So when we last left off, I was 2 weeks from my due date and on bed rest. I was incredibly swollen, exhausted, insomnia ridden and all around DONE being pregnant. I had promised myself that I would be having a baby a week later and if not, finding a new doctor. So, let's find out what happened, shall we?
One week later, I had made sure to have my Superman help me clean up the house and get it all ready so that the next day, the day of my 39 week appointment, I would be fully ready to have this dadgum baby already!!
The next morning, we head over to my appointment where they take my blood pressure which was still hovering around 120/80 (perfectly fine) because I'd been on bed rest and the doctor decided to check me to see if I was dilating at all. He told me that if I was, then he could strip the membranes and that would induce labor.
He checked. No dice.
I was beyond angry. I wasn't sleeping, still barfing all day, bored out of my mind on bed rest, uncomfortable and ready to meet my baby!!
The doctor told me that I would most likely be seeing him in a few days anyway and not to worry because sometimes first time mom's bodies struggle figuring out what they are supposed to do. He told me that I would be seeing him a week from that day (my due date) if not sooner.
*sigh*
The next Sunday night, we went to bed, I was having slight contractions all evening and I was thinking, "Well, let's time these suckers and see if we are going to finally have a baby!" We did and the contractions were all over the place before they finally cut off at about 9 pm.
Off to bed Superman went. I drifted off to sleep somewhere around midnight.
I woke up about 2 hours later feeling so nauseated I barely had time to run to the bathroom before losing it. I threw up so much that I was empty and dry heaving.
Finally, it subsided and I went back to bed. An hour later, the same thing happened. Only I didn't have anything in my stomach to throw up, so it was all dry heaves.
By 6 am, I had been up once an hour to throw up and I wasn't really sleeping anymore in between. I started to eat soda crackers and sip water just so that I would have something to throw up. My contractions had started up again and were barely noticeable. Finally, I felt like I could call the on call doctor.
He said that my contractions were probably causing the nausea and that I should wait until they were closer together to go to the hospital. So... I waited.
Around 7, I was feeling really weak and dazed. I knew that I was getting dehydrated. I had been throwing up for 5 hours every hour by that point. I finally woke up Superman and said "I can't take it anymore, we need to head for the hospital." I figured, even if I wasn't officially in labor, they had to do something to make the barfing stop or I would end up in the hospital dehydrated anyway.
Off we went and checked into the Women's Center of the hospital. They hooked me up to watch my contractions, gave me anti nausea meds and hooked me up to some hydration bags in my IV. Within the first 30 minutes, I'd taken in an entire bag and was working on my second. I was severely dehydrated.
We stayed in the hospital for about 8 hours, hydrating my tired body and watching my contractions fade to nothing again. My doctor came in and told me that he wanted me to go home (because my blood pressure was fine) and get some rest, but come into his office for my appointment the next day. He thought that he would most likely be inducing me the next day, but he figured that I would get more restful sleep in my own bed than in the hospital and he wanted me as prepped as I could be for the long labor process of a first time mom.
The next morning, we didn't pack any bags or make sure someone was watching the dogs or anything because we figured that we'd have plenty of time for Superman to come home to get those things ready and come back to the hospital. My plan was to have Superman take me out for a yummy filling meal before checking into the hospital to be induced, so I had a quick bowl of Lucky Charms and off to the doctor we went.
The nurse first tested my urine and congratulated me that I had protein in it because that meant that the doctor was finally going to have a medical excuse to get me started! I was so excited I could barely stand it!
The doctor walked in, asked how I was feeling (much better than the day before, btw) and had me lay back to see how far dilated and effaced I was...
Nothing.
Nothing.
Locked up tighter than a Gringott's vault.
I was 0% dilated and 0% effaced.
The doctor sighed and delivered the news...
He said: "Heather, here's the deal. You have toxemia. That is why you were so sick yesterday. And it's only going to get worse. Not just by the day, but by the hour. So, here are your options. A) I can put some medication on your cervix to try to get it to thin out and start dilating. This is a process that probably would take several days. During which time, you will get sicker and sicker and run the risk of having an emergency C-section anyway. Or B) We can just have you go over to the hospital now and get you prepped for a C-section about 5 pm this evening."
I stared at him shocked. I didn't have a very detailed birth plan. My plan consisted of only 4 requirements:
-No episiotomy
-Get an epidural
-Trust the doctors and nurses
-No C-sections unless it's an emergency
I started crying. I was terrified.
I don't typically handle surgery well and the idea of having one while being awake was so horrifying, I didn't know what to do.
I asked the doctor what he thought I should do and what would be the safest plan.
He told me that if it were him, or one of his daughters, he would go with plan B. For my health and for the health of the Rabid Beast.
I said ok and the doctor told me that we had an hour to get ourselves over to the hospital for check in before leaving the room. I burst into sobs. I didn't have my bags, I didn't have someone to take care of my dogs, I wasn't going to get hours of sitting in the hospital eating flavored ice chips watching FRIENDS reruns and getting massages by Superman, I was going to be sawed in half and have my baby ripped from my innards all while being awake.
As soon as we left, we made more phone calls that I can remember trying to make sure that the dogs were taken care of for 4 days (the shortest amount of time I was going to be in the hospital), making sure that all of our loved ones knew, and making sure that all our ducks were in a row.
Oh, and I was furious with myself because all I'd eaten that day was a crummy bowl of Lucky Charms!!! I wasn't going to get to eat solid foods for the next 2 days and my last meal was stupid Lucky Charms!!! Ug.
We got ourselves together, got to the hospital and checked in. Superman's oldest brother came over to give me a priesthood blessing so that I could remain calm and that everything would go well with the C-section. I can't tell you how grateful I am for the priesthood in my life. And I am monumentally grateful that my husband upholds his priesthood so that I can call on him in moments like these ones to help me.
Afterwards, I felt a subdued sort of anxiety. It was almost like someone had thrown a blanket over it. The fear and anxiety was there, but it was muted. I'm thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who is just waiting for you to call on Him to help and bless you.
The nurses came to get me and had me walk, Superman in tow, into the operating room and had me sit down on the table facing away from the anesthesiologist. There was this little tiny nurse right in front of me and the doctor told me that I was supposed to curl myself inwards like I was trying to push my baby through my back and that I was to lean over onto this little bitty woman. I think that my official response to him was: "uh, do you see how little she is and how huge I am? I'm going to knock her flat on her butt".
The sweet nurse said "Nah, I'm tougher than I look and I have lots of practice catching!"
Thank goodness for people with good senses of humor through the whole thing, right?
He first numbed a small area on my back, which stung a bit and the spinal block only felt like pressure. It was awesome.
They laid me down very quickly because it starts to work immediately. Then, they put up a blue sheet in front of my face and started pinching and smacking my side to measure where the medication had started to numb me. Finally, when it made it up to the middle of my chest, they stopped.
I am super claustrophobic so that idea of having to wear an oxygen mask scares me. Not to mention the arm straps that hold your arms out to the side. When I laid down, I said to the anesthesiologist that if he expected to be able to strap my arms down, he was kidding himself because I would come right up off the table at him. He chuckled and told me that we didn't have to do that.
I also told him that I was anxious about the face mask and he said that I could just hold the mask right over my nose and mouth and not let it touch if I wanted, but I had to do it until the baby came out. I said "Oh, bless your heart!"
I hadn't realized it until that point, but my doctor and his assistant (who is also his daughter and the one who gave me the infertility treatments that led to my Rabid Beast's existence) had come in, gotten prepped and started talking to me.
As I was talking to them and to the anesthesiologist, I realized that all the chit chat was making it so they couldn't get started and I was sick of the anxiety already so I asked them if we could get started.
My doctor started laughing and said: "Heather, we've been working this entire time. You are less than 30 seconds from seeing your daughter".
I was so surprised. I hadn't felt anything!!
I was able to take the oxygen mask off at that point and waited for what seemed like an hour but was really more like 20 seconds until they said "she's here! Your baby is here!" and lifted her up over the sheet for me to see her.
My reaction?
I smiled and said "Oh, look at her! She's so gross!"
Everyone in the room started laughing.
They whisked my little Rabid Beast away to get her vitals and check her out.
Lela Kjerstine Vickery
7 pounds, 13 ounces
Born at 6:36 pm
March 18th, 2015
A few minutes later, Superman came back over to me (he'd gone with her while she got checked) and he had this beautiful little bundle in his arms.
She truly is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. And my body did that. What an incredible thing!!
We stayed in the hospital until the 21st and went home to our little cave. The recovery was a little difficult at first, but after about 2 weeks, I was doing much better. And our little Rabid Beast is one of the most loved little girls who has ever walked this earth.
Here are some pictures:
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| Excuse me, you get ONE semi-nude picture of me! |
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| Giving us a piece of her mind because we were trying to dress her and she was cold! |
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| At home at last |
