MAGnificent Maggie's Birth Story- Part III

Here we go. Can I finish this all up in this final part III without boring you all to tears. Well, at the end of my last portion of Maggie's birth story I was in major pain still in triage and they were debating what to do with me since I was only at a 1. Basically, the doctor was going to send me home since I was barely in labor. Generally, they will not admit you to the hospital till you are a 4 which they consider "active" labor. All I knew and Christy and AJ agreed, I was in labor! I was in pain, puking and could not keep anything down, not even a little drink of water. I was delirious from pain and no way could I go home and continue to labor at home considering how much pain I was in and the state of my puking. Well, nurse shift change happened and our new nurse came in to let us know they were sending me home. The previous nurse had taken out my IV and was going to get a wheelchair to get my out to the car and send me home. When the new nurse came on and came in to finish checking me out, she saw what kind of shape I was in and really started advocating for me along with my sister and AJ. She realized there was no way I could go home. All this time, I will fully admit it, I was begging with AJ to just get me a cesarean. I was done. I was in pain. This is just what we had talked about. I did not want to labor for hours and hours in pain. I get horrible back labor pains and puke and my body just wears out. Well, I did not want to go in to the new baby sleepless nights absolutely exhausted so we had agreed we weren't going to let it drag on for hours and hours. And all I could think about was it was going to be hours and hours since I had already been at it for so many and only a 1! So there, I was begging for a cesarean. Well, you know what? They won't just give it to you once you are in the hospital unless it is medically necessary. I wasn't medically necessary. I was in labor and things just weren't progressing very quickly so no need for that. The doctor told me I could go home, continue laboring and call my doctor in the morning to schedule a cesarean. Well, it was Sunday morning, my doctor wouldn't be in his office for another whole day. I wasn't going to wait that long. I was already feeling defeated. It was a very low point for me. So the new nurse, AJ and Christy all began to talk and the nurse decided to have another chat with the doctor to see what they could do to help me. She knew I couldn't go home. So the doctor came back in with her and said if they saw progress in me, they could check me in, and then they could get me set up to get an Epidural. Hallelujah! Those were the best words I had heard in a while. If I had any hope of making it, I needed some relief and rest. I was exhausted. So, back came another nurse to try and get my IV back in. She was an ER nurse and got it in first try! Hooked up the IV again and soon I was being transferred to another labor and delivery room. No more triage, I was admitted! Well, let me just say, that was the fastest wheelchair ride I have ever been on. The nurse was ready to get me settled in my room and order the Epidural for me. She was awesome! Paperwork, questions, EFM and such all had to happen before we could get the anesthesiologist in there. And she flew doing all that. Next thing, I was getting my epidural and man oh man, it felt like I was coming out of a fog and there was hope again! I think I said something to the affect of, "Okay, so what did I miss?" At times before I got the Epidural, I was so delirious and out of it, the doctor would have to say my name several times before I would respond and then she would have to make sure I was understanding what was going on and that I was okay with it. She wanted to make sure I was agreeing to the decisions being made and that AJ and Christy were not just making them for me. It was crazy how out of it I was. Now, I am hooked up to the Epidural in bed and it is maybe 8 or 9am. Christy and AJ have not slept at all and so we decide to all get some rest and let the contractions do their work. And now that I am in a regular room and not in triage, we have a new nurse. Chelsie is with us till 7pm that night and she was the nurse who helped Cary deliver Porter. She is a great nurse and was so nice to have a familiar face as she would spend all day with us. Once I got to a 4 and was in active labor, I was never to be without a nurse since I was attempting a VBAC. So if she went on a break, lunch, went to talk to the doctor or pee, another nurse would come in to be with me. So we all tried to rest. AJ was on the couch/bed. Christy was in the rocking chair and I was in bed. Ah, finally some rest. Little did we know, this would be the end of it for a really LONG time! So my body labored. I didn't do much. They would help me switch positions and we would watch Maggie's heart rate to make sure all was good. She did not like it when I would lay on my right side of my body so we tried rocking me to help change her position. She was just taking her sweet little time getting down and ready to come out. Porter came by with Al and Lori to see us and by 5 that evening I had only progressed to a 5. That was it. My contractions were very consistent but I was not progressing very quickly. I had texted my friend Jen earlier in the day to let her know nothing exciting was happening and that my phone was being used to take pictures for a time lapse video AJ wanted to make and if she needed anything to text AJ. Well, she apparently had AJ's number in her phone wrong so she was texting some random phone number all day long. That evening, Jana, texted Jen randomly to see if she would like to go out to the hospital with her and Lori to sit in the lobby and wait for Maggie's arrival. All very random how God works things out because had Jana not texted her, Jen would not have been there for all the crucial moments that she was there for and thus just a cool thing to see how God orchestrated it all. Maybe now Jen wishes Jana hadn't texted her, but I was very glad all 3 of them were there. So basically just like any normal body does that is in labor gets to a period called transition and can last for quite some time. The body just had to get ready for the end stages of labor and get all situated for that baby to come on out and meet the world. Well, my body hung out there for a LONG time. I mean, hours. Jen, Jana and Lori all arrived around 7:30 or 8 maybe and I was doing okay. I was getting tired and I was starting to feel a little more pain and I was begging AJ again for the cesarean, but he wouldn't let me. He kept pushing for the next check and encouraging me that I could do it. It was good to have some new faces and Christy and AJ needed a boost as well as I was wearing them out! I ended up getting another dose of the Epidural as my back was starting to hurt again and I was feeling way too much and was in a lot of pain. I was still very exhausted and again felt like how am I ever going to be able to push if I am in SO much pain. Epidural kicked in and I was good again. Then I got the crazy crazy shakes and developed a fever. I was sweating hot and shivering and shaking like mad. I could not control it. I could not think or talk. I went in to a zone. AJ, Christy and Jen were all laying cold washclothes on me because I was so stinking hot. They decided to start me on a dose of antibiotics as there was concern over my fever. It may have been when Maggie got stressed and pooped but no one really knows. And who knows why I had the fever. There was speculation of a uterine infection but then again, that came back negative. So we really don't know if and what caused Maggie any stress. They had broken my water while I was at a five and the fluid that came out was clear so she somehow and at some point got stressed and pooped after that. But then again, we have no idea why. So I have a fever, I am sweating like mad but I am cold. And I am shaking beyond all get out. I felt a little like Michael J. Fox. My sister for some weird reason when I said that I felt like Michael J. Fox thought I meant Michael Jackson and started making weird references to him. I was so confused but was in a weird place I didn't question it at the time. Later we talked and laughed about it because it was so random. She was really tired and was trying to help out her exhausted sister and do anything in her power to make me more comfortable. It was pretty funny after the fact. Anyways, I could not control the shakes. Finally, another check and I was dilated to 8!!! Yippee. Light at the end of the tunnel was getting a little bigger. I had told Jana, Lori and Jen that when it came time to push they would have to leave the room as I just wanted AJ and Christy and the staff. They understood. Well, a little bit passes and the doctor comes in a little after 10. She had had another delivery just prior to mine of a preemie that had to be transferred to OHSU via the PANDA team so she was terribly sorry she hadn't gotten in to my room sooner. Later, Lori told me when she saw the doctor in the hall and headed in to my room, she told Lori she was going to suggest at that point if I hadn't dilated to get a cesarean. Well, when she checked me I was a 10 and it was time to get this baby out. Things went in to place. Preparations were being made and nurses were arriving to help. Since I was a VBAC two additional nurses were in the room that wouldn't normally be there and again, looking back, I see the hand of God at work. My bed was pushed up, lights were turned on. AJ and Christy took their places on either side of me. AJ had one leg and Christy had another and they were holding my hand and ready to cheer me on. Our night nurse Shana was there and Dr. Keller was putting on her scrub hat. We were ready. It was a little before 11 and AJ was hoping we would have Maggie by 11. Well, about 15 minutes later, 11:10pm, Magnolia Raine was born! What relief, what excitement, I had a successful VBAC!! Oh, what what what....What was happening? My mind was racing? I thought my baby would be laid on my chest and we would have the tears of joy streaming down our face and she would start nursing at some point. But that wasn't happening. The doctor had suctioned her and then put her in the warming bed across the room. What all happens after this point is slow motion and I can't remember how all the people and things moved and happened. But somehow, AJ was standing over by Maggie, my sister was still next to me just asking Jesus to let Maggie breath and we were all just waiting to hear her cry. We never did. I was starting to panic but what could I do besides pray? I was spread eagle on the delivery bed and the room was filling with people. No longer was it low lit and peaceful. All the lights were on. My sister was praying out loud and AJ was standing over by Maggie speechless. Shana asked me if she could pray with me. Wow! It just brings tears to my eyes typing all this. It was rough. The rest you mostly know from other posts. Maggie was intubated in our room and then whisked down the hall to the nursery room at the hospital. OHSU was on the phone with the doctors in Silverton telling them what to do and that the PANDA team was on its way to transport her up to OHSU. My doctor was getting me set up to be transferred there since I had to be on antibiotics for the fever and possible infection I had to be transferred and couldn't go home yet. So by 4:00am that morning, I was getting out of bed to go pee and getting ready to check out. Maggie had been stabilized and was ready for transport. They wheeled her in to my room so I could see my little baby daughter for the first time. When she came out of me, she was covered in meconium. She was a dark brown color. She was not pink and vivacious. She was limp and dark brown. I never got to touch her, hold her or smell her hair. I saw her in the incubator on the stretcher and I cried. She was in a box, all by herself on a bazillion machines heading off to a huge hospital to be put on a cooling therapy protocol. I was scared. AJ went with Maggie up to OHSU and I was transported via ambulance and my dear friend Jen rode with me. Worst ride ever. I do plan on writing more about that in its own post. We made it to OHSU about 5am I was finally in another bed, in another hospital, in another city, on another floor than my daughter, but we were there. I started labor at home at 8pm on Saturday night of the 15th and finally at 5:30 am of Monday morning the 17th, we could go to bed! AJ was exhausted to say the least. I have never seen him that tired. When the NP came in that morning around 8 to talk to us and give us an update and ask for our consent to give Maggie blood as she was not clotting properly, I could not wake AJ up. I had to consent for her and I had no idea what I was doing. I was pretty bleary eyed myself. Thus began the journey of the first week of Maggie's life in the NICU. Wow. Wow.