My beautiful baby boy (Delivery not as planned)
I had my beautiful baby boy on June 15th 2011 - 5 weeks and 2 days early.
Babys name: Milo Daniel
Date of Birth: 06/15/2011
Original Due Date: 07/22/11
Weeks Pregnant: 34 weeks, 5 days
Weight: 3lbs,12oz
Height: 17 inches
I had a perfect pregnancy this entire time I had been pregnant. Suddenly on a Sunday night at 2am I woke up not feeling right - I had extreme discomfort under my ribs but I figured that it had to do with the baby's positioning. I was in so much discomfort that for the next two days I could eat very little and the only time I felt okay was when I was swimming or in the bathtub without pressure under my ribs.
I called the nurses in my clinic Tuesday after much tossing and turning the night before and she told me to take tylenol and to try to relax. I still had a horrible night that night, and after suffering through work the next day I made an emergency appointment to see what was up. They took a urinanalysis and my blood pressure. The blood pressure was high 145/90 the first time and not much better the second. They told me to take a 24 hour urine analysis test and I also gave some blood, then I was sent home. It wasn't 45 minutes later when I got an urgent call saying my liver enzyme levels were extremely elevated and I needed to come in to labor and delivery for observation. Luckily my husband was on his way home, so when he got home we got our overnight bags (which by the way we had just packed the weekend before, while I had crazy nesting energy) and we went to l&d.
We got there and into a room, the nurse said she was 95% sure we were staying and started reverifying my levels. Then things started moving fast. The doctor let us know that I was showing symptoms of HELLP syndrome which is a rapid and sudden form of preeclampsia (EDIT: HELLP = HE - hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), EL - elevated liver count, LP - low platelets. They do not know what causes this but they think it is related to genetics, the mother somehow rejecting the placenta due to the mix of genes between the mother and father. The only way to cure it is to delivery the placenta, thus having to deliver the baby. PLEASE educate yourself on this if you're still pregnant!). The risk was my liver shutting down and going into seizures or stroke. The pain I was feeling was my enlarged liver being pressed on by all of the organs already squished from the baby. The ironic thing was that this was the opposite of my birth plan, we were planning on going on all natural and were so prepared, on our 9th Bradley class... But things just didn't turn out that way. I was calm on the outside but disbelieving and scared on the inside.
Immediately I started praying... Some of our friends and family came up and also prayed with us during that time. While they were prepping me I had the lights down low and I was listening to my labor playlist. It was decided pretty quickly I needed a c section. I was eerily calm as they poked and prodded me, inserted my catheter, and gave me meds. I had never had anesthesia or surgery before, but some how i resigned myself to it and knew my baby was more important.
30 minutes later they wheeled me to the OR... My husband kissed me, and they transferred me o the table. I had to be put under due to my platelet count and was upset I wouldn't see my son being born. That was probably was the hardest part. I was asked to breathe deeply 3 times and was out. Shortly after I woke up with minimal pain and my husband brought me pictures on the camera of my precious preemie son. He did well from the beginning. My friends, family, and husband have been amazing in taking care of us... And I love my son more than I ever thought I could love anyone else.
I was in the hospital for 5 days. I didn't get to see him for the first 12 hours. When I did see him I was so drugged I had a hard time comprehending what was happening. Nurses came in every few hours to check on me. The most painful thing by far was them massaging my uterus to make sure it was going back down... I was so swollen from the c section. 2 days later I got to hold him and the tears came flooding - I finally had that emotional connection with him I was waiting for that I didn't get to have because of my unconscious birth. My baby stayed in NICU for 19 days. He had to learn to feed on his own.. and gain because he had interuterine growth restriction due to not getting enough oxygen from the placenta. That's why he was only 3 lbs 12 oz - he should have actually been around 5 1/2 lbs at his gestational age. Leaving him to go home was the hardest thing I ever had to do... but we came to the hospital for almost all of his feedings every day and stayed an held him as much as we could. I had to pump from the beginning and there were a few days where I was getting nothing or only drops of colostrum after the initial 6mL I pumped.. but I kept going, determined, and it slowly started to increase although now 10 weeks later I am still pumping and BFing occasionally but I only get 3 oz of milk in the morning but more usually 1 to 2 oz per pumping. I drink tons of fluid, take lots of fenugreek.. but I don't know what's up. This also saddened me because I wanted to EBF... but that is life. I also developed a hematoma under the incision due to low platelets the blood just pooled there about 10 days after the surgery. I was at home when I noticed all this blood running down my legs... I freaked out thinking my guts were falling out because I was scared to look, but it was actually only a 1/4" opening. The hematoma left a cavern under the incision that I am still going to a wound care clinic to try to heal from the inside out but it is having difficulty and we are to the point where they are going to try a wound vac if insurance will cover it.
We brought Milo home July 4th weighing 4 lbs 9 oz. We were terrified because he was so small but he has done SO well and as of Tuesday he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz!! We love our little bean and are so thankful for him. People find it weird I want to be pregnant again, especially after I almost died... but this is what life is about to me... it's the best thing I've ever accomplished and he is the biggest blessing. Thank God we made it safely!
Babys name: Milo Daniel
Date of Birth: 06/15/2011
Original Due Date: 07/22/11
Weeks Pregnant: 34 weeks, 5 days
Weight: 3lbs,12oz
Height: 17 inches
I had a perfect pregnancy this entire time I had been pregnant. Suddenly on a Sunday night at 2am I woke up not feeling right - I had extreme discomfort under my ribs but I figured that it had to do with the baby's positioning. I was in so much discomfort that for the next two days I could eat very little and the only time I felt okay was when I was swimming or in the bathtub without pressure under my ribs.
I called the nurses in my clinic Tuesday after much tossing and turning the night before and she told me to take tylenol and to try to relax. I still had a horrible night that night, and after suffering through work the next day I made an emergency appointment to see what was up. They took a urinanalysis and my blood pressure. The blood pressure was high 145/90 the first time and not much better the second. They told me to take a 24 hour urine analysis test and I also gave some blood, then I was sent home. It wasn't 45 minutes later when I got an urgent call saying my liver enzyme levels were extremely elevated and I needed to come in to labor and delivery for observation. Luckily my husband was on his way home, so when he got home we got our overnight bags (which by the way we had just packed the weekend before, while I had crazy nesting energy) and we went to l&d.
We got there and into a room, the nurse said she was 95% sure we were staying and started reverifying my levels. Then things started moving fast. The doctor let us know that I was showing symptoms of HELLP syndrome which is a rapid and sudden form of preeclampsia (EDIT: HELLP = HE - hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), EL - elevated liver count, LP - low platelets. They do not know what causes this but they think it is related to genetics, the mother somehow rejecting the placenta due to the mix of genes between the mother and father. The only way to cure it is to delivery the placenta, thus having to deliver the baby. PLEASE educate yourself on this if you're still pregnant!). The risk was my liver shutting down and going into seizures or stroke. The pain I was feeling was my enlarged liver being pressed on by all of the organs already squished from the baby. The ironic thing was that this was the opposite of my birth plan, we were planning on going on all natural and were so prepared, on our 9th Bradley class... But things just didn't turn out that way. I was calm on the outside but disbelieving and scared on the inside.
Immediately I started praying... Some of our friends and family came up and also prayed with us during that time. While they were prepping me I had the lights down low and I was listening to my labor playlist. It was decided pretty quickly I needed a c section. I was eerily calm as they poked and prodded me, inserted my catheter, and gave me meds. I had never had anesthesia or surgery before, but some how i resigned myself to it and knew my baby was more important.
30 minutes later they wheeled me to the OR... My husband kissed me, and they transferred me o the table. I had to be put under due to my platelet count and was upset I wouldn't see my son being born. That was probably was the hardest part. I was asked to breathe deeply 3 times and was out. Shortly after I woke up with minimal pain and my husband brought me pictures on the camera of my precious preemie son. He did well from the beginning. My friends, family, and husband have been amazing in taking care of us... And I love my son more than I ever thought I could love anyone else.
I was in the hospital for 5 days. I didn't get to see him for the first 12 hours. When I did see him I was so drugged I had a hard time comprehending what was happening. Nurses came in every few hours to check on me. The most painful thing by far was them massaging my uterus to make sure it was going back down... I was so swollen from the c section. 2 days later I got to hold him and the tears came flooding - I finally had that emotional connection with him I was waiting for that I didn't get to have because of my unconscious birth. My baby stayed in NICU for 19 days. He had to learn to feed on his own.. and gain because he had interuterine growth restriction due to not getting enough oxygen from the placenta. That's why he was only 3 lbs 12 oz - he should have actually been around 5 1/2 lbs at his gestational age. Leaving him to go home was the hardest thing I ever had to do... but we came to the hospital for almost all of his feedings every day and stayed an held him as much as we could. I had to pump from the beginning and there were a few days where I was getting nothing or only drops of colostrum after the initial 6mL I pumped.. but I kept going, determined, and it slowly started to increase although now 10 weeks later I am still pumping and BFing occasionally but I only get 3 oz of milk in the morning but more usually 1 to 2 oz per pumping. I drink tons of fluid, take lots of fenugreek.. but I don't know what's up. This also saddened me because I wanted to EBF... but that is life. I also developed a hematoma under the incision due to low platelets the blood just pooled there about 10 days after the surgery. I was at home when I noticed all this blood running down my legs... I freaked out thinking my guts were falling out because I was scared to look, but it was actually only a 1/4" opening. The hematoma left a cavern under the incision that I am still going to a wound care clinic to try to heal from the inside out but it is having difficulty and we are to the point where they are going to try a wound vac if insurance will cover it.
We brought Milo home July 4th weighing 4 lbs 9 oz. We were terrified because he was so small but he has done SO well and as of Tuesday he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz!! We love our little bean and are so thankful for him. People find it weird I want to be pregnant again, especially after I almost died... but this is what life is about to me... it's the best thing I've ever accomplished and he is the biggest blessing. Thank God we made it safely!