Sitting in a hospital room after coming back from visiting my daughter in the NICU is not how I was expecting to spend my
Christmas. This story really begins about three weeks ago, which is so shocking to me because it seems so long ago now.
We went for a normal third trimester anatomy exam, which we had delayed two weeks because Aaron was exposed to COVID. The doctor told us her head was measuring small and he wanted to do a follow up in three weeks just to make sure. He told us not to be concerned because ultrasound measurements aren't the most reliable.
I made the decision not to be worried (and not to google) because Ollie's ultrasound technician told us he would be about six pounds and he came out over eight pounds.
This last Tuesday, December 22, we came in and we asked the technician the size of the head and to our dismay, it measured three weeks behind. While we were in the waiting room waiting to talk to our doctor, I of course googled it and was convinced she had microcephaly or some other brain issue and I now gave myself permission to panic.
I usually don't have to wait very long to talk to the doctor, but of course this day was an exception. It could have seemed longer because I was anxious to find out information. He comes in and clears up the fact that her head is proportional to her body, but she is measuring in the eight percentile. The goal is to have the babies measure in between 10 and 90%. Last ultrasound measured her at 33% (I think?), so clearly she wasn't growing anymore.
We were told that we would start coming in for weekly exams to see different factors such as if she was still practicing breathing, if the amniotic fluid still had a good amount, and if she had good blood flow. If anything showed that my womb was no longer a good environment, we would induce. He said 34 weeks would be a good milestone because that is the week that people shoot for if they are to have preterm babies. I was 33 weeks 5 days pregnant, wasn't having any kind of consistent or big contractions, so I wasn't thinking we would have a baby this week.
All throughout my pregnancy, even though it’s always been in the back of my mind that something could go wrong at any moment, I’ve always felt a peace from God. I’m not going to lie to say I wasn’t scared, but I definitely felt God’s presence.
Thursday morning, around five o'clock I woke up to my water breaking. , I went to the bathroom and there was some blood. Which either means I am in labor, or something is wrong. Aaron and I scrambled to get clothes, he ran and got Ollie and we drove off to the hospital.
I was shivering in the car, I was so scared something was wrong with Harper. Meanwhile, Ollie was in a great mood and was very excited to go on an adventure. Aaron drops me off and family friends of ours, who are like Ollie's bonus grandparents, came to pick him up.
They took me up on a stretcher while Aaron was waiting for them. I just kept praying over and over for Harper to be okay. They took me to a room to see if I was actually in labor and we heard the baby's heartbeat. I felt so reassured hearing that quiet beating.
I wasn't feeling contractions before my water broke but I was feeling them intensely now and they were coming every 1-5 minutes. They were shocked to see I was already dilated at seven centimeters and they rolled me to the labor and delivery room.
While they were going over procedures and what to expect, I kept insisting on getting an epidural. They kept saying it might be too late and I said to try anyway. They came through and my epidural did kick in just in time for my nurse to see that I was already dilated at a 10.
Nurses and their equipment from NICU were brought in and the labor and delivery team were brought in... and then my contractions just kind of stopped their intensity. The epidural slowed it down, so basically I was pushing Harper out without the help of contractions.
Because Ollie’s delivery took 6 hours, I guessed Harper would come out in 4 (by 9am) she came out at 8:52
I got to hold her for a little bit before they whizzed her off to NICU. She's doing well. Our main goal is to get her off the oxygen, but she has to practice breathing slower in order to achieve that. She has so many tubes coming out. I hate it for her, but I am so grateful and confident in our NICU nursesx
My recovery has been so much faster compared to my recovery time with Ollie. I guess that's the difference between a four pound and eight pound baby, but I would so much rather be the one having to recover rather than my little girl.
The hospital has been doing a great job of keeping it festive for Christmas. And Ollie is having a great time at his "Poopsie's" house.
Things that are similar between Ollie and Harper's delivery
1. Both were told two days before they came on their own that they would be induced.
2. Both of my OBGYN doctors were not the ones to deliver
3. Both came on days Aaron was supposed to lead worship for church.
4. Both woke me up with my water breaking.
5. I didn't feel contractions until my water broke with both of them.
6 . I shivered the entire time I delivered.
7. They both came out wailing.
8. Both times I told Aaron my water broke, he asked if I was sure.
9. Both were "sunny side up" when they came out.
10. We bought items to put in the hospital bag but did not manage to actually make a hospital bag.
Hope this made any kind of sense, I’m now going to try to get some kind of sleep in.
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