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You'd think that it was
bad that Andrew was born so premature, but if he would not have come
so early then he would not be
here with us today. God was watching out for baby, mom, and family. My husband and I are happily married and knew from our dating times that we wanted to have children together. When we found out that we were pregnant with Andrew we were overjoyed. Our normal routine and home was changed when we found out that my husband was being put on a contract with his company 3 hours away from our apartment. We decided that I would come along and stay with him there. It's a good thing that I did go with him because the day after we moved into our corporate housing is when the, once normal and healthy, pregnancy would completely change. Monday, October 15, 2001 Throughout the day I felt a little under the weather and rested for most of it on the couch waiting for my husband to get home from work. I noticed that the baby was not being it's usual active-self, and began to grow a concerned. When my husband got home I started to go downhill; my once Braxton Hicks-like contractions started to develop into slightly painful ones. I tried eating fruit, drinking lots of water, and taking a shower. Nothing seemed to help... things only got worse so we called a local Woman's Health clinic in our new area to notify them of what was happening. They recommended that I take 2 Tylenol, drink 4 more tall glasses of water, and sit back with my feet propped up. I was to monitor my progress for 2 hours and then contact them back. It was around 8 pm when the contractions started to get pretty strong and regular. First they were 5 min apart, then 4 min, 3 min, and then two... that's when the return phone call to the Women's Health Clinic was made and then we headed off to the hospital. I also called my midwifery clinic to notify them of what was happening and have them fax over my chart. We were sent from the emergency room to the OB division. I was immediately evaluated and they found that I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Right around the time after being examined I think that I experienced transition and things kicked up a notch. I also lost it emotionally... all that I could think about was the baby not making it and how we were in a new place and I was not familiar with the hospital... I wanted my midwife! After I regained composure an IV was started to prevent dehydration from vomiting. The nurses hooked me up to a fetal monitor and then wheeled me into a birthing room to help me try and relax. They added magnesium sulfate to my IV to attempt to delay or stop the delivery. I was given a shot of Betamethasone in the hopes of stimulating Andrews lungs in the event that he was delivered. Unfortunately, when you're on magnesium they also have to put you on a urine catheter... so that was next. While the resident and doctor where turned away talking I felt a strange squishy something bumping on my leg. I motioned to them and when they saw what was happening the atmosphere of the room completely changed. In a matter of seconds the room was filled with hospital staff. What I had felt was the water bag... it had come out completely intact! The doctor broke it and not to long after I started pushing. Only one and 1/2 hours after being admitted to the hospital Andrew William was born at 12:36 am on October 16, 2001 I saw him for one brief second; long enough to give him a kiss and then he was taken away to the NICU. It would be several hours after he was born before I heard anything about him. When he was born I even had to ask what sex he was because they were concentrating on keeping him alive that they had not realized if he was a boy or a girl. |