On Thursday, January 9, I had my 41 week appointment where they did an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels, a nonstress test to measure contractions and kicks, and a regular appointment with the Doc. We had no idea they would suggest that we go home after the appointment, see Jo, pack our bags, and head to the hospital that night to be induced. Apparently there was some degradation of the placenta visible in the ultrasound and my blood pressure was a little high. This was not exactly what we wanted but to avoid potential preeclampsia and other possible complications, it was the best suggestion. Well, we went home, had dinner, took showers, played with Jo one last time, and headed on our way. As we were walking out the door, I realized that my contractions were coming closer together and stronger. Apparently finding out I was to be induced was enough to put me into labor!

When we got to the hospital and told them we were to be admitted to be induced, Dr. Martha Schmitz who was on call for Obgyn North that evening said, “That is not a woman who looks like she needs to be induced.” They got me a room and sure enough things were progressing very quickly. At the appointment around 3pm I was still just 1 cm dilated. By 8p I was 6cm dilated. Unfortunately the contractions were so intense, I was unable to relax my legs and lower back that I was concerned about my ability to push. At 8.5 cm dilated I got an epidural. I could have had them break my water at that point which would have sped things along considerably and made the contractions more intense. The meds ended up elongating the labor by about 3 hours but it was worth it. I was in control of my body for pushing and able to be an active participant whereas without the meds a similar situation to Jo (vacuum assist without meds… very painful) would have happened when I was unable to push. At that point both Paul and I were able to get some rest and muster energy for about 40 minutes of pushing.

At 6:21 am Jack was born! Just as with Jo, this birthing experience went as well as I could have hoped. I loved our delivery doctor even though she is not a regular part of the OBGYN North practice and we had never met her before. All of our nurses from L&D to Postpartum to the NICU were also wonderful.

After routine nursery stuff and a brief rest for me, Abbie and Ellie were our first visitors. Soon Mimi and Jo came up. Not long after they arrived, I got up to go to the bathroom for the first time since the delivery and apparently fainted. I felt fine but everyone insisted that I hit my head hard. My nurse insisted on a CT scan. Luckily, it and some blood work came back fine. I think I just stood up too quickly.

Meeting Brother Jack for the first time. I fainted while this was going on.

 

Jo getting Piglet, a gift from her new brother. She wore her big sister t-shirt! 🙂

Mimi and Brother Jack

 We were in our Labor & Delivery room longer than normal because there weren’t enough Postpartum rooms that day. But by the end of the day we were moved to an overflow area of postpartum rooms that used to be L&D rooms. They were bigger and much nicer than the regular Postpartum rooms and right next to the NICU which would prove to be very convenient later that night…

Jack went with us to our Postpartum room and was rooming in. In the middle of the night, my nurse just happened to be in the room checking my vitals while I was nursing. She noticed he was breathing fast so took him to the nursery and Paul went with them. While I was waiting nervously in bed I fell asleep and woke up an hour later to an empty room. I called Paul who didn’t answer but came back to let me know Jack had been admitted to the NICU. Remembering the ordeal we had with Jo, I started to fall apart and cursed myself for dozing while all of this was going on. Paul reminded me that it was good that we caught it while we were still there. Jack had an x-ray done and it showed that he either had an under developed lung, some fluid in his lung, or an infection. They started him on antibiotics immediately in case it was an infection. The other issues would work themselves out in time, but he needed to be monitored closely. The rest of our stay is a bit of a blur. Every 2 hours we were able to go to the NICU to nurse him if he wasn’t breathing too quickly.

In the NICU

I was discharged on Sunday evening, but Jack had to remain in the NICU until Wednesday. We would wake up, get Jo going for the day, leave her with Mom or Anne and Jim, and spend the day at the hospital feeding him every 2 hours. We would leave the hospital around 1am, go home, sleep, wake up and do it over again. This seemed to go on forever but it was only 2.5 days. I couldn’t drive because of my postpartum pain meds so someone always had to go up to the hospital with me. Most of the time it was Paul, but Mom dropped me off on her way out of town one morning. On Wednesday afternoon, we finally were able to bring him home.

That mark on his cheek is from where a feeding tube was taped to his face. For a short period during his NICU stay, they were concerned about his aspirating if he took any milk by mouth.

 

Jo made and shared her tea with Brother Jack in the waiting room at the hospital before the drive home.

 

Brother Jack and Daddy matching with their stars and moon jammies.

 

It is amazing how much room can be made in the heart when it comes time to love another human. Paul filled every nook and cranny for a long time. I thought I was pushing the limit when we added Jo. Jack made my heart grow three sizes that day to borrow a phrase from the good Doctor. I love our little (but growing!) fambly.