Monday, May 26, 2008
Premature Birth - Not Quite the Joyful Experience
This article is a continuation from Premature Labor - Dealing With the Unexpected
I got to the hospital shortly after 11:00 a.m. Since it was a Sunday, the only entrance open was the Emergency Room, so I asked the attendant nurse if she knew where I should go to find Lori.
"I haven't seen any pregnant women come through here all day," she said.
"Well, I just talked to her on the phone, so I know she's here," I said. "Is there someone else I can talk to about this to find her?"
She directed me to the security desk. The gentleman at the window typed in Lori's name, asked for my license, gave me a security pass and directed me to the Labor and Delivery ward. I guess Lori must have skipped the Emergency Room and went straight to L&D.
I ran down the corridor, like it would make a difference if I got there 2 minutes earlier (especially after waiting at the house for over an hour, and then driving 20 minutes to get to the hospital). The nurses pointed me to Lori's room, and I threw the door open. It was like a scene from a movie when a dad comes bursting into the delivery room, only I wasn't wearing a mask, scrubs or booties and Lori wasn't screaming profanities at me...yet.
"Hi honey!" she said, with a big smile on her face. "You look a little winded."
"How's it going? Are you OK? How's the baby?" I said. I always tend to ask multiple questions in a row when I'm nervous or excited.
"Everything is fine - I feel good," she said.
"Has the doctor come in to see you yet? What did he say? Is this for real?" I asked with anticipation, still kinda hoping that this might be a false alarm.
"Yep - it's baby time!" she said.
"Alright, well, where 're we at - how far apart are the contractions - are you getting the epidural - are you in pain - what do you need me to do?" I said, as if the baby were going to jump out and do a little dance for us at any moment.
"Easy big fella," she said, "Pull up a chair and relax, I have a feeling that this could take a while."
I sat down, and we just talked for about an hour. A nurse came in to see us a few times, but for the most part, it was just me and Lori. We were excited, and at the time, we didn't really feel much stress or worries about the baby, or the situation of having only reached the 34th week of the pregnancy. Most reference sites state that anything prior to 37 weeks is premature birth.
So, since this was classified premature, and most premature births happen for a reason that is typically not good, we got to speak with one of the doctors from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) about the strong possibility that our little girl would have to spend some extra time at the hospital. Most preemies spend time in the NICU to ensure proper development of vital organs and absence of ailments, such as lung disease, infection or some other common issue associated with preemies.
There wasn't much the doctor could say until the baby was actually born, so she just told us about the process and what would happen immediately after Caitlin arrived. It was the same doctor we had when Ty was born, so we asked if there would be any way possible that Lori could see the baby briefly before being whisked away like our son was right after birth. The doctor said, of course, but that it would depend on the baby. Now, we were starting to feel a little stressed.
Late in the afternoon, Lori's contractions began picking up. They were getting closer together and stronger, but she claimed that the only thing she was feeling was minor discomfort in her lower back. The doctor recommended that she make a decision about the epidural before things progressed too far; however, he also didn't want to slow things down, which is what happened when Lori got the medicine during our son Ty's delivery.
After a few hours of "minor discomfort" combined with increased cervical dilation and effacement, Lori asked for the epidural. The only time Lori cried during the entire labor was when the doctor had to insert the catheter near the spinal cord. She rested her head on my chest and squeezed my arms while the doctor completed her work, and I know it sounds bad, but I was glad that I was finally able to do something to comfort her.
Unfortunately, while the epidural completely eliminated all pain, it also did slow the delivery down again. Her contractions went from two minutes apart and strong to four minutes apart and weak. After several hours of no progress, the doctor finally decided to administer pitocin to get things back on track. Previously, our son was born about two hours after pitocin was administered; however, this time, we had no such luck.
At around 10:00 p.m., we were finally "talked" out, so I turned on the TV and Lori tried to get some rest. The nurse came in every thirty minutes or so to up the does of pitocin, but it didn't have the same affect as before.
I watched four hours of repeats of the Ultimate Fight Challenge, while Lori read magazines, slept and begged me for food and drinks. She was starving because they wouldn't let her eat until after the delivery was over.
Finally, at around 4:00 a.m., the nurse did an internal examination and said, "It's time. Finally! I'm going to go get the doctor." The doctor came in, took a look and instructed the nurse to get everything ready in the room, and then start the process of pushing. He said to call him when the baby's head crowned slightly.
Well, I helped the nurse get everything set-up, and we repositioned Lori's limp legs to begin the process of pushing. The nurse gave Lori a few tips, then she grabbed one leg and I grabbed the other. We both lifted them apart like we were pulling on a wishbone, and the nurse told Lori to PUSH!!!
Ten seconds and one push later, the nurse said loudly, "Stop! Stop! No more pushing!" The top of Caitlin's head was already sticking out, and the nurse asked me to watch Lori while she ran and got the doctors.
It only took three pushes for Caitlin to come out, and she was officially born at 4:41 a.m. She weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces, and she was 19 1/4 inches long. Even though she looked a little small, everything seemed to be completely normal. I cut the chord, and then the neonatalogist took her over to a special bed to clean and examine her.
Unlike with Ty, the doctor did not rush Caitlin out of the room; instead, she gave her to me to hand to Lori, and the two of us were ecstatic and overwhelmed in that moment.
After two or three minutes of snuggling with our new baby girl, the doctor needed to take her over to the NICU to begin the full evaluation and testing process to ensure that she was happy and healthy.
Little did we know what we were in store for next...
Again, I'll share more about our story tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to get caught-up by reading the initial article and see pictures of our baby girl Caitlin Arielle.
Related Posts:
Premature Labor - Dealing With the Unexpected
Introducing Baby Caitlin
Sorry Folks - Quick Change of Plans
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Premature Labor - Dealing With the Unexpected
Last Sunday morning started out much the same as most Sunday mornings. My wife Lori got up with our 2-year-old son Ty, and they went downstairs to get started on their normal routine.
It was not a normal morning though, as we were soon to discover.
About an hour after getting up, Lori's water broke. This was not supposed to happen. She was only 34 weeks pregnant - her actual due date wasn't for another six weeks.
At first, Lori wasn't exactly sure what to do because it wasn't like you see in the movies where a 5 gallon bucket of water splashes to the floor. After an hour of consistent leakage, and Ty asking her 50 times why she kept running to the potty, she decided to wake me up.
We have three separate phone lines in our house, including one in each of our offices and the main line. Rather than come upstairs and wake me, Lori called me on the main line from her office phone.
"Honey, are you awake?" she said gingerly.
"Yep. Yep. Yep. I am....now. What's up?" I said in my half-delirious, fake-it-till-you-make-it chipper voice.
"I think my water broke about an hour ago," she said nervously.
"Are you frickin' shittin' me!?!" I said.
"No. I'm almost positive it broke, and I think I should call the doctor," she said.
"I agree. Are you OK?" I said. (Keep in mind - we're still talking to each other on the phone from within the same house)
"Yes, I feel fine, but I think this is really it," she said.
"Alright, well you said that it was getting close, so I guess today is as good a day as any!" I said.
Lori and Ty came upstairs. I took over watching him, while she made several phone calls. I decided to take advantage of a quick opportunity to jump in the shower, and I brought Ty in with me. By the time we were done, she came into the bathroom already dressed to go.
"The doctor said I should go to the hospital now," she said. "I already called my parents, and they're on their way down to watch Ty."
"OK. What can I do? What do you need from me?" I said, as I was trying to hurriedly get me and Ty dressed.
"Nothing. I feel fine," she said. "I'm just gonna go on up to the hospital, then you can meet me there after my parents get here."
"Uh, OK. Are you sure you're alright to drive? You know people are gonna give me shit about this, if I don't drive you," I said.
"No. I'm fine, and it's not that far to drive," she said. "I'll call as soon as I get there."
Both of us knew that things would go smoother if we did not take Ty to the hospital with us. I gave her a kiss and tried to say something reassuring, even though I was totally freaking out. And with that, she left, and I stayed.
"Daddy," said Ty. "What doin'?" "Where mama?"
"Mama is going to have a baby today," I said, while trying to act excited for him.
"A baby?" he said.
"Yes, a baby." I said.
"Baby kat?" he said. (The whole time Lori was pregnant, Ty called the baby kit-kat. I think he thought Lori seriously had a cat in her belly. I hope he isn't disappointed.)
"Yes, baby Caitlin," I said.
Then, I put him down for a nap; talked briefly to Lori; and, wrote a blog post and Twittered while waiting for Grammy and Pop-pop to get here. It was hard not to worry that something might be wrong because this was preterm labor.
Even though none of the doctor's visits or tests taken during the pregnancy gave us any reason to think something might be wrong, premature labor usually happens for a reason, and unfortunately, that reason is not often a good one...
I'll share more about our story tomorrow, after I get some much needed rest. In the meantime, feel free to see pictures of our new baby girl Caitlin Arielle.
Related Posts:
Introducing Baby Caitlin
Sorry Folks - Quick Change of Plans
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Win a Nintendo Wii - Bringing Out the Kid in You Contest - Last Day
Sunday, May 25, 2008 is the final day to submit an entry for the Discovering Dad
sponsored by Nestle Crunch
Top Prize is a Nintendo Wii game system!!!
Winners will be announced on Monday, June 2, 2008.
Don't miss out on your chance to win a Wii!!!
Winners will be announced on Monday, June 2, 2008.
Don't miss out on your chance to win a Wii!!!
What Dads Really Think About Series Update
After the amazing response to the What Moms Really Think About Dads series, I was extremely excited when I announced a follow-up series called What Dads Really Think About - Moms Want to Know.
If you are new to Discovering Dad, then I'll fill you in on why this awesome series was initially delayed.
You see, at around 7:00 a.m. the day before the series was to start, my wife's water broke. Needless to say, my focus needed to be elsewhere, so I shifted up by a week the first major contest for Discovering Dad readers. I figured that the Bringing Out the Kid in You contest would be a fun way to celebrate the new baby, as well as give one lucky reader a new Nintendo Wii game system (thanks to contest sponsor Nestle Crunch).
Then, on Monday morning at 4:41 a.m., my wife Lori and I welcomed baby Caitlin into this world six weeks earlier than expected. Unfortunately, since then, she has had several complications that require our love, support and attention, as well as a significant amount of time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
So, with all of this, my original plan was to run the What Dads Really Think Series this coming week; however, now that things have complicated somewhat, I'm postponing the series at least another 1-2 weeks.
I know you all understand, and I promise that the wait will be worth it! I really am looking forward to the conversations that I'm sure this series will generate between moms and dads (husbands and wives, men and women). I want to make sure that I give it the proper level of respect and care it deserves - the panelists and you deserve to get my best!
In the meantime, I will be publishing new discoveries (and updates on the baby) as time and emotional energy permits. I hope you will check back often, leave comments, let me know you're thinking about us and, please, send a little love to my little girl!
If you want to stay updated, the easiest way is probably to subscribe to my feed.
Thanks again for all of the support and understanding! I look forward to things getting back to normal soon!
Related Posts:
What Dads Really Think About - Moms Want to Know (Original Series Announcement)
Introducing Baby Caitlin
Bringing Out the Kid In You - Win a Nintendo Wii Game System
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