Everything was looking picture perfect at the doctors. Weight, blood pressure, baby, measurements... literally everything was "textbook" perfect. We tried P17 shots, my cervix was measured, extra doctors appointments and screenings, etc. Everything looked great, but it seems as if my body hits 34 weeks pregnant and that is it!
Here is her birth story...
I woke up Friday morning and felt fine. Steven went to work, Aubrey and I ate breakfast. I took a shower and then gave her a bath. We played princess and I was getting really excited because Steven was coming home at noon and it was the start of our Christmas break since he has the next week and a half off work.
At about 9:30 am I just started feeling a ton of pressure. I have really been trying to listen to my body and take it easy, so I put a TV show on for Aubrey and I rested on the couch. By about 10 am, I started to feel pain. By 10:30 I felt like I was having contractions. So, I called Steven and told him to come home. By this point, I was honestly crying. I cried for a while. It took me a while to accept that despite everything I tried.... she was probably coming early. I just "felt" like this was it. I hoped that I was wrong because everything was going so well and it just came out of nowhere (again) but I kind of knew.
I called the doctor and they told me to go to the hospital. We arrived at about 11:30 and then checked to see where things were at. 3 cm dilated. Just like when I got to the hospital with Aubrey. And again, just like Aubrey, I had no clue that anything was happening until like an hour before.
Since my water hadn't broken yet, the doctors gave me a bunch of drugs to try to slow down/stop my labor. When it became obvious that it couldn't be stopped, they just said that every hour could help so they slowed things down as much as they could. I am pretty sure if they hadn't, she would have come really fast.
The rest of the day was pretty long. I held off on getting the epidural until about 5:30 pm so it was a pretty long day of contractions. Not fun. The epidural was nice, but just like with Aubrey, I don't freeze well. So, I still felt most of the contractions. The drugs they gave me also gave me a really bad headache and my blood pressure kept dropping crazy low so I was dizzy and nauseous for most of the day.
At about 10 pm, things started to really hurt. So, I asked for more drugs :) I figured... what is the point of an epidural if it doesn't even work that great? Well... then things were really nice. Finally, at about 11 pm, when I was checked at a 9 and it was obvious they couldn't do much more to slow things down, the doctor came and broke my water so I could deliver.
Yikes! As soon as she did that, things got intense. Even with the extra epidural. Around 11:30, I kept telling the nurse that I felt a ton of pressure. We all kind of wanted to make it to midnight so that technically she would be born at 34 weeks 5 days instead of 4 days. Every day makes a difference with preemies. At that point, a few extra minutes wouldn't have mattered, but I wanted that extra day because I fought hard for each day this pregnancy.
So, I pretty much tried to not push. When I did start pushing, she had to stop me to run and get the doctor. 2 pushes later and she was here! Crazy different than the 2 hours of pushing + vacuum that I did with Aubrey. It was so fast.
She was born at 12:04 am, weighing 4 lbs 14 oz and 17.5 inches long. She got 9 and 9 on her APGARS, and has been on room air since birth. They even let me hold her for a few minutes before they took her away to the NICU. She is tiny and dark and beautiful.
It is amazing to me how love really does just grow. I thought that my heart was full of so much love for Steven and Aubrey. I still love them just as much, but there is now a whole new kind of love for our little Cora there as well.
She seems to be doing really really well. Just like with any major trial, only those who have been through the NICU roller coaster can really understand how much work it is to get them home. I know that there will be setbacks along our way to get her home, but she is doing great so far. She is much stronger than Aubrey was at birth, so we will see how long we are here.
It all feels like deja-vu. Another preemie. Another Christmas in the NICU. More hours of pumping. More missing my sweet baby and wishing I could hold her. But, I am happy and I am grateful. I am so lucky to be a mother and lucky that even though this is really really hard, I am so blessed to have these girls in my life.
We are happy to be a family of 4 and can't wait until we can take our sweet Cora home.
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing, Paige! Great blog post. I love little Cora already too, and am excited to meet her!
:) She is beautiful Paige! Really perfect! I am glad that despite coming early she is strong and healthy! I hope you get her home fast! And good job pushin out that baby! haha
Wow! What a weekend for you! Congratulations! I'm glad everything went as well as it did- and that Steven has the next week and a half off. Keep up the great attitude! You guys are amazing.
i have honestly been thinking about you ALL day. you and i are twins, seriously! this is nuts. i really like being your twin but it would be so much more fun if we weren't twins with such a lousy thing! ugh. lets just say we are too cute and tiny to go full term! haha. my heart just aches when i think about all the struggles you have ahead. i KNOW you can handle it, but that doesn't mean it wont be hard, and that you wont be sad at times. call me! like when you are losing your mind while pumping! haha we know all about that:)
that is amazing that she is just on room air!!! oh my goodness. those shots at least worked for her lungs! go cora. now just to get her eat, huh?! i will include that in every single prayer:)
gooood luck with everything. xo.
jaw-dropped shocked!! That is crazy! (1) I can't believe she's already here and such a 9 APGAR superstar and (2) I can't believe you look like that after laboring all day. You are amazing! Can't wait to get a lot more Cora updates. Congratulations!!!
What a sweet little baby girl. I cannot believe you had to go through that all again even with all the constant supervision. Cora looks so sweet and precious. Those two will get to be good buddies. Cora has so much hair! I can see why you would feel torn, that would be so hard. You guys are great parents and are doing all you can. You can do it! :)
Love Amy :)
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