Delivery Day

Hello, me again. Since I last posted I gave birth on July 16 and our family went from three to four. I'm finally feeling alive and getting organized with life again, so I'm trying to update up the blog.

Here is the delivery story in a condensed form (as best I could do).

On July 15th, there was still no baby, so I went to my scheduled doctor's appointment per the routine. At the time I was close to 41 weeks and scheduled for a c-section on the July 17th. With time running out for my chance at a VBAC my doctor tried to get things started for me and stripped my membranes, which I was glad she did. HOWEVER, no one mentioned that this would cause cramping. Lucky me! 

I went home and felt miserable all day and night, which meant I did not eat well nor sleep well (not at all to be precise). I called the nurse back and asked if this pain was normal and she said "yes." I was really hoping she would tell me to come back to the hospital, but she didn't. :( 

Finally, after being up all night, around 7 a.m. I couldn't take anymore pain and called my doctor. She told me to go in and they would check me to see if I was dilated enough. I was so happy, I just wanted to get there and get some drugs! HaHa.

So we woke up Annabelle and left for the hospital. This is what I look like with no sleep...

Robert dropped me off and I checked-in myself and went to the triage room to be examined/monitored.

Meanwhile, Robert went to breakfast nearby with Annabelle as he awaited word from me as to whether or not I would be staying or going home. 

Shortly into their breakfast I phoned him with the good news that I was not going home and was already being prepped for an epidural and being moved to a labor and delivery room! I was also happy to hear that the doctor I wanted to deliver with (Dr. Schwartz) was attending that day.

Robert quickly finished breakfast and called a friend of ours to come and stay with Annabelle at home. 

I received my epidural and things were going well. I was happy and feeling great. I'm calling my mom in this picture to tell her things were moving along.

After running around all morning making sure Annabelle was well taken care of, my bedside buddy, Robert, made it back to the hospital and kept me company while I progressed through labor.

Selfie shot. I realize now I really should have been sleeping at this point and getting lots of rest, but I was too excited and Robert and I were enjoying some quiet time to ourselves without chasing around our little munchkin.

I wasn't in labor long, by 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. I was ready to push. We were trying to get him out before Dr. Schwartz left for the day at 5:30 p.m. I pushed, but wasn't very successful - he still needed to descend some more. I tried pushing some more, but by now I was feeling so exhausted and weak from lack of food and sleep that I did not feel I had anything left to give. Dr. Schwartz tried and tried, but we could not get the baby to come. She had to leave and switched with Dr. Prieto - the one doctor out of the practice I really did not want to end up in the delivery room with because he's not the friendliest of guys. However, it ended up being a blessing in disguise because he's a real pro and "all business." I had the doctor I needed for the emotional/encouraging part and then when I had nothing left to give I got the doctor who would come in and get the job done because at that moment that's exactly what I needed. He was worried about my uterus rupturing if I kept laboring more with where the baby was at and so he came in and quickly and made the decision to get the baby out immediately by using forceps. I was nervous at first, but then really didn't care because I just wanted it over. Luckily, he's known as the one doctor who is really good with forceps - they even call him Dr. Spoons (as the nurse reassured me when he left the room to prep). 

Next thing I know, baby boy was out and I was so relieved. He was born on July 16th at 5:53 p.m. and weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 20 1/4 inches long.

All was well, I was holding him and doing kangaroo care until things started going downhill for me. Suddenly I felt awful and he felt like a ton of bricks on my chest. I asked them to take him off of me. I felt so weak. The room suddenly became very busy with nurses and doctors as I realized I was postpartum hemorrhaging. 

Normally, you are in the labor and delivery room for about an hour post delivery - I was in there for 3-4 hours. I lost about 900 CCs of blood and was close to having a blood transfusion. I'm not a medical expert, but I believe a typical birth results in about 200-500 CC of blood loss. Needless to say, I was way above that. I cannot say enough about how weak and tired I was. Here's one photo that Robert took of me as they were prepping to move me to my room. It's not a glamor shot, so don't look too long. ;) I was covered up by lots of warm blankets because I was shivering from lack of blood and all of the fluids they pumped into my body. This is me trying to talk to people with my eyes closed. I could not keep them open even though the nurses were telling me to stay awake.  

I finally was moved to my room around 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. I kept asking for orange juice because I felt like my blood sugar was so low. The nurses kept holding out on me and telling me that it wouldn't be good for me, especially if I gulped it down, but I kept assuring them that was what I needed to feel better and I wouldn't gulp it down. I finally got some OJ after much persistence on my part and after they took my blood sugar they confirmed that my blood sugar was low! I was too exhausted to nurse Dawson the first time, so Robert bottle fed him. By midnight I was starting to feel better.

Sweet little boy.

With all of the post-birth complications, we didn't receive any visitors that day, so it was not until the next day when Annabelle got to meet Dawson. 

Annabelle was very gentle and sweet when she met him. It was super cute.

Grandpa and Grandma Fountain had made it down shortly after we announced we were at the hospital took great care of her while Robert and I were at the hospital

Annabelle enjoyed her visit to the hospital.

It was full of fun gadgets to play with. She spent much of the time talking on the phone and hanging out with Mommy and Daddy.

I was feeling more human by the next day. Even the doctors and nurses told me I had some color back and was looking better. Thank goodness because that was a close one and I did not want a transfusion. 

I love the hospital where I delivered. The food is great and the staff is awesome. My doctors from the old practice I was with even stopped in to congratulate me and check in on me. They were happy to hear I successfully delivered VBAC. The final day in the hospital we gave this little man a name and took some pictures.

Dawson Robert Fountain

We are not sure who he looks like yet - time will tell.

By the third day, I was up and moving around. We took Dawson for a stroll and Annabelle enjoyed going along for the ride.

We ate some lunch as a family and had some more hospital fun by looking out the window for birds,

and continuing our phone communication skills.

Introducing our family of four!

We eventually were both cleared for departure, so we got Dawson ready to take him home!

Leaving the hospital! Feels like we just did this with Annabelle. 

Off to start our new adventure. Ready or not, here we come!

Car buds.

Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers on our behalf during this time. We feel very blessed to have a healthy baby and for the recovery I am making.