Disclaimer : this is a long post! I finally wrote everything down that happened the day Eli was born - I won't blame you if you don't read the whole thing :)
Christmas Day was a crazy day to say the least. But really all of the festivities started on Christmas Eve. Jason's family came to the hospital to bring us a nice dinner. The hospital food was ok, but it paled in comparison to the steak dinner they brought us—thank you! As we were enjoying our meal I was steadily having more and more pain. The nurses strapped me on to the monitors to see what was going on. After a few minutes it was clear I was having large and more frequent contractions. As the pain got worse, Jason's family left so I could rest. It seemed like the doctors always had solutions to stopping contractions. I had been on this medication called procardia while I was on bed rest that slows contractions. When these larger and more painful contractions began, the doctor prescribed a round of shots (can't remember the name) that also slow contractions. After two of these shots, my contractions really slowed down. I went to sleep feeling like we dodged a bullet and I was going to be fine.
On Christmas Day, Jason and I woke up at around 8:30 AM and started opening up our gifts. We were FaceTiming Jason's family while we opened our presents. They would have come to the hospital but Jason's brother, Brandon, is currently serving a mission in Argentina and they were unsure of when he was going to call home, so they stayed to make sure they didn't miss it. I was feeling some light contractions, but I had not taken my procardia yet so I figured it was because it had worn off. I opened up all of my presents, and took a quick bathroom break. When I stood up, I felt a strange pressure. I went to the bathroom, looked down and saw this bluish purple colored something starting to bulge out of me. My first thought was that the umbilical cord was coming out, but then I thought no, that's impossible because my water hasn't broken. I started to panic and yelled out for Jason. He abruptly hung up on his parents and also saw what was bulging out of me, and the look on his face confirmed to me that whatever was happening wasn't normal. He ran out to the hallway to find someone and I pulled the emergency switch in the bathroom. In about 5 seconds, 4 nurses came running in and quickly got me back to bed. After laying back down whatever was bulging went back inside and the nurses didn't get a look at it. I guess we looked pretty worried because the nurses tried to downplay what happened telling us that it was probably a hemorrhoid. They couldn't see anything, but just to be sure they called the doctor. She was in an emergency c-section and wouldn't be able to come down for at least another 20 minutes. I was hooked up to monitors once again and they found the baby's heart beat and also my larger contractions.
I hoped when the doctor came everything would be fine and I could continue being on bed rest. She came in, took a quick look and said I was fully dilated and that whatever had been bulging out of me was the bag of water. She told me I would be having an emergency c-section and my baby would be delivered immediately. So much emotion came over me in this moment. I was extremely nervous for the baby and hoped that the week I stayed on bed rest was enough for him to make it. I called my parents to let them know what was going on. They told me everything was going to be ok and I was strong and could make it through this.
I was wheeled over to Labor and Delivery and saw some of the nurses that took care of me when I was first admitted. When they heard I was coming to L&D, they said a prayer together for me. Jason also gave me a blessing - the nurse even tried to join in :) The doctor doing the c-section (who unfortunately wasn't my OBGYN - she was on vacation) wanted to do a loading dose of Magnesium to slow my contractions during surgery. This time was different than the first time I had Mag. Since the nurses were rushing to get me ready for the OR, they let the IV drip the Mag into me as fast as it could go - it took about 5 minutes. The next 15 minutes were the worst minutes of the entire delivery. Right as the IV finished I started to feel the effects of the Mag. My whole body felt like it was on fire. My mouth, nose and eyes were dry and hot. Jason got cold cloths to put on my head and chest to try and cool me down but at this point there wasn't anything anyone could do. I felt delirious and started getting really nauseous. My whole body ached and I felt like I couldn't move. The nurses started wheeling me down to the OR and that's when I lost it. I felt my water break and with Mag in my system it burned. I'm sure I freaked out the other women who were in L&D. Jason said people were opening their room doors to see who was making all the noise. Unfortunately, they made Jason stay back in L&D until I was prepped for the c-section so the last thing he saw was me writhing in pain. Poor guy.
About 5 minutes after arriving to the OR I felt much better. I felt bad that I was at my very worst when Jason last saw me. The epidural was a breeze after Mag. It is such a strange sensation to be completely numb from the waist down. The anesthesiologist kept pinching me to make sure I couldn't feel anything. After I was all prepped, a bunch of people came in - the OB with her nurses, the neonatologist with his nurses and other people that were doing something I don't know what. There had to be at least 15 people there. All of these people for one little baby.
The doctor started the c-section. I didn't realize it took so long for them to get to the baby. I was used to watching a baby story and having it only take 30 seconds to pull a baby out. I asked Jason to look over the screen and see what was going on. He didn't want to, but he did for me (after studying cadavers I've always been curious to see what I look like on the inside—weird, I know.) His eyes got really big and all he said was "whoa." During this first part of the surgery, the doctors were talking about Christmas and movies. I didn't understand how they could be so calm. 15 minutes later, the neonatology team started to move in and the doctors stopped making small talk. The anesthesiologist started giving me a play by play: "I see a little foot! Oh, and there's his hand he's a fiesty one! He just peed all over you!"All of a sudden I see the neonatologist holding the teeniest baby I have ever seen. He was quickly surrounded by the team of nurses and they started working on him. Before he was intubated, Jason and I heard him give out a small little cry. I kept looking over trying to get a look at our little boy. Someone moved out of the way and I saw that our baby was inside a plastic bag. I remember the neonatologist told us that they would be putting him inside a bag because his skin was too immature to maintain his own temperature and the bag would act as a second skin to keep him warm until they got him to the isolette. After he was stable and all wrapped up, the neonatologist brought him over to us so we could see him and take our first picture together.
I remember wanting to touch him and hold him, but being scared because he look so tiny and fragile. Everyone kept asking us what his name was, but Jason and I were still deciding. We thought we had 14 more weeks to figure it out! So for now he was known as baby boy.
After a few minutes, Eli needed to go down to the NICU. Jason met up with his dad outside the OR and walked down with Eli while I waited to get stapled back together (such a weird feeling!) Afterwards, I went back to labor and delivery for an hour or so to make sure I was stable. They started me on an IV of pitocin to help my uterus contract down in size—definitely not the best feeling, felt like cramps on steroids. Jason's family came in a few minutes later and all of them had this dazed look on their face like, "what just happened?" The last update they got was a text from Jason saying I was going in for an emergency c-section. It was pretty amazing how fast it all happened. From the time my bag was bulging to the time Eli was born was about an hour.
Before I was taken back to antepartum ward, the nurses wheeled me down in my bed to the NICU to see the baby since I was going to be confined to bed for the next 24 hours. I was nervous to see him again because it seemed impossible for a baby so small to live. Jason was there with me. Eli looked so teeny in his isolette, weighing in at only 2 lbs 7.4 ounces. He was long and skinny and his skin was all wrinkled. He looked like a little old man and had tubes and wires all over him.
A few hours after arriving to antepartum, a lactation consultant came to help me start pumping. Breast milk is so important for these premature babies. Doctors consider it part of their medicine because it is full of so many good things that cannot be replicated. Eli had to have some donor milk for his first few feedings until my milk came in. I'm grateful to those women who donated their breast milk and I plan on donating as well.
Jason and I had a hard time picking out his name. We both had names we really liked but neither of them seemed to really fit. We went back over our original list of names and read each one while we looked at a picture of him. I think we finally decided on Eli the day after he was born.
Thinking back now, it seems surreal that all of this ever happened. I'm so grateful that Jason's parents were here to support us and that my parents were able to drive down right after he was born to be with us too. We have such great family and friends and know that without your faith and prayers, Eli would not be where he is now.
Christmas Day was a crazy day to say the least. But really all of the festivities started on Christmas Eve. Jason's family came to the hospital to bring us a nice dinner. The hospital food was ok, but it paled in comparison to the steak dinner they brought us—thank you! As we were enjoying our meal I was steadily having more and more pain. The nurses strapped me on to the monitors to see what was going on. After a few minutes it was clear I was having large and more frequent contractions. As the pain got worse, Jason's family left so I could rest. It seemed like the doctors always had solutions to stopping contractions. I had been on this medication called procardia while I was on bed rest that slows contractions. When these larger and more painful contractions began, the doctor prescribed a round of shots (can't remember the name) that also slow contractions. After two of these shots, my contractions really slowed down. I went to sleep feeling like we dodged a bullet and I was going to be fine.
On Christmas Day, Jason and I woke up at around 8:30 AM and started opening up our gifts. We were FaceTiming Jason's family while we opened our presents. They would have come to the hospital but Jason's brother, Brandon, is currently serving a mission in Argentina and they were unsure of when he was going to call home, so they stayed to make sure they didn't miss it. I was feeling some light contractions, but I had not taken my procardia yet so I figured it was because it had worn off. I opened up all of my presents, and took a quick bathroom break. When I stood up, I felt a strange pressure. I went to the bathroom, looked down and saw this bluish purple colored something starting to bulge out of me. My first thought was that the umbilical cord was coming out, but then I thought no, that's impossible because my water hasn't broken. I started to panic and yelled out for Jason. He abruptly hung up on his parents and also saw what was bulging out of me, and the look on his face confirmed to me that whatever was happening wasn't normal. He ran out to the hallway to find someone and I pulled the emergency switch in the bathroom. In about 5 seconds, 4 nurses came running in and quickly got me back to bed. After laying back down whatever was bulging went back inside and the nurses didn't get a look at it. I guess we looked pretty worried because the nurses tried to downplay what happened telling us that it was probably a hemorrhoid. They couldn't see anything, but just to be sure they called the doctor. She was in an emergency c-section and wouldn't be able to come down for at least another 20 minutes. I was hooked up to monitors once again and they found the baby's heart beat and also my larger contractions.
I hoped when the doctor came everything would be fine and I could continue being on bed rest. She came in, took a quick look and said I was fully dilated and that whatever had been bulging out of me was the bag of water. She told me I would be having an emergency c-section and my baby would be delivered immediately. So much emotion came over me in this moment. I was extremely nervous for the baby and hoped that the week I stayed on bed rest was enough for him to make it. I called my parents to let them know what was going on. They told me everything was going to be ok and I was strong and could make it through this.
I was wheeled over to Labor and Delivery and saw some of the nurses that took care of me when I was first admitted. When they heard I was coming to L&D, they said a prayer together for me. Jason also gave me a blessing - the nurse even tried to join in :) The doctor doing the c-section (who unfortunately wasn't my OBGYN - she was on vacation) wanted to do a loading dose of Magnesium to slow my contractions during surgery. This time was different than the first time I had Mag. Since the nurses were rushing to get me ready for the OR, they let the IV drip the Mag into me as fast as it could go - it took about 5 minutes. The next 15 minutes were the worst minutes of the entire delivery. Right as the IV finished I started to feel the effects of the Mag. My whole body felt like it was on fire. My mouth, nose and eyes were dry and hot. Jason got cold cloths to put on my head and chest to try and cool me down but at this point there wasn't anything anyone could do. I felt delirious and started getting really nauseous. My whole body ached and I felt like I couldn't move. The nurses started wheeling me down to the OR and that's when I lost it. I felt my water break and with Mag in my system it burned. I'm sure I freaked out the other women who were in L&D. Jason said people were opening their room doors to see who was making all the noise. Unfortunately, they made Jason stay back in L&D until I was prepped for the c-section so the last thing he saw was me writhing in pain. Poor guy.
About 5 minutes after arriving to the OR I felt much better. I felt bad that I was at my very worst when Jason last saw me. The epidural was a breeze after Mag. It is such a strange sensation to be completely numb from the waist down. The anesthesiologist kept pinching me to make sure I couldn't feel anything. After I was all prepped, a bunch of people came in - the OB with her nurses, the neonatologist with his nurses and other people that were doing something I don't know what. There had to be at least 15 people there. All of these people for one little baby.
The doctor started the c-section. I didn't realize it took so long for them to get to the baby. I was used to watching a baby story and having it only take 30 seconds to pull a baby out. I asked Jason to look over the screen and see what was going on. He didn't want to, but he did for me (after studying cadavers I've always been curious to see what I look like on the inside—weird, I know.) His eyes got really big and all he said was "whoa." During this first part of the surgery, the doctors were talking about Christmas and movies. I didn't understand how they could be so calm. 15 minutes later, the neonatology team started to move in and the doctors stopped making small talk. The anesthesiologist started giving me a play by play: "I see a little foot! Oh, and there's his hand he's a fiesty one! He just peed all over you!"All of a sudden I see the neonatologist holding the teeniest baby I have ever seen. He was quickly surrounded by the team of nurses and they started working on him. Before he was intubated, Jason and I heard him give out a small little cry. I kept looking over trying to get a look at our little boy. Someone moved out of the way and I saw that our baby was inside a plastic bag. I remember the neonatologist told us that they would be putting him inside a bag because his skin was too immature to maintain his own temperature and the bag would act as a second skin to keep him warm until they got him to the isolette. After he was stable and all wrapped up, the neonatologist brought him over to us so we could see him and take our first picture together.
I remember wanting to touch him and hold him, but being scared because he look so tiny and fragile. Everyone kept asking us what his name was, but Jason and I were still deciding. We thought we had 14 more weeks to figure it out! So for now he was known as baby boy.
Before I was taken back to antepartum ward, the nurses wheeled me down in my bed to the NICU to see the baby since I was going to be confined to bed for the next 24 hours. I was nervous to see him again because it seemed impossible for a baby so small to live. Jason was there with me. Eli looked so teeny in his isolette, weighing in at only 2 lbs 7.4 ounces. He was long and skinny and his skin was all wrinkled. He looked like a little old man and had tubes and wires all over him.
A few hours after arriving to antepartum, a lactation consultant came to help me start pumping. Breast milk is so important for these premature babies. Doctors consider it part of their medicine because it is full of so many good things that cannot be replicated. Eli had to have some donor milk for his first few feedings until my milk came in. I'm grateful to those women who donated their breast milk and I plan on donating as well.
Jason and I had a hard time picking out his name. We both had names we really liked but neither of them seemed to really fit. We went back over our original list of names and read each one while we looked at a picture of him. I think we finally decided on Eli the day after he was born.
Thinking back now, it seems surreal that all of this ever happened. I'm so grateful that Jason's parents were here to support us and that my parents were able to drive down right after he was born to be with us too. We have such great family and friends and know that without your faith and prayers, Eli would not be where he is now.
In both pictures, Eli is holding Jason's wedding ring. Left - first week. Right - 3 months old.
