around 6:00 my midwife tried breaking my waters high up (due to my
condition, I was at high risk of cord prolapse if my water broke on the
bottom). She popped something, but it must have been a pocket, because
the
trickle stopped after a few minutes.

Around 9:00 pm I started to lose control, but thought that I was way past
the point of epidural, so I started asking to be put out and have a
C-section. The midwife was able to calm me down, and checked me again.
Still 8 cm, baby's head still not engaged. A while later, after
consulting
with the OB she works with, she offered me an epidural, which I jumped at.
We discussed it a bit, because we were both disappointed. I had really
wanted an unmedicated birth, but the polyhydramnios was complicating
things.
Getting the epidural was the worst part of the whole experience. My
contractions were a minute and a half apart, and were coming in waves.
Whenever the anesthesiologist tried to find the right spot, my back would
involuntarily spasm. I had to lean forward, but because I was so big,
this
pushed my uterus on my lungs and I was having trouble breathing. Frankly,
I
was screaming bloody murder and was panicking. But eventually, he got it
in
and it started working around 10:30 pm.

So I calmly rested for the next several hours. Around 12:30 am (now its
Friday morning) my midwife checked me again. Not only was I still 8 cm,
but
the baby had moved sideways, which was confirmed on ultrasound. At that
point, there was an hour and a half discussion of having a C-section. DH
was pro, I was con, and the midwife was more con than pro but acted pretty
impartially. Eventually, I gave up and agreed to the C. So I was all
prepped for the C, my meds were changed, and we met the OB in the OR.
After
I was moved to the operating table, my midwife checked me one last time.
The baby was head down again! We called DH back in, and decided that it
would be ok to break my water and attempt a vaginal birth. If I had a
cord
prolapse, well, I was all ready for the emergency C. It was amazing, when
my water broke, it was like the floor was flooded. All of a sudden I
could
see over the horizon of my belly. So my water was broke at 3:10 am, the
baby dropped immediately, and I was 10 cm dilated by 3:15. I pushed for
45
minutes. It was really difficult to push because I couldn't feel much.
But
Kerry was born at 3:45 am.

Then things got nutty again. Kerry was whisked off to the side to be
evaluated (it was suspected there would problems so a team of pediatric
specialists were there). She had fluid in her lungs, went into
respiratory
distress and was wheeled past me briefly on her way to the NICU. They
paused ever so slightly so I got a look at her in the little bassinet.
They
didn't allow DH to go with her, and it was hours and hours before we saw
her
again. I wasn't even sure what she looked like for a day or so, until
they
took out her nose tubes. Friday night I got to hold her after her sponge
bath, and by Sunday, I was able to nurse her. She's doing great now, and
we
think she's going to be able to come home tomorrow.

Nancy

What a story Nancy! I hope Kerry is at home today!
Congratulations to all of you and welcome to Kerry.

Love

--
Nicky

Proud mamma to Alexandra (03/22/2004)